Patatas Meléndez Uses Mecalux Technologies to Process 180,000 Tons of Potatoes
With the help of Mecalux intralogistics solutions, Patatas Meléndez, a firm whose 4.0 manufacturing facility has established it as a landmark in Europe, has introduced a warehouse linked to its factory, enabling it to handle up to 180,000 tons of potatoes annually.
“To enhance efficiency, the leading Spanish company in the fresh potato sector has renewed all its logistics and implemented the automatic Pallet Shuttle system with shuttles to increase storage capacity by 700%. In addition, the company can control the status of stock thanks to the Easy WMS warehouse management system,” according to a recent press release.
With a 20% market share in Spain, Patatas Meléndez operates as Meléndez France in France and Batatas Meléndez in Portugal. It exports 15% of its production. To fulfill demand, these additional facilities are essential.
“We have developed a distribution model that allows us to reach practically all supermarkets in Spain in less than 24 hours. We have absolute control of the merchandise from the selection and packaging of the potatoes until they reach the point of sale,” Francisco Pérez, industrial technical director of Patatas Meléndez, explained.
The installation’s brain is the Mecalux logistics program. It guarantees the potatoes’ flawless conservation and traceability, two essential components for Patatas Meléndez, whose 4.0 plant aims to achieve overall excellence.
“The quality of our processes and products is non-negotiable. Easy WMS monitors the potatoes from the moment they enter our facilities until they are sent to customers,” Pérez declared.
Additionally, the warehouse is equipped with an automated Pallet Shuttle system, which moves pallets to their storage channel by way of a 40-meter corridor. Every pallet is then transported by the electric cart to the spot that Easy WMS has designated for it.
The connection between Patatas Meléndez’s production processes and logistics is provided by robotics. Thanks to technology like artificial vision, which is used to choose the potatoes, and automated guided vehicles (AGV), which move the potatoes that have already been treated to the storage area, these operations are entirely autonomous. After that, the potatoes are arranged on pallets with RFID labels, which compile tracking information. They are identified, grouped into batches, given a location, and then automatically stored over a 50-meter circuit via Easy WMS.
“It should be noted that all of the robotic solutions mentioned are intended to achieve exceptional quality of potatoes, as well as to provide greater efficiency to the company. Innovation constitutes one of the greatest challenges of the agri-food sector, and Patatas Meléndez,” the Mecalux company experts concluded.
