PepsiCo chooses Mecalux to equip one of Europe’s largest crisp factories

The intralogistics group Mecaluxwill outfit PepsiCo’s plant in Veurne (Belgium). This facility is one of the largest potato crisp factories in Europe. The Belgian entity of PepsiCo decided to overhaul its logistics operations by building a fully automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) to house the daily production of 2 million bags of crisps and snacks from the Lay’s, Doritos, Buglesand Cheetos brands.

To achieve this goal, PepsiCo will install Mecalux’s Automated Pallet Shuttle system. The AS/RS is one of the most efficient high-density storage solutions on the market, ensuring extremely high product inflows and outflows. To streamline internal goods movements, the Automated Pallet Shuttle system will be connected to PepsiCo’s production plant via a conveyor line extending over 100 m in length. The AS/RS will comprise four aisles with two blocks of racking on each side. Twelve transfer cars (one on each storage level) will move goods to the corresponding storage channel. Once there, a motorised shuttle car will automatically transport pallets to their locations.

PepsiCo will also implement Mecalux’s Easy WMS warehouse management system for real-time stock control. This software will be integrated with the company’s ERP system to ensure that operations run smoothly. It will coordinate the flow of products, managing their journey from production to the AS/RS as well as their seamless preparation for distribution to clients.

PepsiCo acquired the factory in Veurne 25 years ago. Since then, the facility has become one of the largest crisps and snacks production plants in Europe. It spans more than 40,000 m², the size of eight football pitches, and stands out for its cutting-edge and sustainable technology. The new AS/RS from Mecalux will complement the Veurne plant.