Food firm deploys AGV shuttle and reach truck combination
Jungheinrich is building the semi-automated finished goods warehouse for Germany’s oldest noodle producer.
The new hall, which is 130 metres long and 55 metres wide, will include a Jungheinrich shuttle solution with space for more than 26,000 pallets. Maintrans Logistik has been handling the logistics for Erfurter Teigwaren for eight years. Together with Jungheinrich, the companies are pushing ahead with modernisation of the warehouse. The objective is to enhance the production and logistics of the factory, which produces goods around the clock.
Commissioning of the new warehouse is scheduled for October this year. A special feature of the system is the use of Jungheinrich EKS 215a automated guided vehicles.
The fully automated driverless vehicles will operate a rack system with a total of six Jungheinrich Under Pallet Carriers.
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The shuttles will be completely controlled by WLAN to communicate constantly with the autonomous Jungheinrich vehicles. By implementing this solution for the first time, it will be possible to significantly increase the efficiency of the compact warehouse using the shuttle system. The automated guided vehicles are regulated by Jungheinrich control software in combination with the Jungheinrich logistics interface. This middleware performs the tasks of the central communication unit and translates the information needed for data exchange between the trucks and the Warehouse Management System.
This is also the case for the manual Jungheinrich fork lift trucks used in Erfurt. The three ETV 320 reach trucks are equipped with the liftNAVIGATION semi-automatic rack height selector, which makes storage and retrieval at great heights much more efficient. Once deployed, Jungheinrich will provide a full service for the complete system.
Steve Richmond, director – logistics systems, Jungheinrich UK says: “As organisations look at new ways to enhance productivity and maximise their use of space, automation has become a priority. In today’s warehouse environment, everything must interact to extract greater efficiencies, however there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving this. It’s our job at Jungheinrich to work in consultation with our customers, as the team are doing with Erfurter Teigwaren, to create a solution that’s bespoke to the exact requirements and set-up of their business.”
