Hoekstra: high-density mobile pallet racking system

Key objectives

Hoekstra is a multimodal logistics operator based in the northern Netherlands. The company had planned to build a new pallet warehouse to increase storage capacity while maintaining direct, selective access to the various load units handled.

During the planning approval process, local planning constraints and requests from neighbouring property owners progressively reduced the available building footprint. The original layout therefore had to be redesigned to achieve the required capacity within a smaller area.

• maximise storage capacity within the available footprint;
• maintain direct access to every pallet location;
• ensure high selectivity across a wide range of SKUs;
• reduce the number of fixed aisles and increase storage density;
• ensure efficient, continuous storage and retrieval operations.

Constraints and technical requirements

The reduction in available floor space made it impossible to achieve the target capacity with a conventional pallet racking system. The new solution therefore had to accommodate a high number of pallet locations without increasing the building footprint or compromising direct access to each load unit.

• building footprint reduced during the planning approval process;
• required capacity of approximately 3,900 pallet locations;
• need to manage a wide range of SKUs;
• direct access to every storage location;
• racking over 10 metres high;
• storage rows approximately 40 metres long;
• high structural loads;
• operations handled by a dedicated forklift truck.