Rendapart chooses semi-automated shuttle installation from Toyota
Rendapart Plantfood International , producer and distributor of organic and organo-mineral fertilizers, reached out to Toyota Material Handling for an efficient solution to maximise their storage capacity. Toyota offered the Toyota Radioshuttle and racking to meet their needs.
About Rendapart
For over 70 years, the Krauch family has been producing, packaging and distributing high-quality organic fertilisers under the name 'Viano'. This makes them the first and oldest producer in Belgium of organic fertilisers, their know-how and experience assure customers of their quality products.
Rendapart NV is the umbrella organisation for two departments: VIANO and Rendapart Plantfood. The well-known brand VIANO offers a full range of garden products, fertilisers (single and compound), soil improvers, potting soils and ground covers. Their production company Rendapart Plantfood Int. is a major producer of organic and organo-mineral fertilisers, it’s active on the international private label market. Both companies offer the customer a complete and high-quality service.
Facts and numbers
- Company: Rendapart Plantfood International
- Location: Aalst, Belgium
- Sector: Organic and organo-mineral fertilizers
- Storage capacity: 8708 Euro-pallets – warehouse height 11.5 m
- Products: six Toyota Radioshuttles, shuttle racks, two forklift trucks and three reach trucks (lithium-ion)
Efficient warehouse layout
Close to the heart of Belgium, a short distance from the capital of Brussels, we meet the plant manager and son of the owner, Jan Krauch: ‘During the interwar period, my grandfather started Animalia in Denderleeuw. We were specialised in waste processing. To complete the circle, my grandfather launched the fertiliser brand Viano in 1948, a visionary; nothing is lost. The first organic fertiliser company in Belgium was born.' Jan Krauch tells us. ‘Unfortunately, my grandfather then sold all the factories in 1983 for health reasons, after which he passed away two years later. At the age of 25, my father bought back one of the departments from the new Dutch owners. A new NV was founded; Rendapart.’
‘Everything has become very specialised these days, we make a specific fertiliser for each product. To be able to follow the trend, an efficient layout and expansion of our warehouse was necessary. Our warehouse no longer met the needs we had. So, I started looking for an efficient solution. We already had Toyota forklift trucks in our warehouse, of which we are satisfied. As a result, I visited the website to see what other solutions Toyota could offer us. I discovered they have shuttles and shuttle racks in their range. That's how I got back in touch with Toyota.’
Toyota as a full consultant
‘We used to have drive-in racks, but they no longer met our needs. Together with Toyota’s Racking Solutions sales manager, Wilfried Elsen, we looked into a solution to maximise our storage capacity. Wilfried advised us to work with shuttles in combination with shuttle racks and reach trucks, so we can start stocking per rack while optimising our storage capacity, which is extremely important to us. It also improves the accessibility to the products and damages have been reduced. By working with reach trucks, you create even more storage capacity. their reach trucks are very compact, flexible and have a narrow chassis that is ideal for narrow environments. That is why we chose this efficient solution: shuttle racks in combination with six Radioshuttles and three reach trucks,' Jan tells us.
‘The choice for Toyota was obvious, given that they act quickly and everything is followed up well, a key decision factor.
Our products are seasonal and a certain time slot had to be respected for the installation. It was a smooth collaboration with both Wilfried and the project engineer Joris Van Aken, the implementation went just as smooth. Changes were dealt with immediately and efficiently,' Jan continues.
Rendapart is not only active in Belgium but also in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and so on. Expansion of their warehouses is therefore necessary: ‘The portfolio of customers continues to grow every year, which means that we will be expanding our warehouse again in the near future. Since our process has been greatly optimised by the solution that Toyota has offered us, it is only natural for us that we will also implement more shuttles, shuttle racks and reach trucks from Toyota,' concludes Jan Krauch.