Construction of Australia’s largest ever warehouse nears completion

Construction of Amazon’s first robotics fulfilment centre (FC), and the largest warehouse ever built in Australia, is nearing completion.

Spanning at 200,000 sqm, the new Kemps Creek facility is set to create more than 1,500  jobs for locals.

The robotics fulfilment centre will be Amazon’s second FC in Western Sydney, and sixth in Australia. It will be Australia’s largest warehouse in history.

More than 4,000 people have worked on the construction and fit out of the site which included installation of around 14 kilometres of advanced conveyancing equipment and 2.5 kilometres of Amazon Robotics safety fencing.

Approximately 37,000 yellow storage pods have been built to house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on the Amazon website including jewelry, books, and electronics.

Hundreds of robotics drives have also been commissioned, which will work collaboratively with employees by moving the pods of inventory to them. This reduces the time and effort that would otherwise be required for the worker to stow items for sale or pick them for new customer orders.

Additionally, they also save space, allowing for 50 per cent more items to be stowed per square metre which in turn allows for increased product selection.

Craig Fuller, Director of Operations at Amazon Australia, said the opening of the site will double Amazon’s operational footprint in the country while creating more than 1,500 local jobs in Western Sydney.

“The introduction of robotics enables us to exponentially increase our capacity for storing inventory, providing additional opportunities for the thousands of small and medium sized Australian businesses we support, while increasing product selection and improving delivery speed for our customers around the country,” Fuller said .

When it opens, the FC will offer a diverse range of job opportunities ranging from IT, HR and robotics professionals, to associates who will work collaboratively with the robotics, to pick, pack and ship items to customers.

Hiring has already started for the site, including the promotion and transfer of around 130 existing employees from Amazon’s Moorebank FC.

Related: Amazon Australia announces 1,000 job opportunities for the holidays

The majority of jobs at the Amazon Robotics site will be available next year.

“We’re pleased to offer quality employment opportunities for people in Western Sydney in a safe and positive work environment, at a time when they are needed most,” Fuller said.

“Along with specialised positions in areas like robotics, we have a range of roles that don’t require formal qualifications and provide an opportunity to work alongside advanced technology and build a career at Amazon,” he said.

“We’re excited to welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences to our team in the new year.”

Amazon’s new FC, Australia’s largest warehouse, is set to be operational by 2022.

Source: Amazon Australia