JA Higashinihon Kumiai Shiryo Corporation Improved Production Volumes and Quality with Automation
JA Higashinihon Kumiai Shiryo Corporation uses material handling equipment to fully automate the production processes of livestock mixed feeds, establishing a high-mix, low-volume system that ensures safety and security.
JA Higashinihon Kumiai Shiryo Corporation (headquartered in Gunma) is a feed manufacturer that is part of JA Zennoh Group, which produces and sells mixed feeds for livestock such as cows, pigs and chickens. The company covers 16 prefectures in Japan including the Kanto, Koshinetsu, Tokai and Hokuriku areas. The company has an approximate 30 percent market share. In March 2009, the company built a new factory exclusively for chicken and pig feeds that features material handling equipment at its Chita Factory in Aichi, a core production site. With the changes, both product safety and equipment functionality were enhanced, and productivity of high-mix, low-volume items was significantly increased.
Utilizing an AS/RS and STVs to produce 42,000 tons of mixed feeds monthly
The new factory is six stories high. A unit load AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) is installed in an open space on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. The AS/RS fills the shipping area on the 2nd floor. STVs (Sorting Transfer Vehicles) are used to transport the loads between processes. Raw material plants are located on the 2nd through 6th floors and are used to process ingredients such as corn, wheat and soy meal.
Mixed feeds are produced by blending ingredients with various vitamins. Next, they are poured into special containers and stored in the unit load AS/RS. In shipping, retrieved containers are inverted and placed directly onto bulk transport trucks on the floor below a discharge opening. Some of the products are also bagged in the processing area for shipment. The unit load AS/RS (banks one and two) stores the raw materials and bagged products. Finally, the raw materials are retrieved on the 3rd floor and lifted to supply each plant.
Reducing production lead times of over 300 brands by approximately 30 percent
Over 300 kinds of feeds for pigs and chickens are effectively produced from 170 raw materials to meet diversified customers’ needs. Previously, processes such as preparing for filling, transporting, and storing distribution containers were performed manually. The unit load AS/RS and STVs automate the processes allowing for a continuous flow from manufacturing to shipping. Waiting time between warehouses was eliminated. Production lead times, which once took two days, now require only a half day to ship products. As a result, product deterioration caused by pre-made feeds is prevented. Also, the automated system provides complete inventory control to ensure safety.
“By automating and expanding our facility, we streamlined processes and increased capacity. With a quick and steady product supply, we are able to better support livestock farmers by offering safe, secure and high-quality mixed feeds,” says Mr. Hideo Sakamoto, Production Department Manager at Chita Factory.
