Time for a new technology solution

Hobson Engineering recently developed a new 15,000 square-metre distribution centre (DC) in Melbourne, due to the old building, which was 3,900 SQM, being too small for operations.

With the development of this larger DC in Melbourne, Hobson started looking for a new warehouse solution to combat rising

costs and ensure they could make the best use of their warehouse space.

“Hobson needed a solution for its new DC catering for 63,000 storage positions for pallets and handpicking,” said Brett Clapham, co-owner of Total Racking Systems. “Total Racking Systems and Colby Storage Solutions came up with a solution to optimise the rack design for

Hobson’s unique needs.”

Hobson currently dispatch over one million order lines or 25,000 ton of product per annum, with 80 percent dispatched same day and 15 percent dispatched next day. This meant it was crucial they installed a solution that would enable them to continue to meet these high volumes.

Hobson Engineering maximises warehouse footprint with Colby Storage Solution

Case Study

Established in 1935, Hobson Engineering is a family-owned and operated Australian business, that maintains a reputation for quality fasteners and coatings in the construction, oil, gas and mining industries.

Hobson prides itself on having the experience, technical knowledge, warehouse capacity and full product quality traceability to provide its customers with the most comprehensive fastening solution available in the Australian market.

Hobson has manufacturing cells and warehousing in Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville, Melbourne and Perth.

Total Racking SystemsTel: 1300 301 144Email: info.totalracking.com.auwww.totalracking.com.au

Geoff Lunz, National Asset and Property Manager

Hobson Engineering

“Hobson had previously worked with Total Racking Systems and Colby Storage Solutions very successfully, so when the time came to look for a solution for our new warehouse, we knew we could rely on them again,” said Geoff Lunz, National Asset and Property Manager, Hobson Engineering. “They made it their business to study our warehouse and and came up with a tailored solution that maximised the space and accounted for many different profiles.”

Maximising space

A typical day within Hobson’s warehouse involves picking and packing stock from storage locations, with incoming stock to be located in the vacated racks. The warehouse operates 24 hours, seven days a week, which means Hobson needs to constantly unpack the containers coming in to replenish for each days’ sales.

Total Racking Systems and Colby Storage Solutions created a new profile pallet racking beam to meet the specific storage needs of Hobson’s products.

“They worked out that as we use only Euro pallets, they could reduce the size of standard racks and fit more racking into

the same space, which was a huge boon for our storage,” explained Geoff.

Colby installed Narrow Aisle racking with a new boxed profile for the required spacing between beams, which also allowed for some bay loadings to hold up to 27,000kg. The space between racks was designed for staff to be able to clear any packaging with ease and the 1800mm wide aisle spacing was designed

to allow the movement of wire guided

Linde trucks.

“We recognised that Hobson could fit

more racks in by minimising wasted rack

width,” said Brett. “Narrow Aisle racking

suited Hobson’s warehouse requirements

and allowed them to fit more racks within

the same space and store more product

than they were previously able to.”

Total Racking SystemsTel: 1300 301 144Email: info.totalracking.com.auwww.totalracking.com.au

Benefits for customers and warehouse

workers

Colby’s racking solution is sturdy and

oversized so it makes it easy to navigate

and it allows more stock to be held in

the same space, maximising the use of

available space. The increased efficiency

and productivity of the DC allowed

Hobson to supply their customers faster

than any other supplier in the industry and

ship products overnight.

During the two-month installation of the

new Colby Storage Solutions racking,

Hobson found that its warehouse

employees reacted well, as the benefits

to the efficiency of warehouse operations

were obvious from very early on.

Future proofing the warehouse

Hobson maintains a vision for a

sustainable future through continuous

improvement and technology-based

workflow.

“Total Racking Systems and Colby Storage

Solutions again worked out the best

solution for our warehouse requirements

and we look forward to continuing our

strong relationship with them,” said Geoff.

“They have also assisted us in looking to

the future operations of our businesses,

and the racking has been future proofed

for self-driving forklifts in the future.”

ColbyRACK is designed, engineered,

and manufactured in Australia by

Dematic Pty Ltd.

www.totalracking.com.au

Total Racking Systems185 S Creek Rd, Cromer NSW 2099 Tel: 1300 301 144Email: info@totalracking.com.au

Total Racking SystemsTel: 1300 301 144Email: info.totalracking.com.auwww.totalracking.com.au