Midwest Kitchens - Project Profile
Push-Back Pallet Rack Enables Cooler Expansion for Growing Prepared Foods Kitchen
“They were able to increase our palletized meat products by nearly 40% while maintaining nine-foot aisles and using our existing lift truck.”
When valuable warehouse space is limited and physical expansion isn't an option because of footprint or cost, high-density pallet storage may be the solution. Midwest Kitchens selected RIDG-U-RAK Push-Back Pallet Rack to add an additional bay of storage to its refrigerated warehouse.
Midwest Kitchens’ Issue
- Limited refrigerated warehouse space
- Need to increase pallet storage of food products
- Lift trucks must work with loading delivery vans
RIDG-U-RAK’s Solution
- Higher-density rack storage
- Two-deep push-back system
- Three pallet positions high
- No special lift equipment required
The Midwest Kitchens Story
With growing sales and a planned market expansion, Midwest Kitchens, a regional provider of sous vide meat products, needed more refrigerated storage capacity. The cooler stores both raw and processed meats in pallet quantities and requires ready access to most pallet positions.
The existing cooler was configured with two and a half rows of up to 18 bays of three-high selective pallet rack and two large aisles. Its layout allowed lift-truck access to each pallet position, but it did not allow for additional vertical space or another aisle for more rack.
Midwest Kitchens needed to increase its storage density. Adding another row of selective rack in a two-deep configuration would have required specialized deep-reach lift equipment - equipment that could not be used efficiently to load enclosed delivery vans. The new system needed to work with the company’s existing lift truck.
Working with Material Handling Enterprises, its local RIDG-U-RAK distributor, Midwest Kitchens reconfigured the existing pallet rack. The project added a complete row of 18 bays of three-high, two-deep push-back pallet rack to maximize storage density.
The new system increased Midwest Kitchens’ palletized meat-product storage by nearly 40% while preserving nine-foot aisles and allowing continued use of its existing lift truck.
About Midwest Kitchens
Midwest Kitchens provides local restaurants, catering services, and the hospitality industry with sous vide meat products. Sous vide is French for “under vacuum” and refers to cooking food vacuum-sealed in a bag in a precisely controlled water bath at a low, consistent temperature for an extended time. This technique helps ensure even cooking and retains the food’s natural flavors and moisture.
To learn more, visit Midwest Kitchens.
Push-Back Storage
Push-back systems offer storage density similar to drive-in rack while improving selectivity and accessibility for a range of SKUs. Products are stored in lanes on carts-on-rails, typically two to six pallets deep. From one aisle, the operator loads a pallet by pushing back the stored pallets to the next cart position. When a pallet is retrieved, each subsequent pallet moves forward into a ready position.
This last-in, first-out system reduces picking time when many picking faces are required. RIDG-U-RAK’s patented design uses large coated wheels, sealed bearings, and linked carts for smooth operation.
Features & Benefits
- Higher utilization of available pallet positions
- Easy-rolling carts with large coated wheels
- Low-maintenance sealed bearings
- Linked carts and cart anti-lift-out devices
- Low cart stack height
Applications
- Universal product storage
- Aisle access to each pick face
- Large numbers of SKUs and pick faces