Dematic is to install state-of-the-art automation technology in a new parts warehouse to be built for parent company KION Group. This project has recently started at a site in Kahl am Main, near Aschaffenburg in Germany.
After completion in about two years, several KION Group brands will start using the warehouse with the aim of delivering spare parts even more efficiently. The plan is to install a multi-shuttle system with some 110,000 storage locations and 150 shuttles for automated storage and order picking. The company will also build a scalable high bay warehouse with six aisles and around 24,000 pallet locations. Linde Material Handling, a fellow KION group company, will supply several autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for this new site.
Sample project
"This highly automated new parts warehouse will be a leading project for Dematic and the entire KION Group and also a good example project for our own technologies," says Andrea Campora, senior vice president of Dematic in EMEA. "Dematic and Linde will jointly use this warehouse upon completion. This will also provide closer integration between employees from different disciplines, who can benefit from each other's expertise in the process."
Less dependent
Apart from more efficient processes, the new parts warehouse will also offer other benefits. "The warehouse enables us to expand production capacity, become less dependent on external deliveries and facilitate the further growth of our business in all German-speaking countries and beyond." The new warehouse is expected to enable almost 100 per cent availability of spare parts and higher customer satisfaction through faster deliveries. With its eco-friendly construction and a photovoltaic system, CO2 savings also help make the site more climate-neutral.
Multishuttle at height
The multi-shuttle system can handle different sized totes and containers. Items that are too large and therefore not stored in the multishuttle will be packed on pallets and stored in one of the six aisles of the high bay warehouse. A special aspect of this facility is that a multishuttle is installed on an approximately five-metre-high steel structure. The stations for order picking, packing and other operations, are placed under the multi-shuttle platform. The efficient and automated loading and unloading of the flow of goods is carried out by modular electric transport systems from Dematic in combination with Linde's AMRs.
Completed before 2025
"Due to the increased service level, the entire system can process orders that come in up to 4pm," Campora explains. "These can then be in transit, or arrive on site the very next day." This project highlights the close cooperation and extensive expertise in logistics solutions under the aegis of the entire KION Group. Construction is expected to be completed just before 2025, after which the facility will be commissioned. "The completion of this project is of course a milestone for KION's strategic objectives, but the positive impact of this new facility will soon be experienced by all customers. We are realising it in the interest of our customers," Campora summarises.
