AS/RS Archives

Enhanced Processes for Spanish 3PL Operator

Posted on 21 June, 202331 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Third-party logistics operator Factor 5 recently commissioned a goods-to-person solution featuring an AutoStore™ automated storage and picking system provided by intelligent automation solution provider Dematic. The solution enhances its order process for perfumes and cosmetics products with the aim of boosting sales and strengthening its ability to compete in the long term. The solution went live this past March at Factor 5’s Alovera site northeast of Madrid.

Headquartered in Spain’s mid-section in Guadalajara, with 2,000 employees and over 400,000 square meter of warehouse space, Factor 5 is one of Spain’s leading third-party logistics operators.

According to Maria de Jesús, the Supply Chain director at Factor 5, Dematic was selected for its flexibility, global reach and reliability. “We wanted an international technology partner who could offer us a selection of solutions that meet the needs of customers looking to transform their supply chains and looking for increasingly efficient and scalable logistics operations to reduce costs and accommodate growth of online sales. And we wanted a solid service partner who would be there for us to support our own growth projections for the coming years.”

Factor 5 opted for a modular automation solution from Dematic, which features a high-performance storage system that is easily scalable, has very low energy consumption and provides excellent inventory security. The solution significantly reduces the amount of space required for storage and improves order preparation process times. The project got underway in March 2022 and was completed in just under 12 months.

Dematic Software manages and runs the entire automated system. The AutoStore™ automated storage and picking system includes nearly 4,400 containers for storage and seven R5 robots for collecting and delivering the containers with the requested items to one of five workstations where operators collect the items to complete orders. The goods-to-person concept is anticipated to substantially increase productivity as Factor 5 employees no longer need to cover long distances to collect individual order items.

“Our goal has been twofold with this project. Of course, we wanted to deliver a robust solution to Factor 5 that meets their requirements from top to bottom, but we also wanted to establish a strong relationship with them that provides added value where they view Dematic as a reliable technology partner for the long term”, explains Sonia Bello, Sales Director at Dematic Iberia.

Santiago de Vicente, CEO at Factor 5, states, “We are convinced that the Dematic solution perfectly meets our business needs, and as we face an increasingly complex market, Dematic can provide advanced and structured technology solutions to support our company’s growth and development in the years to come.”

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 successful 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.

Clad-rack Warehouse for Hardware Company

Posted on 20 June, 2023 by Keith McKinley

The hundred-year-old hardware products company EHLIS recently celebrated the launch of its new logistics centre in Illescas (Spain), where AR Racking has played a leading role with the installation of an automated clad-rack warehouse and an adjustable pallet racking warehouse. It is a logistics platform that required an investment of 30-35 million euros, and which will complement the one that the hardware leader has in Barcelona.

EHLIS, which this year celebrates its 125th anniversary, has a facility in Illescas that covers a total area of 60,000 m2, of which 40,000 m2 and 22,000 m2 are urbanised and built and where a miniload warehouse is located, plus a 36 metre high clad-rack warehouse for 30,000 pallets and a warehouse with adjustable pallet racking with a capacity for 15,000 pallets, the latter two being equipped with AR Racking racking systems. The clad-rack warehouse and warehouse designed with an adjustable pallet racking system cover an area of 3,220 m2 and 8,200 m2, respectively.

Delays in material deliveries, COVID and other matters meant that the launch of the logistics platform did not happen until the first quarter of 2023. A launch which will now improve the service that the company offers to its customers “firstly, by reducing delivery times, and secondly, by increasing the product range”, explained EHLIS’s managers at the opening held at the end of March.

“We have provided our expertise to the EHLIS logistics centre with our technical-logistics advice, our reliability as racking manufacturers and our engineering knowledge through our strong commitment to R&D&I”, commented Manel Bustos, AR Racking sales representative.

The logistics centre in Illescas has a capacity to prepare 1,000 order lines per hour. As confirmed by EHLIS’s management at the opening, the forecast is to increase the number of references with the increase in the logistics capacity. It currently has 16,000 permanent stock references plus a further 3,000 additional ones that fluctuate throughout the year.

AR Racking has a long track record in automated warehouse projects. These are projects that are always developed in collaboration with leading integration engineering companies that provide the automated and robotic means and where AR Racking designs and manufactures all the racking that supports the unit loads and/or building structure itself, such as with clad-rack warehouses. Likewise, in the warehouses with pallet racking solutions AR Racking fully develops the turnkey project concept, taking care of all the phases that cover the implementation of its storage solutions.

AR Racking is part of the Arania Group, an industrial group of companies with extensive experience and scope, and with a multi-sectoral activity based on the transformation of steel that dates back more than 80 years. AR Racking provides the market with a wide range of solutions with high certified quality standards and a comprehensive project management service. AR Racking’s industrial storage systems stand out for their innovation, reliability and optimum efficiency.

Elten Expands German Warehouse Capacity

Posted on 14 June, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Fortna, a leading automation and software company for the full logistics value chain, has partnered with Elten, manufacturer of safety and occupational footwear, to consolidate and upgrade its central warehouse in Uedem, Germany.

Responding to steady growth and rising customer demand for greater speed and flexibility, ELTEN commissioned FORTNA with the design and implementation of the project, which will be rolled out in stages and during ongoing operations. The go-live of the miniload AS/RS in April 2023 marked the completion of the first construction phase.

Founded in 1910 and now in the family’s fourth generation, ELTEN employs over 400 people. The company headquarters in Uedem on the Lower Rhine include offices and warehousing, along with the end production of safety and work shoes, which are sold online and distributed to B2B and B2C customers worldwide.

