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Tag: storage

Benetton optimises picking in Villorba DC

Posted on by David Priestman

Dematic has announced an agreement with Benetton Group, one of the best-known fashion companies in the world, whose core business consists of iconic clothing brands United Colors of Benetton and Sisley and a retail network of more than 4,000 stores.

At the end of 2022, Dematic will implement a solution featuring an AutoStore system in the Benetton Group’s logistics facilities in Villorba, Italy, with the aim of boosting its e-commerce channel by optimising storage capacity and order processing. The technology will make its picking operations more efficient, flexible and agile by reducing required space, improving picking times and extending the life of its logistics facilities.

Valentino Soldan, Head of Logistic at Benetton Group, said: “We chose Dematic because we were interested in a partner with significant experience in the e-commerce sector and a solid international background. The AutoStore-based solution meets our business needs perfectly. The technologically advanced solution delivers confidence that we can overcome the increasingly challenging market and it will evolve with us as we develop the business for years to come.”

Flavio Este, Dematic Italy Managing Director, commented: “As an expert in automation, it has been exciting to work so closely with such a forward-looking customer and build a solid partnership for the future of their commerce.”

Rosario Filomena, Dematic Italy Sales Manager, who handled the negotiation, continued: “The Benetton Group will be able to achieve its e-commerce objectives with this scalable solution featuring AutoStore. It is a very compact, easily expandable, high-performance storage system with minimal energy consumption and a high degree of security.”

Dematic software will control and manage the entire operation. The AutoStore system will be implemented with 60,000 bins and orders will be picked by 53 mobile robots that travel over the top of the storage units and descend into the units to access the bins with the requested items. The robots then transport the items to one of 12 pick stations where the items are grouped together for further processing in production. Benetton Group staff previously had to travel long distances to pick individual items.

Waitrose expands Milton Keynes warehouse

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The renowned supermarket chain brand Waitrose & Partners has increased its storage capacity with the extension of its facilities in Magna Park (Milton Keynes, UK) to consolidate its position as a leader in its sector in the British market. To do so, it has relied on AR Racking, a European benchmark in storage systems.

The new extension consists of an intralogistics solution with AR Racking’s adjustable pallet racking that achieved an added storage capacity for 13,604 UK pallets. It is a storage system that will provide the warehouse with great agility in loading and unloading operations, with direct and immediate access to the goods. A solution perfectly adapted to the increase in demand for consumer goods and the demand on delivery times.

Waitrose is owned by the John Lewis Partnership retail group, the largest example of an employee-owned business in the UK with over 80,000 members. “Our aim is for Waitrose to remain the supermarket chain most valued by the British people and to do that we need a logistics infrastructure that allows us to hold more stock of products that can be delivered in less time. We knew that AR Racking would meet their promises on this strategic extension”, explains Lawrence Ireson, Project Manager of the John Lewis Partnership.

“This is a project that is tailored to the client’s needs and characteristics. The racks have a paint finish in Waitrose’s corporate green colour,” says Mike Smyth, UK Key Account Manager at AR Racking. “We have strictly adhered to the delivery and installation schedules agreed with Waitrose, whose standards are exacting,” adds Jim Albans, AR Racking’s UK Project Manager.

AR Racking, based in Maidenhead, has a well-established presence in the UK thanks to a service tailored to customers’ needs and the ability to deliver large projects to tight deadlines.

 

Nelly achieves storage capacity of 37,000 positions

Posted on by David Priestman

Nelly, a leading online retailer of fashion and beauty products in the Nordic countries, relied on the expertise in industrial storage systems of AR Racking and its distributor and strategic partner Rudells, who have designed and installed a narrow aisle racking solution (VNA racking) adapted to the storage of boxes in a 1,360 sq m area of the new warehouse. With the installation of these racks, a storage capacity of 36,960 positions was achieved. The warehouse is located in Borås (Sweden).

