Food and beverage conglomerate PepsiCo has announced that it will install a fully automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) in its facility in Vuerne, Belgium. Spanning over 430,000ft², this plant is one of the largest potato crisp factories in Europe.
The new solution, the Automated Pallet Shuttle system from intralogistics company Mecalux, is designed to house the daily production of 2 million bags of crisps and snacks from brands such as Lay’s, Doritos, Bugles and Cheetos.
A conveyor line measuring over 100m will connect PepsiCo’s production plant to the Automated Pallet Shuttle system. According to Mecalux, the system will comprise four aisles with two blocks of racking on each side. 12 transfer cars, one on each storage level, will move goods to the corresponding storage channel. Once there, a motorised shuttle car will automatically transport pallets to their locations.
A PepsiCo spokesperson said: “The Mecalux solution will help us absorb the high production pace at our Veurne factory and unlock our further growth plans”.
In addition to the AS/RS installation, PepsiCo will take advantage of Mecalux’s ‘Easy WMS warehouse management system for real-time stock control’. This software, the intralogistics company explained, will be integrated with the company’s ERP system to ensure that operations run smoothly, coordinating the flow of products.
PepsiCo began producing potato crisps in Vuerne, situated in the West Flanders region of Belgium, 25 years ago. By 2021, the Vuerne site was producing over 72,000 tonnes of crisps for 13 countries in Europe.
In 2022, the company announced it was investing around €7.5 million in projects to combat drought in West Flanders due to the water-intensive nature of potato crisp production, with PepsiCo noting that to produce 1kg of crisps, about 5.5 litres of water is needed.
Key strategies to overcome this issue included addressing water consumption at the site, optimising water purification and improving water management in local nature reserves.
