Grupo Clazamar automates internal transport of frozen products

Grupo Clazamar automates internal transport of frozen products

Frozen food company Clazamar has tripled its usable storage area with a mezzanine equipped with automatic conveyors and a lift.

Logo Grupo Clazamar

Grupo Clazamar, a distributor of frozen products, has installed an automated internal transport system in its warehouse in Ciudad Real. The company has also built a mezzanine, which has tripled its useful storage area and expedited picking.

Grupo Clazamar: from sea to table

Grupo Clazamar is a distributor of frozen products such as fish, seafood, ice cream, ice, and vegetables, among others. Based in Ciudad Real and with offices in Toledo, Jaén, and Córdoba, the organization is a national benchmark in the sale of frozen food for central Spain’s food and hospitality sectors. Founded in 1992, the company has over 100 employees, a fleet of 80 refrigerated trucks, and more than 15,000 SKUs, which it manages in a storage area spanning more than 2.8 million ft³.

CHALLENGES

  • Optimize space to expand storage capacity at subzero temperatures.
  • Speed up order fulfillment to satisfy growing demand.

SOLUTIONS

  • Automatic pallet conveyors.
  • Automatic pallet lift.
  • Mezzanine floor.
  • Pallet racks.
  • Movirack mobile racking system.

BENEFITS

  • Tripled useful warehousing area for frozen products.
  • Increased agility in storage, picking, internal transport, and shipping to supply customers in under 24 hours.

Grupo Clazamar specializes in storing, managing, and distributing frozen products. In recent years, the company has experienced steady growth. Cold-chain logistics businesses face challenges such as maximizing storage space, properly handling stock at controlled temperatures, and reducing energy consumption.

Logistics is a fundamental part of Grupo Clazamar’s supply chain. “We have over 2.8 million ft³ dedicated to storing frozen food, and we ensure that our cold chain remains intact at all times. Additionally, we have 80 refrigerated vehicles that maintain the required temperatures. They enable us to supply the provinces of Ciudad Real, Toledo, Jaén, Córdoba, Ávila, Albacete, and southern Madrid in less than 24 hours,” says Claudio Vacas, Manager at Grupo Clazamar.

The organization’s wide variety of SKUs are distributed across three warehouses: “Our catalog includes over 15,000 refrigerated and deep-frozen products. Grupo Clazamar’s specialties are fish and seafood, but we also market vegetables, beans, meat, ice cream, and ice. We work with the best national and international suppliers to guarantee the quality of our services on a daily basis.”

Given Grupo Clazamar’s consistent growth, the company turned to Mecalux to enhance its logistics operations. The organization has expanded its logistics center in Ciudad Real with a mezzanine floor operating at -13 °F, an automatic transport system connecting three levels, and pallet racks.

“Thanks to our clients’ confidence in us, over the past few years, we’ve seen business growth that has led us to expand our facilities in Ciudad Real. We’ve allocated approximately 32,300 ft² to picking on three floors and storing 1,800 pallets,” says Vacas.

Two of Grupo Clazamar’s priorities were to improve the efficiency of its logistics processes and speed up product putaway and shipping tasks. “The Mecalux storage and internal transport solutions optimize our delivery times and help us meet our clients’ needs,” says Vacas.

Clazamar incorporates a three-story subzero mezzanine

Pivotal in tripling the useful storage area was the installation of a three-level mezzanine dedicated to picking frozen products such as fish, seafood, ice cream, and bags of ice.

Automatic conveyors and a pallet lift connect the mezzanine’s three stories. Their operation is straightforward: pallets are placed on the conveyors, and the lift moves them to the corresponding level. With this internal transport system, Grupo Clazamar has limited the time operators are exposed to the cold and maximized flows of goods between the different levels.

On the 29.5' tall mezzanine, a specific number of operators perform picking on each of the 10,764 ft² levels. Employees travel up and down the aisles, retrieving products to put together orders. The mezzanine’s design and the direct access to goods make these operators faster, which is essential when fulfilling orders with high-turnover merchandise.

How to raise throughput in less space

“We use our cold-storage and freezer warehouses to fulfill orders, which includes the picking, selection, preparation, packaging, and packing processes,” says Vacas.

To manage goods in these spaces, Grupo Clazamar has installed the Movirack mobile racking system. This is the only high-density storage solution that offers direct access to all frozen products. How so? The racks are installed on mobile bases that move laterally on rails. When an operator uses a remote control device to select the rack they need to access, the rest of the racks cascade open, leaving only that working aisle accessible. The movement of the racks is completely safe: they are equipped with sliding mechanisms, electronic equipment, and safety devices.

How Mecalux optimized cold-chain storage and internal transport

While the mezzanine has tripled Grupo Clazamar’s surface area, automated transport systems have expedited internal movements of goods and streamlined order picking. Moreover, Movirack mobile racking has maximized storage space, offering direct access and maintaining the cold chain.

The various Mecalux storage and internal transport solutions have enhanced the efficiency of Grupo Clazamar’s supply chain. The company can now deliver its 15,000 SKUs in under 24 h and boost its rate of expansion.

Mecalux’s internal transport and storage solutions enable us to effectively tackle all our logistics challenges. They allow us to ensure the quality and preservation of the products in our cold chain, from the port to customers’ tables.

Claudio VacasManager, Grupo Clazamar

Ask an expert