Fast - and without a magic potion

Speed and reliability are two key factors when selecting logistics partners. This also applies to construction projects that tighten the network of logistics services. The comic heroes in faraway Egypt were able to implement their ambitious project on time with Gallic help and several cauldrons of magic potion; Transdanubia Speditions GmbH opted for proven helpers to realize their new building, including the racking construction specialists from voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik GmbH.

The initial situation

A sustained positive sales trend in the frozen food sector is also reported for Austria: The year 2015 closed with an increase of almost five percent. The sector's performance is above average - a fact that also allows logistics service providers such as Transdanubia Speditions GmbH in Pasching near Linz in Upper Austria to continue to grow. In food logistics in particular, warehouses for chilled and frozen products are the be-all and end-all when it comes to expanding logistics hubs. Transdanubia decided to build another deep-freeze warehouse near the Upper Austrian capital of Linz. Project manager Herbert Rezsucha sums up the initial situation succinctly: "Our existing deep-freeze warehouses were at full capacity - so we built a new one." Over 14,000 pallet spaces were created on 5,300 square meters, half of the storage space had to be completed within four months.

Freezer warehouse facts

Transdanubia

• Pasching, Upper Austria
• Deep-freeze warehouse for foodstuffs
• Floor space approx. 5,300 m²
• 500 t rack profiles
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 51 x 105 x 14 m
• Three cooling areas -28 °C, +2 °C, 16 °C
• 14,600 pallet spaces (industrial pallets 1,000 x 1,200 mm)
• double-deep linear warehouse in silo design
• 6 storage levels, 23 aisles with reach trucks
• Induction-guided narrow aisle solution

Hand in hand

Speed and reliability were among the criteria Transdanubia used to select the companies for the construction of the new warehouse. Cooperation with the racking construction specialists at voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik GmbH was an obvious choice. Rezsucha: "We were faced with a tight schedule and already knew voestalpine from previous projects, which had been completed very satisfactorily."

The cooling units are integrated into the silo rack. Photo: voestalpine Krems Finalrechnik

Stefan Schott, project manager at voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik, and his colleagues developed their plans in close cooperation with the companies involved: "We received the order at the beginning of August and immediately carried out the necessary calculations to provide the construction companies on site with the necessary data for casting the floor slab." The integration of the freezer units into the shelves and the organization of the insulated panel installation were discussed with the refrigeration technology supplier. They were attached to the shelves as construction progressed.

Advantage complete package

"The companies involved complemented each other perfectly. The excavators drove up at the beginning of September - and as soon as the floor slab was set, the installation of the shelving and insulating panels began immediately," says Rezsucha.

voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik did not need a Gallic magic potion, even when faced with the challenges of tight time budgets on a winter construction site. Instead, the company came up trumps with the "magic formula" of optimally coordinated internal processes. "As we can offer all steps from project planning to production and assembly from a single source, our project workflow is burdened by fewer interfaces," explains Stefan Schott. Material and processing times can be planned in advance and are therefore available on time, even with such a tightly calculated time frame. "Our first truck arrived at the construction site on 2 November and, as agreed, the first construction phase was completed in the 49th calendar week." The successful acceptance took place in the last week of 2015.

www.voestalpine.com/kremsfinaltechnik