With the completion of the first rack-supported automated freezer warehouse system in Mexico, SSI Schäfer has implemented a project in the Central American market in Asguascalientes, a town about 560 kilometers north west of Mexico City. One special feature at La Huerta, the Mexican manufacturer of frozen vegetables, is the statically self-supporting high-bay warehouse, which meets all safety and building regulations in an area that is considered a seismic zone.

The warehouse, which is just under 8,750 m², 33 meters high, and 140 meters long, has room for 13,200 pallet locations over eleven levels. The entire enclosed area has a constant temperature of -23° Celsius. With up to 90 storage and retrieval operations per hour, pallets are moved by one of three automated storage and retrieval machines.

"The automation enabled us to reduce personnel by 40 percent and cut operational costs by 35 percent", Felipe Arteaga, commercial director of La Huerta, explains. Arteaga estimates that the facility is saving the company between 70,000 and 80,000 US dollars per month. The costs for the facility are expected to pay off within four years.