November 17, 2025

Warm collaboration in the icy cold: Agristo’s automated cold storage warehouse

In Wielsbeke in West Flanders, Agristo is building on the future of its logistics. Here, temperatures drop far below zero and ambitions reach much higher than the new high-bay warehouse with a capacity of 40,000 pallet locations. What began as a complex greenfield assignment has grown into a stable, scalable and secure solution. The secret? Transparency, independent thinking and teams that work closely together.

An ice-cold project, built on a foundation of warm collaboration.

Growth that calls for more than storage space

As a leading producer of frozen potato products, Agristo knows the impact of growth better than anyone. Demand for fries has grown in recent years, and the products are selling like, well, hot cakes. The need for capacity, speed and reliability is growing too.

In Wielsbeke, the existing warehouses were hitting its limits. A solution that could do more than just stack pallets was required: a system that could optimise the outbound flow, from pallet inspection to loading.

“We wanted more than mere technology,” says Tuur Duchi, project manager at Agristo. “It had to be an integrated solution – reliable and stable, but also flexible enough to allow us to keep growing.”

Transparency first and foremost

From day one, Agristo and E’Log were entirely transparent with each other about planning, choices and costs. Decisions were made together, with all the cards on the table.

This approach created trust through good cooperation and clear reporting, ensuring a smooth follow-up.

For E’Log, this was a matter of course. As an independent integrator with no fixed brands or catalogue, we always start with the flow, footprint and future plans of the customer in mind.

So we had a 100% custom design for Wielsbeke: technology chosen because it was the right match, not because of the brand.

The result: a solution that was perfectly aligned with Agristo’s way of working – robust, logical and easy to manage.

Complex in the background, but still simple to use. It represents E’Log’s philosophy of ‘simplexity’ in practice.

A growing team in an evolving project

What started out with a compact core team grew into a multidisciplinary project during implementation, with specialists in software, electromechanics and construction.

The schedule was constantly evolving, which required flexibility from everyone involved.

E’Log opted for standardisation in order to keep the complexity manageable. For example, new control cabinets and PLC software were developed as reusable modules. This shortened the lead time and ensured a consistent level of quality across all subsystems.

“What struck us most was the high level of engagement,” Tuur continues. “Everyone thought along with us, from design to launch. If something needed to be adjusted, it was done immediately and with respect for reality on the shop floor. This inspired confidence and ensured that the project continued to move in the right direction.”

Smart technology, designed for reliability

In an environment where the temperature is kept below zero at all times, reliability is crucial.

The new monorail shuttle system forms the backbone of the warehouse: thirteen shuttles that transport pallets between incoming and outgoing zones at 2.5 metres per second.

The pallets also pass through various inspection points along the way.

First, they are scanned and weighed, and the profile is checked. Deviations are automatically corrected by a squeezer unit; only a fraction, about five percent, still requires manual intervention.

At the docks, an automatic loading system ensures that up to 33 pallets are loaded into a truck at once. This is a first for Agristo: a pilot project that has been added to the overall system and is being further optimised in the meantime. It significantly reduces the loading time and ensures a smoother and safer flow.

The result? Less waiting time, fewer manual operations and more peace of mind in the process.

Cutting-edge collaboration

As well as technology, a project of this size requires mutual respect and agility.

When the construction schedule shifted or a supplier was delayed, we revised the planning together. We worked through the weekend on several occasions to keep production going.

“It never felt like ‘us and them’,” says Tuur. “Everyone pulled together. That made all the difference.”

The service engineers of both Agristo and E’Log were also involved from the outset. Since they have in-depth knowledge of the installations, they were able to help determine what was feasible, safe and easy to maintain based on their practical understanding.

Combining practical, on-the-ground experience with the design team’s expertise made it possible to develop a system that is not only technically robust but also works seamlessly in daily operations.

This made the project more efficient, as well as guaranteeing long-term knowledge transfer and involvement.

Service as an extension of the collaboration

Service is also where the collaboration between Agristo and E’Log began a few years ago. When Agristo was looking for a reliable service partner, E’Log quickly came into the picture.

“Service used to be a matter of course, but clearly that isn’t the case any longer,” says Tuur Duchi. “Many companies have great slogans, but don’t live up to them. E’Log does, though. They also prove this on our sites in Nazareth and Tilburg.”

This experience gave Agristo the confidence to involve E’Log in the new cold storage warehouse as well. They helped with service initially, and later with design and implementation.

Today, E’Log is once again responsible for the full maintenance of the automatic transport system in Wielsbeke.

Two technicians are present on site all year round, in a rotating schedule to ensure that everyone remains familiar with the installation and that knowledge is widely shared.

Every week, maintenance tasks and work orders are scheduled together with the Agristo team so that the installation can be cleared safely.

E’Log is also responsible for all corrective interventions, and it supplies the necessary parts for planned and urgent work.

“The big advantage of doing it this way,” says Tuur, “is that you don’t have to keep explaining how everything works. The technicians know our people and our processes. Besides making maintenance faster, it also makes it much more efficient.”

Every quarter, there is a joint service meeting where the teams evaluate what is going well and where adjustments can be made – in both directions. This openness ensures that improvements are immediately put into practice.

As a result, the system continues to operate smoothly whilst evolving in step with the organisation.

A foundation that continues to grow

With maintenance firmly under control, Agristo is now looking to the future with E’Log.

The results are clearly noticeable: higher throughput, shorter loading times and less need for external storage. And this combination of modularity, standardisation and transparency has paved the way for the next steps.

There are already expansions in the pipeline: Agristo is also building a dry store warehouse on the same site. This will be connected to the production environment by a bridge, including automated lifts and conveyors that transport goods to different levels.

It’s the next chapter in the same story, built on trust and designed to keep performing.