CN Seeds chose a rebuilt Flexi VNA G4 AC model to serve its warehouse.

Cambridgeshire seed company CN Seeds Ltd has reconfigured its warehouse after consistent year-on-year sales growth caused the 45,000 sqft. (4,181 sqm) facility in Ely to approach capacity.

Instead of incurring the costs of building a new store, CN narrowed the aisleways of its humidity-controlled warehouse and introduced an articulated forklift.

The store was originally divided by two aisles, with single pallet runs on the outside of each aisle and two further back-to-back runs in between. This racking arrangement gave CN good storage but did not use the floor space effectively.

By reconfiguring the site around 1.8 m (5.9 ft.) aisle widths, CN has been able to add an extra 176 pallet locations or 25% more places in the facility.

CN also chose a rebuilt Flexi VNA G4 AC model instead of a reach truck to serve the warehouse.

At CN, incoming orders arrive in bulk bags and are unloaded from trailers using a counterbalance truck. The seed is cleaned and repackaged in 25 kg (55 lb.) bags, which are put away in the store on a pallet before they are picked for delivery to CN's customers.

"The articulated truck option was more space efficient than using a reach truck, which we had considered," says CN Seeds' Dan Nye.

"Furthermore, the Flexi is easier to drive and faster in operation than reach trucks which, given that each pallet load of cleaned and packaged seed can be worth as much as GBP40,000 (USD66,000), was an important consideration too," Nye adds.