20
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 6, 1972
A Look at Agway’s New Distribution Center
The new Agway Distribution
Center which opened last week
near Elizabethtown is a marvel
of technological efficiency. The
130,000 square foot, steel in
sulated structure occupes a 34-
acre site between old Route 230
and Zeager Road, west of
Elizabethtown and was built by
Cumberland Buildings Corp. of
Carlisle.
“The Elizabethtown facility is
the second of three such centers
planned by Agway,” Goddard
noted “One has been operating
at Geneva, N.Y., since 1970, and a
third, at Westfield, Mass, is
scheduled to open in June ”
The 130,000-square-foot, steel
insulated structure occupies a 34-
acre site between old Route 230
and Zeager Road, west of
Elizabethtown and was built by
Cumberland Buildings Corp. of
Carlisle.
Some 10,000 products, including
farm mechanical and electrical
equipment, paint, tools and
harware items; tires and
automotive accessories; building
supplies, and home, lawn and
garden commodities are stocked
at Elizabethtown
The new facility serves 200
Agway stores and dealers in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Maryland and Delaware.
One of the features of the new
Items which are in demand are stocked
on pallets on shelves and a towmotor is
used to load stock and remove stock from
the shelves.
ANNOUNCIMINT
As of April 24, 1972
Mr. J. Wilbur
Sollenberger
WILL BECOME ASSOCIATED
WITH
PAUL I. SHEAFFER
INSURANCE AGENCY
Intercourse, Pa.
Phone 768-8236 - 392-8900 - 394-1753
distribution center is its hookup
with a computer at Agway
headquarters at Syracuse, N.Y.,
which keeps records of all items
in stock for faster and more ac
curate order filling and inventory
maintenance.
To fill orders, employees guide
automated equipment which has
been programmed to follow the
most efficient route in gathering
items. A continuous chain moves
tow carts through the building,
gathering items for orders and
replenishing stock.
A giant “stacker crane”
system retrieves large and bulky
items from a 50-foot high storage
area of the building. A punch
card system directs the crane to
raise, lower and stack palletized
supplies.
The center has loading and
unloading facilities for ten
tractor-trailers and three rail
cars
Ervin J. Jordie of
Elizabethtown, former manager
of Agway’s Geneva Distribution
Center, will manage the new
facility Guy Byrd, manager of
Agway’s West Concord, Mass.,
warehouse, will serve as plant
superintendent. A total of 55
persons will be employed when
the facility operates at full
capaicty in June
These trucks run on a chain driven belt distribution center so that items can be
in a continuous circle around the pulled from stock easily and quickly.
giant stacker crane moves items too heavy for human hands up to 50 feet in
height and stores them
Agway's ultra-modern distribution center features cantilever shelves for long,
hard to stock items such as pipe.