Optimal use of Frans Agro's warehouse with Toyota racking

About Frans Agro

Frans Agro is a supplier for landscaping companies, tree nurseries, green areas, not to mention private garden enthusiasts. Due to the enormous growth in their sector, expansion was inevitable. The company opened a brand-new warehouse in Putte and opted for Toyota warehouse equipment and racking.

Facts and figures

• Company: Frans Agro
• Location: Putte, Belgium
• Sector: Garden specialist
• Storage capacity: 3036 Euro pallets - warehouse height 9m
• Products: Drive-in racking, conventional pallet racking, reach truck for drive-in racking, counterbalanced forklift truck and a hand pallet truck

Garden sector grew due to the pandemic

"The garden sector has been doing very well since the pandemic," says managing director Geert Frans of Frans Agro.

"People were forced to stay at home during spring, when the weather was very good. This urged them to work more in the garden to relax. Our web shop performed very well: it was a challenge to process everything on time," he continues.

"We had a huge shortage of space, even though we have a large warehouse in Kampenhout. This created a need for expansion. "

Looking for the optimal racking and truck combination

The choice for Toyota Material Handling was logical for Geert Frans because Toyota can offer a complete solution consisting of forklift trucks and racking solutions. "Throughout the consultancy process the local Logistics Solutions consultant Wilfried Elsen has been very helpful. We talked about the layout for a long time and looked into different possibilities, so I got a very good insight into the total concept," Geert tells us.

"We have many different products and pallets, which leads to a wide variety of pallet loads and pallet sizes. This makes it challenging to come to the best solution. Thanks to Wilfried's excellent guidance, we opted for drive-in racking and conventional pallet racking in combination with a narrow-chassis reach truck," he continues.

Safety is also a very important point for Geert Frans. Toyota has ensured that the racks are optimally protected. Moreover, Geert has also opted for mesh shelves for the conventional pallet racking to prevent small goods from falling.

Toyota as supportive partner throughout the process

"This has been quite the process as we wanted to reach 100% efficiency. The goal was to utilise the entire warehouse. The final racking solution ensures that our warehouse is optimally used for the storage of our goods."

"We received more efficiency, support and service than we asked for. Furthermore, the racking was delivered much faster than expected. Meanwhile, we have also placed an additional order for another part of our warehouse," Geert adds.