Our new warehouse in Austria is designed to be 100% safe for everyone, is carbon-neutral from the start, and incorporates innovations to ensure operations are conducted in the most efficient way possible. And it sets a high standard for other Toyota depots around Europe to follow.
Austria’s new parts depot is carbon neutral by design
A blueprint for our future TME Regional depot operations
23/06/2023
A new building with new objectives
On 7 June 2023 we opened our new warehouse in Austria. From this innovative and ecological building, we deliver service parts and accessories to more than 300 dealers spread over Austria, as well as Adria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Needing to move from our old warehouse, we didn’t just want to replicate the old site, but do things better – for us and for our customers. It also fits within the tough target we have set ourselves of achieving carbon neutrality in all our European factories and facilities by 2030. Moreover, the warehouse is to serve as a benchmark to other Toyota depots in Europe.
Carbon neutral from the start
Our new warehouse is our first non-owned (leased) regional depot that’s carbon-neutral from the start. This required a close collaboration with our landlord (CTP) to minimise the energy consumption through 100% LED lighting and energy management systems, as well as using renewable energy from the heat pumps. Highly efficient underfloor heating is installed and as a result of all these measures, the building has obtained EPC* and BREEAM* energy performance and sustainability certificates. By the end of 2023, rooftop solar panels will be installed which are the foundation to make this depot carbon zero.
Safety at the core
The warehouse is designed to be 100% safe for everyone, and the most optimum ergonomic conditions have been implemented. Clearly designated areas show where machines can operate, ensuring full member-machine separation. During standard operations there is no need for someone to be on foot in an area where a machine is being operated. For example, warehouse workers will not have to step off their order picker to bin or pick. This significantly reduces the risk of a serious accident. All the new processes are set up so that any member can do any process, no matter how diverse the group of members is.
The golden zone for high efficiency
We are especially proud on the golden zone in the warehouse. This is a new concept in which we keep our fastest moving parts near the docks between the receiving and shipping area and in which we prepare/pick the orders directly by dealer. This avoids internal movements of these parts to the storage area, enables fast and efficient picking by dealer, which also avoids outgoing sorting, and eliminating repetitive handling of the parts. The new golden zone is a major breakthrough in reducing the lead time for our customers and doing our operations in a highly efficient way.