“With over 5,000 order lines daily, a trend that has been rising steeply for ten years now, we have known for a while that our logistics operations would have to adapt if we wanted to stay competitive in the future,” says Georg Maxwill, Head of Supply Chain Management at ELTEN. “We started construction of the miniload on an adjacent site back in 2020 with a view to centralizing all processes so as to improve the volume and efficiency of our operations and increase our turnaround times. The FORTNA team supported us, as they have in all our projects since the original construction of our current building at the start of the millennium.”

From manual to automatic: 22 meters tall, eight aisles, a footprint of 5,250 square meters and a storage capacity for 143,840 cartons containing shoes, insoles and shoelaces – all of these are the cornerstones of the new miniload warehouse making significant improvements to the intralogistics processes. “Before the construction phase even started, a new WMS was installed in anticipation of the forthcoming automation,” explains Waldemar Ungefug, Project Manager with FORTNA. “The miniload system now consolidates all incoming items – shoes and shoe components – from third parties and ELTEN’s production. We expect the connection of the automatic storage system to the outbound processing in Phase 2 to happen equally flawlessly during ongoing operations.”

The second phase of construction is planned for completion by the end of 2023. Phase 2 will include the expansion of shelving capacities through the installation of a mezzanine and new conveyor technology to ensure automatic replenishment of the order picking area, as well as connection to outbound goods. This is also where order sorting takes place, with orders reaching their final destinations via shipping companies or CEP service providers.

“Integrating the miniload into the existing operations without any problems and the improvements we gain from the new systems and processes are vital for the positioning of our company,” says Georg Maxwill. Equally important, automation will help ELTEN overcome the challenges it faces in finding qualified labour. “However, our team needn’t be worried about losing their jobs because by consolidating our fulfilment in one place, Uedem is increasing its processing capacity, thereby, requiring additional staff.”

Capacity expansion and centralized processes enable ELTEN the ideal conditions to meet changing customer requirements and to process orders quickly and flexibly both now and in the future, even with substantial long-term growth.

FORTNA partners with the world’s leading brands to transform omnichannel and parcel distribution operations. Known world-wide for enabling companies to keep pace with digital disruption and growth objectives, we design and deliver solutions, powered by intelligent software, to optimize fast, accurate and cost-effective order fulfillment and last mile delivery. Our people, innovative approach and proprietary algorithms and tools ensure optimal operations design and material and information flow. We deliver exceptional value every day to our customers with comprehensive services and products including network strategy, distribution center operational design and implementation, material handling automated equipment, robotics and a comprehensive suite of lifecycle services.

Modular, Scalable Shuttle Warehouse: Upstream

Posted on 10 May, 202325 July, 2025 by David Priestman

The GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group presents its latest product in storage systems: the ‘Upstream’ shuttle warehouse. The system convinces by virtue of its modularity, flexible scalability and high maintainability. The product novelty was to be seen for the first time at the LogiMAT in Stuttgart and inspired many interested people at the GEBHARDT booth.

Supply chains and sales markets have experienced strong dynamics in recent years and require flexible and scalable solutions. GEBHARDT has responded to these needs and introduced the new GEBHARDT Upstream warehouse concept. With its novel concept, GEBHARDT Upstream revolutionises shuttle warehouses and focuses on modularity at all levels. The system can take up dimensions of up to 100 m in length, 18 m in height, and any number of aisles, and can carry container weights of up to 50 kg. Thanks to its modular design, GEBHARDT Upstream can be expanded at any time. The commissioning time is only six months, depending on the project size and geometry.

The storage system consists of three actively moving components: the shuttle GEBHARDT StoreBiter® OLS X, the bot GEBHARDT StoreDiver and the workstation GEBHARDT SimplePick Flexible. Established GEBHARDT storage technology is used, but lifters and conventional conveyor technology are not.

The basis of the system is the GEBHARDT OLS X shuttle warehouse with horizontal roaming and a grid stored above it. The GEBHARDT StoreBiter® OLS X takes over the storage and retrieval within the warehouse and transfers the containers via transfer stations between the rack rows to the GEBHARDT StoreDiver robots. Through direct access to the containers, the transfer system enables sequence-accurate delivery to the workstations and thus creates highly efficient access zones without container waiting times. Thanks to the GEBHARDT SimplePick Flexible workstation, several orders can be processed simultaneously, and short container change times make dynamic order processing possible.

The greatest possible ease of maintenance for maintenance personnel and the elimination of complex pre-zone conveyor technology make GEBHARDT Upstream particularly user-friendly.

GEBHARDT Upstream uses proven fire protection concepts for automatic small parts storage, eliminating the need for cost-intensive CO2 systems. In addition, ultracaps with 48 V power supply ensure the highest possible system safety. GEBHARDT Upstream also builds on forward-looking technologies in terms of sustainability: By eliminating classic conveyor technology and vertical conveyors, only required containers are moved. The OLS X shuttles and robots are equipped with durable ultracap technology that enables 24/7 operation. This removes the need for lithium or lead batteries. With these measures, GEBHARDT Upstream consciously and future-oriented focuses on sustainable and efficient warehousing in intralogistics.

Already in its third generation, the name GEBHARDT is closely associated with innovative intralogistics solutions. The portfolio offers flexible, modular products, end-to-end concepts, and complete solutions for warehouse automation and software applications. GEBHARDT develops, manufactures, and installs customised solutions for in-plant logistics in the retail & e-commerce, food & beverage, automotive, healthcare, contract logistics, fashion & consumer goods and industrial sectors.

Construction Supplier Commissions Dematic Solution

Posted on 5 April, 202325 July, 2025 by David Priestman

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.

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