Pallet racks for storing chemical products

Long-term collaboration

Van Moer Logistics is a Belgian logistics operator offering storage and transport solutions to companies working with different products (chemicals, food, pet food, etc.). With 30-year track record, it operates a fleet of 420 lorries, as well as numerous warehouses in Belgium and Romania at full capacity. This company provides end-to-end service to customers. To accomplish this, Van Moer Logistics first takes charge of understanding and analysing customer needs to improve and adapt all processes to the proposed requirements. It can thus manage all types of products, such as steel, chemicals or wood.

Mecalux has worked together with Van Moer Logistics on several projects and has equipped four of its distribution centres. The warehouse is a fundamental component for the development of this company's business activities, which is why Mecalux’s technical team has always endeavoured to provide the storage systems that best meet its needs and to help it deliver the service its customers want.

Recently, the company has reorganised the distribution of its centre in Zwijndrecht (Belgium). “We got in touch with Mecalux again because we are very satisfied with our previous collaborations. Additionally, it was the best offer we received in terms of product quality and price,” explains Steven Pauwels, general warehouse manager of Van Moer Logistics.

Steven Pauwels - General Warehouse Manager at Van Moer Logistics
“When we wanted to equip the distribution centre in Zwijndrecht, it was very clear to us that we should choose Mecalux again because of the good results we got out of the previous projects. In this case, we have gained in storage capacity and speed to provide the service our customers expect from us.”

Features of the new warehouse

The warehouse spans 16,000 m² and is allocated, mainly, to the storage of chemicals for one of Van Moer Logistics' customers.

The goods, coming from the production centre located in the Belgian city of Antwerp, are placed in industrial big bags, which are placed on pallets to facilitate their handling.

Daily, an average of 700 pallets are received (although this figure may be as high as 1,200 on certain occasions) and 40 dispatch orders are prepared (with more than 20 lines each) which are primarily distributed throughout Europe. This warehouse has been specifically designed to be able to absorb such a workload. Mecalux has set up 9 m high pallet racks, with five storage levels, that occupy almost the entire warehouse surface area.

According to Steven Pauwels, “we opted for this solution because we wanted to increase our pallet storage capacity.” More than 15,000 pallets can now be accommodated.

Moreover, one of the advantages of this storage system is that it enables direct access to the products, which provides considerable speed when it comes to managing all the goods.

On the other hand, it guarantees perfect stock control, as each location is meant for the same SKU. The forklift trucks used by operators to handle the unit loads have been converted to handle two pallets at a time, thereby maximising the installation's performance.

Advantages for Van Moer Logistics

• Maximum dynamism: this storage system offers direct access to the pallets, thus facilitating speedier merchandise management and stock control.
• Adapted solution: the entire installation has been designed to store and handle a large number of big bags on a daily basis.