Construction Supplier Commissions Dematic Solution

F.lli Zangrillo Materiali da Costruzione, one of the largest wholesale distribution companies in the Italian hardware and building materials industry, has recently commissioned a Dematic automation solution managed by Dematic software and designed specifically for two warehouse sites.

The project features stand-alone AutoStore cube storage systems at two Zangrillo locations in Lecce and Formia. With the facilities now operational, the family-owned company has taken the first steps toward automating its production sites.

According to CEO Aldo Zangrillo, the new Dematic solutions allow the company to achieve faster deliveries, which will help secure their position in the market. Additionally, the new solutions will enhance warehouse space to expand product range in the future. “We are in a position where we must be able to increase logistics capacity to support rapid growth and increased market share,” says Zangrillo. “We set an aggressive goal of reducing delivery times to our customers from an average of about 72 hours down to 24 hours.”

Founded in 1974 in Formia, south of Rome, the company had been looking to improve the performance of several of its processes, including picking and storing small parts, while improving safety and productivity of goods-to-person staff. According to Zangrillo management, they selected intelligent automated solution provider Dematic based on its strong analysis produced in the project design phase, its ability to pull resources from a global structure and network of professionals, its experience in supplying extensions to existing facilities, and the overall professionalism of the Dematic team.

For the Lecce location, the Dematic solution features an AutoStore system with an 8-level grid for storage and order fulfilment processes, three picking carousel ports, conveyor, eight R5 robots and 8,000 bins. Dematic Software manages the overall solution.

Meanwhile, at the Formia location, the Dematic solution features an AutoStore system with a 16-level grid for storage and order fulfilment processes, three picking carousel ports, conveyor, 12 R5 robots and 20,000 bins. Again, Dematic Software manages the overall solution. “It has been gratifying to contribute to improving Zangrillo’s logistics processes and to support them in their initial and most important step in implementing automation in their production sites,” says Flavio Este, CEO at Dematic Italia.

Rosario Filomena, the Dematic sales manager responsible for the negotiations of the two solutions, adds, “With our solution now in place, we are confident Zangrillo can achieve their goals with these compact, scalable, easily expandable, high-performance storage systems which require minimal energy consumption and provide a high degree of security and employee safety.”

Dematic designs, builds, and supports intelligent automated solutions empowering and sustaining the future of commerce for its customers in manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution. With research and development engineering centres, manufacturing facilities, and service centres located in more than 35 countries, the Dematic global network of over 11,000 employees has helped achieve approximately 8,000 worldwide customer installations for some of the world’s leading brands. Headquartered in Atlanta, Dematic is a member of KION Group, one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions.