Refresco opened its new high-bay warehouse at the Calvörde production site in Germany. At this manufacturing facility, Refresco, one of the leading independent providers of beverage solutions in Germany is setting new standards for efficient logistics and future-oriented quality delivery. With a total capacity of more than 41,000 pallet spaces, this is now Refresco’s largest fully automated warehouse.

Refresco invested over 20 million euros in the construction of this new high-bay warehouse. The largest single investment of the German business unit to date, this new warehouse is of strategic importance for the production and logistics at this location for the future. Thanks to the modern conveyor technology and increased storage capacity, Refresco expects significant annual efficiency improvements for the production environment as well as for the transportation of finished products. The new state-of-the-art warehouse gives Refresco the opportunity to continue to grow dynamically with their customers and to acquire new business. In addition, the fully automated logistics system will increase occupational safety at the site.

Milestone

“The new high-bay warehouse is a milestone for us and makes this one of Refresco’s most advanced locations worldwide,” says Till Alvermann, Managing Director Refresco Germany. “Among other things, the complete automation of our logistical handling allows us to load quickly and safely and improves our competitive advantage. We also strengthen the service level for our customers. We are therefore very pleased to be able to officially commission the high-bay warehouse today.”

Refresco invests a substantial portion of their profit in their manufacturing facilities, to improve and/or expand capacity and technological capabilities. The investment in this new warehouse at a strategically important site for Refresco, is but one example of Refresco’s continued investment in their network of production sites.

At Calvörde, on 800 metres of conveyor line, 42 double aisles of an electric overhead conveyor connect all product lines and the shipping area to the high-bay warehouse. 36 gravity roller conveyors provide up to 400 pallets per hour at twelve loading ramps. The high throughput capacity also enables the simultaneous loading of ten trucks per hour.

Other high-bay warehouses

Refresco has four other high-bay warehouses across their European footprint, located at production sites in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. They are all similar in the way they were designed and are operated: production lines are connected to the warehouse, with the help of a stacker crane finished products are controlled and stored within the racks, and the pre-staging of pallets is fully automated all the way to the docking area, where trucks pull up to quicky and smoothly load beverages for delivery.

Quadrupling of storage capacity at German production facility

BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers of functional ingredients, has announced a quadrupling of the storage capacity at its Offstein facility in Germany, to improve its efficiency and strengthen the company’s business contingency resilience still further. The new high-bay warehouse, which opened in February, allows for increased storage of BENEO’s crystalline functional carbohydrates Isomalt, Palatinose™ and galenIQ™. With a EUR 7.7 million investment in this fully automated facility, BENEO continues to further improve its supply chain robustness and reduces transport.

The new 25-metre-high warehouse has a storage capacity of more than 8.500 Euro pallets, and is located close to both the packaging and shipment operations at the production site in Offstein. Together with external warehouses worldwide, the addition of storage capacity in Offstein further supports BENEO’s multi-storage strategy for improved business contingency. Furthermore, transport ways are reduced as a larger proportion of functional carbohydrates is now stored on-site than in external warehouses.

In their crystalline form BENEO’s functional carbohydrates store well in humidity and temperature monitored facilities, such as the new warehouse. The fully automated high-bay facility allows for a higher proportion of direct loading and is freeing up personnel from the storage and retrieval process to be used more efficiently in other onsite activities.

New state-of-the-art fully automated high-bay cold-storage facility at City Terminal Rotterdam

Kloosterboer starts the construction of a new state-of-the-art fully automated multi-customer high-bay cold-storage facility with a storage capacity of 60,000 pallets at City Terminal Rotterdam (NL). The building is expected to be finished by January of 2022.

Two years after the realisation of Kloosterboer Cool Port I, an ultra-modern fruit terminal that offers a combination of cool and cold storage capacity, Kloosterboer is now developing a state-of-the-art fully automated high-rise cold-storage warehouse at City Terminal Rotterdam. Pallets will be brought in on self-unloading or conventional trucks and are then automatically taken from the shipping hall via conveyer belts, turntables and sluices to the cold-storage facility, where cranes will automatically place the pallets in their designed position.

Sustainability is a key concern for Kloosterboer. The high-rise cold-storage warehouse is 35-45% more energy efficient than a conventional cold-storage facility. The forty-metre-tall building will be constructed in accordance with the high BREEAM requirements. Kloosterboer intends to install approximately 2,700 solar panels on the building’s roof. Together with the existing solar panel installation at Cool Port I, which consists of 11,000 solar panels, this makes Kloosterboer one of the leading companies in the port of Rotterdam when it comes to generating solar power for in-house use.

Kloosterboer is an entrepreneurial, innovative and sustainable logistics service provider. The construction of Cool Port II still leaves Kloosterboer with ample space for the next phase; Cool Port III.

SIG’s newly built, state-of-the-art and fully automated AutoStore^® spare parts warehouse for SIG filling machines, implemented by Hörmann Logistik, has now been put into operation and ensures that its customers receive highly efficient supplies. Located at the company’s machine assembly site in Linnich, Germany, the new AutoStore warehouse plays an integral part in SIG’s global spare parts management.

As food and beverage products continue to diversify, it is essential that production schedules run smoothly and to maximum capacity without downtime. The new AutoStore warehouse enables SIG to adapt and respond flexibly to changing customer needs in the quickest possible time, guaranteeing speedy delivery of spare parts to keep the versatile equipment running efficiently. This seamless service means continuous and optimum performance of SIG’s filling systems, maximum technical availability and precisely tailored maintenance.

The new warehouse uses a modular system, where stockable box containers are loaded, stored and then unloaded by robots, guided by routing software. The system comprises the storage, warehousing and order picking processes for all items that can be stored in containers. The storage processes and retrieval are performed vertically. This closed system prevents unwanted material removal and ensures effectual 24-hour operation. The robots are extremely energy efficient with a consumption of just 0.1 kW/h, saving energy by more than 90 percent compared to more conventional solutions.

Franz-Josef Mines, Global Assembly & SCM Director at SIG, commented: “With our new, fully automated warehouse system, SIG is well positioned for the future and is able to deliver spare parts quickly and efficiently. We’ve significantly reduced picking times compared to our previous system and can meet any customer order requirements at short notice, no matter how small.”

SIG’s AutoStore warehouse puts customers and their production targets as priority. The smooth running of equipment means maximum production capability and timely product delivery to retailers. Both are vitally important for future growth, profitability and competitive advantage.