GS Yuasa Prepares for the Future
GS Yuasa operates a state-of-the-art factory in Ebbw Vale, Wales, and has five strategically located distribution centers in Milan, Lyon, Madrid, Düsseldorf, and Swindon. The company is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of automotive and industrial batteries, as well as accessories. Yuasa established its UK operations in Swindon in 1981, initially running two separate warehouses—one for industrial batteries and one for automotive batteries—located less than ten kilometers apart, which complicated logistics.
A Future-Proof Operation
As sales continued to grow, it became clear that the existing warehouses could no longer keep up. Capacity was insufficient, and order processing needed to be faster to meet rising demand.
Following a thorough needs assessment, Yuasa decided to consolidate all operations into one, more efficient facility. This would allow for better storage, picking, packing, and shipping—under one roof.
Since modern warehouse facilities are hard to find in Wiltshire, Yuasa decided to build an entirely new, purpose-built warehouse. An ideal site was found, and construction began in 2022. The new facility spans 180,000 square feet (approx. 16,700 square meters), and despite its large size, efficient planning is essential to fully optimize the space.
Automation Driving Growth
To make the most of its new warehouse, Yuasa needed a smart logistics solution. After evaluating several options, they selected Toyota Material Handling UK Ltd to design a system capable of delivering the capacity, speed, and picking accuracy they required.
Toyota developed a solution that combines deep storage pallet racking with EAB’s Radioshuttle™ system and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Thanks to this technology, the loading and retrieval of pallets has gone from a time-consuming and costly process to one that is fast, safe, precise, and fully automated.
The space-efficient storage system accommodates up to 900,000 batteries. With the help of EAB’s Radioshuttle™ and Toyota’s AGVs, up to 50,000 batteries — equivalent to 15 to 20 truckloads—can be packed and shipped from the warehouse each day.
“We’ve never been able to store this many batteries before. Thanks to this solution, we now have 100% stock availability, which means our customer service is better than ever — and it wasn’t exactly bad to begin with,” says Danny Sturgeon, Production and Automation Manager at Yuasa.
Smoother, Safer, and More Efficient
The new warehouse solution has brought several major improvements for Yuasa, as Danny Sturgeon explains:
“In addition to maximizing storage capacity, picking has become much smoother. Since all picking now happens in a single ground-level zone, our staff no longer need to walk long distances between pick locations. At the same time, the working environment has become safer, as the picking tunnel is a pedestrian-only zone—forklifts simply aren’t allowed there.”
He continues:
“We’ve also replaced traditional forklifts with AGVs that operate 24/7 without interruption. This has freed up personnel, who we’ve reassigned to other roles within the company.”
“Another major advantage is that automation has virtually eliminated damage to the warehouse. Previously, accidents could happen when handling pallets, but that risk is now almost entirely gone,” he adds.
This project is the first in the UK to combine both automated reach trucks and the Radioshuttle™ system. In total, six Radioshuttles™ and six AGVs are used to move pallets into the racking system and ensure that the picking tunnel is continuously replenished.
We’re extremely happy with the results. We’ve significantly boosted productivity. Having the capacity for 900,000 batteries and the ability to ship 50,000 daily is a massive improvement, enabling us to meet our customers’ needs every day. Plus, we now have room to grow for at least the next 15 years,
– Danny Sturgeon, Production and Automation Manager at Yuasa