It’s an exciting time for the alcohol beverage industry. As the economy has improved throughout the past five years, consumers have enjoyed a rise in disposable income. This translates into more consumers opting for more expensive or premium beverages, such as craft beers.

A facility that contains packaged product, equipment and people has been called many things; however, that big “barn” generally is referred to as a warehouse. These facilities also will vary in size, layout and capabilities.

“SKU proliferation is the largest change the industry has seen in the last decade,” says Aaron Corcoran, account executive for Westfalia Technologies Inc., York, Pa.

Sazerac Co., Metairie, La., is scheduled to install automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and Savanna.Net warehouse management system (WMS) software, provided by York, Pa.-based Westfalia Technologies Inc., in two of its Kentucky distilleries: Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort and The Glenmore Distillery in Owensboro. The Sazerac Co. is the first U.S. spirits producer to use AS/RS technology, according to Westfalia.

Vacuum Barrier Corp. added the EasyDose G2 Lite to its Nitrodose portfolio of liquid nitrogen injection systems.

Although SKU proliferation is nothing new to the beverage industry, the phenomenon still is causing many warehouses to explore different ways to accommodate these growing product lines.

 As many have said during tough times, “There’s nowhere else to go but up.”  

 According to Bill Leber, director of business development for Buchs, Switzerland-based Swisslog, “Capital decisions cast long shadows.”