A new Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) Ride-On Sweeper has become the pride of the fleet in a fast-expanding Victorian distribution business riding the wave of demand for specialty pet nutrition products.
Arnhem Pet Products has recently opened a 4,000-square-metre, purpose-built supply centre to service a niche segment of the annual $4 billion pet food industry.
It has fitted out the new warehouse with new racking and integrated a new Toyota Reach forklift, as well as an innovative Toyota order picker, all managed by a specialised stock control system.
Most importantly, it has bought its first floor sweeper.
“Our food products are imported, already packaged for retail, so presentation is vital,” said Jayde Growcott, Arnhem co-owner.
“The warehouse is sealed to keep dust to a minimum, and at the end of each shift, it is swept with our battery electric ride-on sweeper.”
“It’s so popular there’s competition amongst our warehouse staff to use it.”
The Toyota S28B Ride-on Sweeper has become a symbol of the success of the start-up company, begun in a small 300-square-meter shed by Jayde and his business partner, Waruna Seneviratne, just eleven years ago.
The partners have moved four times, expanding in size and capacity each time.
Now they’ve designed and built their own premises in Pakenham, 50 kms east of the Melbourne CBD, receiving products from international sources and distributing to companies across Australia.
The pet business has become big business.
The size of the specialty pet food industry has increased exponentially, spurred by pet owners demanding high-quality nutrition solutions for their animals, even on a breed-by-breed basis.
Ethically sourced materials and full traceability of product origin have become industry bywords and requirements.
Arnhem Pet Products has partnered since the outset with specialist supplier TMHA to provide forklift and pallet jack solutions appropriate to their expanding size.
“We still have our first 1.8-tonne counter-balance forklift, our single most expensive machinery purchase at the start of our company,” Jayde said.
The fleet has now grown to eight, including an innovative combination OSE120CB forklift-order picker recommended by TMHA to streamline product selection in the new warehouse.
“We import from six locations throughout the world, and while there aren’t a huge number of products, our customers can choose from up to 450+ stock-keeping units,” Jayde said.
“Our customer order sizes could vary from a hand full of items up to a semi-trailer load depending on their needs.
“The flexibility of Toyota’s OSE120CB order picker has substantially sped up the process.”
“It enables the operator to easily step off to manually pick an item in the most efficient possible manner and with a view to optimising operator ergonomics.”
Specialised racking within the warehouse provides 3,000 pallet spaces to a height of eight metres.
In an industry in which shelf-life matters, turnaround time from order to transhipping is less than 48 hours, demanding high efficiency in material handling.
All Arnhem’s material handling machinery is battery electric.
“It reduces noise and emissions within the warehouse, which is essential to meet expectations within our industry,” Jayde said.
“We designed the warehouse to accept pallets and containers in a separate, dedicated area open to trucks 24/7. The area can accommodate up to six shipping containers simultaneously.”
“Our forklifts then perform the transfer.”
Demand for pet food in Australia will exceed $4 billion in 2026, with about 80% through large supermarkets.
Arnhem Pet Products services the remaining 20%, made up of three substantial specialty chains and multiple independent retailers.
“There’s a lot of competition, but also a lot of specialty demand, which is why we are constantly sourcing products that meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated market,” Jayde said.
One of Arnhem’s many lines is sourced from a company in Iceland which trawls and processes cod, herring, wolfish, and salmon for high-quality restaurants, then produces offcuts for pet food snacks.
“It’s a long way from our start-up, which we began without product or, for that matter, customers,” Jayde said.
“We’d hand deliver ourselves and sell to local retailers.”
“It was the first time I’d worked for myself, and with a family of three young daughters, now four, it was something of a leap of faith.”
Now his eldest daughter, Charlie, is now part of the Arnhem team.
For Jayde, the arrival of the company’s Toyota S28B Ride-on Sweeper was highly symbolic.
“In our previous warehouses, we used two big brooms and a dustpan,” he said.
“When we built this new warehouse, we agonized whether to go to the expense of laying diamond-polished concrete in our office and administrative area, but we did,” Jayde said.
“Then we had the warehouse floor poured and finished with a power trowel to guarantee a super-smooth surface.”
“Presentation is important.”
“In so many ways, the ride-on sweeper is the icing on the cake.”
