Efacec wins automated warehousing project with Indonesian dairy firm

As part of Project Phase Two, Efacec will expand PT Indolakto’s Surabaya plant, which houses milk powder, and condensed and dairy milk, which is distributed locally and will expand its automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), for completion in October 2015. 

Forklifts transported palletised cartons

Pedro Furtado, deputy GM/project director, Efacec, told FoodProductionDaily, the dairy producer wanted to increase its productivity, efficiency, and reduce its dependency on manpower. 

“In Project Phase 1, Efacec was responsible for supplying the ASRS and managed warehouse integration for two production lines. We began the work in September 2011 and the project finished in November 2012​,” he said. 

“Before, Indolakto was operating its warehouse manually. This resulted in slower operations, lower productivity levels, and higher labour costs. To overcome these challenges, the firm was keen to customize and implement an ASRS technology.​” 

Prior to the first project, forklifts transported palletised cartons to, from and around the warehouse, while reach trucks were responsible for lifting the dairy products to their respective racking locations. 

Employees labelled goods by hand

In the absence of an automated coding system, employees labelled goods by hand, but with manual, handwritten coding on cartons, goods were sometimes misplaced due to human error. 

Also, PT Indolakto did not fully utilise warehouse space because the reach trucks could only lift the pallets to a maximum height of 12m. 

Established in 1967, PT Indolakto – Indomilk (PT Indolakto) is the largest local producer of dairy goods in Indonesia, and is the company behind a host of household dairy brands such as Indomilk, Cap Enaak, and Indoeskrim. 

Over the years, the manufacturer has penetrated foreign markets like Africa, Bangladesh, Middle East and the Philippines, with its sweetened condensed milk (SCM) and UHT milk. 

Dairy producers in Australia, China, New Zealand, Taiwan

The company wanted to​increase production capacity to meet increased market demand and its existing plant was insufficient to meet demand, so the firm bought a new factory. 

As part of its research, a team from Efacec visited dairy producers in Australia, China, New Zealand and Taiwan to understand the technologies behind their production and storage processes. One common theme was the use of ASRS. 

“Indolakto was already running its warehouse operations after the completion of Project Phase 1, so a major concern it had was minimizing any disruptions that could affect operations that were already in place​,” said Furtado. 

Efacec has already carried out a number of refresher training courses.​The number of workers is dependent on each customer, including up to 20 employees in one session. 

“In Asia, Efacec has conducted training courses for food and beverage companies, manufacturing plants, pharmaceutical, and airport cargo industry,” said Furtado​.    

“We recruited two full-time technicians from Efacec at PT Indolakto after receiving training in Singapore, our HQ in Asia, before they were sent onsite for the project duration. The technicians are responsible for providing maintenance and breakdown support."