HYDAC Corporation

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HYDAC Corporation February 11, 2012

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Problem: Help the HYDAC Corporation grow and optimize business operations without building a new plant

Solution: Implement a high-density, automated storage-and-retrieval system

Benefits: Tripled storage capacity in the same square footage

Products Used: STAK System®

The HYDAC Corporation had an ambitious growth plan: double its business without physically expanding its facility. Thanks in part to some forward thinking by HYDAC management—and the help of Vidmar, the HYDAC Corporation has been able to meet and exceed their goal.

HYDAC management knew that as the plant’s output grew, it would need to stock a greater diversity of parts and would need to turn those parts over more quickly. But storage was already maxed out. The 60,000-sq.-ft. facility had been using fixed racking with mezzanines on top for storage and expanding them would require more floor area than the plant could spare.

After speaking with Vidmar, HYDAC settled on a STAK automated storage-and-retrieval system: a single-operator system with a built-in, lifting-and-handling device that uses adjustable pallets to maximize storage density. The 16-ft.-high columns of the STAK System® let the plant squeeze more parts into less space—as little as half the space used by HYDAC’s old rack-and-mezzanine system.

The increased density has even left room for more STAK Systems. Eventually, the plant could triple its storage capacity in the same floor area used by the old system. “The STAK System is very versatile,” says operations manager Mike Rooney. “It's a great way to get into high-density storage.”