Volkswagen Group of America was looking to repurpose an existing storage warehouse into a large automotive parts distribution center at its Sacramento, California location. The repurposed building required an array of materials including a 20,000 square foot three-level pick module mezzanine, metal shelving and drawers, a material lift to move items for shipping and restocking, with additional lighting and sprinklers.

“They wanted a turnkey project,” says Dave Johnson, material handling specialist. “Everything that was involved from the mezzanine, the shelving, the material lift, along with sprinklers and lighting was integrated into one system, through one company – W.W. Cannon.”

Project Planning, Engineering & Permits

Volkswagen had a layout in mind that showed the dimensions of the pick module mezzanine and where the lift and shelving should go when they contacted us for the project. The end goal was an efficient, integrated system to move inventory up and down from the ground level to the other two levels, with quick and easy picking from the organized shelving and storage system.

But to make this turnkey request a reality, Johnson had some hurdles to overcome.

“With California being a high seismic zone, there was a lot of engineering that went into the project and permitting with the city,” Johnson says. “Much of that had to do with the building itself. What type of slab? We had to pour footings for each of the mezzanine columns and get that inspected. The position of the lift moved from the initial drawings. All told we went through four drawing approvals.”

Once the purchase order was made, the planning process began in earnest.  Planning, drawing and permitting took until just after Christmas, which required W.W. Cannon to accelerate the timetable to complete the installation before Volkswagen moved into the building.

Completed Ahead Of Schedule

“We finished around the end of April and were able to meet their timeline,” Johnson says. We were able to get the project complete ahead of schedule before they needed to go live.”

Johnson attributes much of the success of the project to the stellar W.W. Cannon installation crew. “Communication between us, Volkswagen and our own installation crew made it run smoothly.”  This was a true team effort, not only between W.W. Cannon and Volkswagen,  but also with the manufacturers for the project: Cogan, Rousseau and PFlow.

A Success Story In Every Way

Once installation was complete, a manager for Volkswagen told Dave Johnson, “I had the opportunity to see the finished mezzanine during the grand opening event a couple of weeks ago. The structure looks fantastic! I’m very appreciative of you for coordinating all your teams to have the structure in place prior to our go-live date. We’re very fortunate to be able to work with a great company and great people like you on the project.”

View our case study in the 2016 4th Quarter MHEDA Journal on pages 42 and 44.  2016 MHEDA Journal – W.W. Cannon Helps Put Volkswagen’s Distribution Center into Drive

or call us at 800.442.3061 for consultation on your next project.  We look forward to assisting you.