Toll and Mars open automated DC in Truganina featuring driverless forklifts

A new fully automated purpose-built distribution centre built by Toll for Mars Wrigley Australia has opened in Truganina in Melbourne’s west.  

The new warehouse uses 17 driverless forklifts, or Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) to manage most of the workload, powered by state-of-the-art technology from Dematic. 

“[The facility] is designed purpose-built for Mars and to support their national distribution to Australia. It’s a multi-chamber facility, multi-temperature, and it’s heavily automated,” said Jason Bush, Head of Warehousing at Toll.  

“The selection of technology partners is really important for us and in this case, we’ve selected Dematic for this operation,” Bush said.   

Toll Global Logistics President Peter Stokes said AGVs interface with the existing warehouse management system to track product flow from production to storage and all the way through to dispatch.
 
“This is the future of supply chain and logistics. The technology used in this new warehouse has multiple benefits, including automating traditionally manual activity to significantly boost productivity,” he said 

Bigger than two MCG’s, the state-of-the-art facility built by Toll allows Mars Wrigley to store an additional 31,000 pallets or more than 700 million Mars bars, removing the need for offsite storage.  

“This facility achieves the ability for us to provide increased capacity in holding as a warehouse, so we can now hold up to 730 million Mars bars,” said Chris Georgiou, Supply Chain Director of Mars Wrigley.  

“It also gives us greater room to grow, moving from a 19,000 pallet warehouse to a 50,000 pallet warehouse which better supports our growth ambitions in the Australian market,” he said. 

The robust design of the AGVs means they can withstand the typically challenging environment of a warehouse, all whilst providing a 360° safety field of protection with automatic sensors to detect any obstruction, which enables it to co-work with operators and any other warehouse machinery or vehicles. 

Source: Toll Group