AFT supplies the two target USA distribution centers for refrigerated products and food.

AFT has successfully equipped two food distribution centers (FDC) in the USA. They are identical in their construction utilising EMS materials handling technology. The first FDC in Lake City, Florida, entered into production in June 2008. The second followed exactly one year later and was built in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Both identical systems consist of approximately 3500m of EMS track, 78 switches, 4 elevators and 98 EMS vehicles. In these FDC’s they store food and frozen foods from the wholesalers which are then selected for the individual Target establishments. The warehouse divides itself into the „Cooler“ area at 0°C (+32°F) for fresh foods and vegetables and also in the „Freezer“ area with temperatures as low as -30°C (-22°F) for the frozen foods. AFT has delivered vehicles called CaddyPicks. These are EMS trolleys with several functions which the operators interface with to compose the respective collections. The loading and the delivery of pallets is performed automatically.

Heavy-duty installations EMS take over the tasks of the heavy-duty forklifts

Heavy-duty installations EMS take over the tasks of the heavy-duty forklifts

Through a process adjustment in the steel handling at a Swiss company processing steel there is necessary for the wire collies to be stored in a buffer in the raw material warehouse. This buffer consists of 13 allocation lines with 10 buffer-locations each. For the further transport of the wire collies from a location to the next one in the area of the allocation lines a transfer car operates per each line with a hydraulic lifting plate (bearing load 4 t). At the end of the lines the goods to be conveyed are picked up by a heavy-duty EMS vehicle with electrical cable pull and conveyed into the factory 1. There the vehicle delivers the goods to be conveyed again on the transfer car with a traverse path of a few meters before the material is distributed by the indoor crane to each target-establishment to be further processed.

Parameters of the establishment:
– 13 allocation lines with a total of 130 buffer-locations in the raw material warehouse
– 3 heavy-duty EMS vehicle with C-hook for the reception of the goods to be conveyed
– 9 allocation trolleys in the establishment 1
– max. transport weight: 3.200 kg
– per hour 17 wire collies are transported from the raw material warehouse to the establishment 1