Western Pacific Storage Solutions Teams with RMH Systems to Produce Custom Design for Napa Auto Parts Distribution Center
Company Description
This case study is brought to you by Western Pacific Storage Solutions. WPSS is a premier, customer-driven storage-product manufacturer committed to excellence, quality, value added service and building long-term relationships with our customers and vendors.
They started from a hand-drawn sketch.
Breck & Sherry Loos, the owners of several Napa Auto Parts stores west of Chicago, Illinois, had purchased an old, empty Wal-Mart in Princeton, IL, to serve as both a new store and a regional parts distribution center. Once satisfied with their preliminary sketch for storage shelving, they taped it out on the floors and then brought in John Haglund of Iowa-based RMH Systems, to refine the design and move the project forward.
RMH Systems, is an independent systems integrator dedicated to helping customers maximize productivity, efficiency and safety while improving profitability. The company has been focused on the ergonomics of workspaces for 75 years and John’s industrial system experience stretches back over two decades.
The shelving footprint, overall size and desired features were impressive – 85 by 95 feet, two levels with two landing areas, four stairways, and there was a strong desire for 48-inch bays. According to Haglund, “That last feature was a major reason to specify the Deluxe system from Western Pacific Storage Solutions. We were seeing only 36-inch bays elsewhere, and that capacity was a difference-maker.” The owners also wanted a shelving system with easy adjusting shelves so the Deluxe system became the preferred one.
WPSS’ Midwest regional sales manager, Joe Cascio, added, “We looked at the space and discussed the requirements. At first, John was considering RiveTier shelving, but because we’ve done hundreds of auto parts stores and distribution centers from one-level seven-foot-high shelving to multi-level catwalk systems, the strength and flexibility of Deluxe shelving made it ideal.”
Lyle Kreiner, engineer at RMH Systems, turned the rough layout into a professional drawing and then used video conferencing to work interactively with WPSS engineers and the owners. “Being able to move things around while brainstorming and collectively fine-tuning it really helped build confidence that WPSS could deliver what we envisioned. That real-time collaboration was essential to getting what we wanted,” Haglund said.
WPSS project manager Alex Rivas put the plans through a give-and-take process (with several renderings) until the design was solid and the clients were satisfied.
Cascio continued, “The final design included a tunnel through the system to allow for fork truck access. A real plus in the end, in addition to the tunnel, was the customers’ desire for the shelving to be NAPA blue. WPSS had several blue choices and one was a match. We went with safety yellow on the stairs, railings and kick plates; the end-user was delighted. The owners were in a hurry to install the project and WPSS met all deadlines.
While price is an extremely important prerequisite; the ‘value added’ components of WPSS experienced sales team, the estimating engineers, and the project management group deliver a quality design.
“Through the entire process, any time we had an issue, the WPSS team was on it and came up with solutions very quickly. Everything was ASAP, and the whole team really delivered – from sales to design, through fabrication and shipping. They were very positive and great to work with.”
“This was my first experience with WPSS, and I plan on this becoming a long term relationship,” said Haglund.
