Floor conveyor for The White Company

The selection process for the conveyor supplier for the DC was administered via a competitive tender run by Total Logistics on behalf of The White Company. LB Foster Materials Handling was selected.

“We wanted to facilitate our phenomenal business growth and also benefit from having all our UK warehousing operations under one roof,” explains Shaun Anders, operations manager for The White Company. He continues, “Our Swan Valley DC is ideal and we have been busy over the last six months customising it to our specific processes and requirements. A significant element of this customisation has been the introduction of a conveyor system to improve the work flow in the gift wrap, packing and dispatch area of the business.

“Our goal was to achieve a minimum throughput of 1,225 containers per hour at peak times. This included a mix of totes and cartons of varying sizes and weights. The maximum carton load required was 30kg, but we handle a considerable range of carton sizes and weights, so the conveyor system had to be able to handle all these with ease.”

The new conveyor system runs from the gift packing benches to the dispatch area. On route, there are four branches of conveyor merging into the main conveyor. These spurs take packed boxes and totes away from the main packing benches and on to the dispatch area.

At peak times the system has to handle a minimum of 1,100 cartons (max. weight 30kg/carton) and 125 totes an hour. In terms of the cartons, there can be significant differences in size and weight from one box to the next and whilst the totes are one size, the weight of each can vary considerably. The system also includes full accumulation to ensure smooth running at all times and this is aided by the controlled merges as the boxes and totes join the main conveyor.