Remmert SUCCESS

The company‘s success stories

500 Pallets in a confined area

Example: Holl GmbH

500 storage areas within just under 138 m²: Remmert was convincing with its space saving warehouse architecture during the integration of an automatic sheet metal storage system at the subcontractor and chimney system manufacturer Holl. The intralogistics supplier implemented a facility from the planning stage to initial operations. The facility could be kept extremely compact due to the small over-traversable dimensions of the storage and retrieval system. Holl stockpiles and manufactures sheet metal from steel, stainless steel and aluminium in sizes from 0.5 to 25 millimeters. In the past, the material was stored in cantilever type shelves or in stacks in the production halls and on the factory premises. The employees kept manual inventory lists. To managing director Ines Rathmann this type of warehousing was no longer contemporary.


Objective

“We haggled over every centimeter during the planning of our new warehouse storage system”, Rathmann remembers. “The Remmert sheet metal storage system finally convinced us.” Only Remmert could accommodate 500 pallet positions in less than 23 meters length without implementing major reconstruction measures on our current building. Because of the small over-traversable dimensions of the storage and retrieval system, the sheet metal warehouse is only 22.5 meters long. “With this, the service provider was about 3 meters below the average system length of all the other suppliers where we placed enquiries”, Lutz Kessler, technical director of Holl GmbH, added. “Of course, there were suggestions for warehouse solutions which got by without any over-traversable dimensions, but that was at the expense of warehouse capacity. Such solutions, however, were out of the question for us.” An additional project requirement was to connect the warehouse system both mechanically and with software to the two laser machines

Solution

The fully automated sheet metal storage consists of two parallel rack bays in the middle of which the storage and retrieval system runs. It is mechanically connected to the production line with vacuum cups, while the PRO WMS Professional warehouse management system keeps the 2 connected laser cutting systems from Trumpf and Bystronic supplied with material. The Remmert software enables the Holl employees to have a continuous overview of the storage inventory. All of the incoming and outgoing materials are automatically weighed by the system and therefore, an exact inventory enquiry is possible at any time. Remmert held extensive training in order to instruct the employees in the use of the new processes and simultaneously to convince them of the integrated technology. “During these training sessions, it is especially important for us to convey to the employees how the new system facilitates their work. Only when man and machine work together can we achieve an optimal process”, says Matthias Remmert, managing director of Friedrich Remmert GmbH.

Outcome

“Our new rack system now provides us with enough space in order to store the customer’s own materials. All in all, we were able to reduce the storage area by 70 percent even with increased storage volume”, summarizes Lutz Kessler on the results of the system integration. In addition to that, the company increased its flow of goods enormously: Because of the optimal storage and production process, Holl GmbH is today capable of processing about 55 tons of steel, 15 tons of stainless steel and 1.5 tons of aluminium. A year ago, the value of the amount of materials was approximately 40 percent below that. “This increase naturally is largely attributed to a distinct increase in the level of orders”, managing director Ines Rathmann explains. “Without the new warehouse, it would not have been possible for us to accept such a large number of orders.” Of course, the system is ready for future expansions: The sheet metal warehouse can be expanded towards the undeveloped portion of the factory without any problems, if required.

Holl GmbH, whose headquarters is in Saxony, Markkleeberg, produces chimney systems, emission and ventilation systems. The company expands its portfolio with the manufacturing of vendor parts for machine engineering, as well as medicine and promotional material. Holl GmbH stockpiles and manufactures sheet metal from steel, stainless steel and aluminium in sizes from 0.5 to 25 millimeters.


Results at a Glance:

Reduction of storage area by 70 percent
Extremely small over-traversable dimensions of the storage and retrieval system
Markedly increased material flow
Continuous inventory control
Ability to meet future requirements by warehouse expansion

Technical specifications:

Warehouse size: 22.5 m x 6.1 m x 9 m (L x W x H)
Warehouse volume: 497 pallets at 3 tonnes payload capacity each
1 automated storage and retrieval system: Running speed: 100 m/min Lifting and pulling speed: 24 m/min
1 stacking and 2 retrieval stations
Automatic connection to laser cutting systems
Remmert PRO WMS Professional warehouse software

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