“When Nelly first contacted us, they looked at a solution with high storage with shelves. Given the characteristics of the products and the customer’s needs, we proposed a pallet racking solution, but adapted to the storage of boxes” explains Anders Rudell, Sales Manager of Rudells Lagerinredningar.

After that first phase of technical-logistical analysis and the search for the best solution for the customer, Rudells and AR Racking designed and installed a narrow aisle racking solution with 1200 mm deep sections to pick 600 mm boxes from both sides. In addition, mesh panels were added to the sections to prevent dust on the storage levels and to allow the sprinklers to reach the entire installation.

According to Jimmy Andersson, Regional Area Manager for Scandinavia, EE & South Africa at AR Racking: “The storage system installed is a very versatile solution as it allows adaptation to any type of goods, by weight or volume, by regulating the load levels or adding any of the accessories for special loads.”

Additionally, the narrow aisle racks allow direct and selective access to the stored goods.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

BITO expands to accommodate growth

Posted on by Keith McKinley

BITO Storage Systems has taken on additional staff and developed new services at its UK subsidiary to support the storage and order picking projects required by sectors emerging from the pandemic. The Nuneaton-based company has doubled the number of staff in its warehouse that serves its online web store shop and the online page-turn catalogue.

BITO is executing in excess of 25% more orders than last year. “Having planned on a turnover of £15m for this year, we are currently forecasting above £20m, which clearly demonstrates a significant uplift in business levels,” said Edward Hutchison, Managing Director of BITO Storage Systems.

“BITO has maintained a consistent growth trend over the years but, more importantly, we make regular modest profits averaging about 5% year-on-year. With the family-run BITO GmbH group reinvesting profits back into the business, this ensures we remain a solid, financially stable and reliable partner for our clients into the future.”

To ensure growing order volumes are fulfilled, BITO is bringing more full load deliveries into its Nuneaton hub, both for restocking the warehouse and to crossdock customer orders. Hutchison said: “BITO is shipping more consignments out of the warehouse than ever – in fact throughput has doubled, resulting in an increase from previously receiving two lorry loads of stock a week to now getting an average of four. In addition, the cut-off in terms of order value that we can fulfil direct from the warehouse has doubled to around £5,000.”

Crossdocking is a new development for BITO allowing the company to, for example, send several incoming pallets of plastic containers direct to a customer’s site on local transport. In addition to reducing paperwork and speeding delivery, the customer is provided with a more precise delivery slot, making it easier for them to book in their delivery.

A booming warehouse requirement across Europe is resulting in issues around steel price increases, availability and production capacity. BITO however is reporting significant growth not only in the UK but across the BITO GmbH group itself, which is based in Meisenheim, Germany and has subsidiaries across Europe and the world.

“The BITO group is more productive than ever,” reported Hutchison. “It has increased production capacity through extending shift patterns and by investing in additional production facilities outside of Germany as part of strategic production capacity growth strategy over the next 18 months.”

BITO’s GmbH’s capabilities provide the UK subsidiary with significant benefits, as Hutchison explained: “We are noticing that larger companies often tend to be international themselves. If they wish to source from a UK-based company for both domestic and cross border sites then BITO is well positioned to operate internationally on their behalf, thanks to the Group’s subsidiaries across Europe and the world.

“Having the facility to sell back into Europe directly, safely, legally and without VAT issues gives BITO in the UK an advantage over many other domestic suppliers. Furthermore, we are able to operate with the new EN codes for racking, which apply across Europe, and are recognised internationally, so we are not limited only to SEMA regulations.”

With business optimism riding high at BITO, Hutchison concluded: “Our confidence factor is underscored by an investment in bolstering our installation team and increasing staff numbers – both in our warehouse and in project management division. We have also revamped our Experience Centre showroom at Nuneaton and further developed our YouTube channel adding informative new films. This makes it easier than ever to find the right solutions to meet a broad range of storage and order picking challenges for retail, manufacturing and logistics operations returning to business normal as well as new sectors that have emerged from the pandemic.”

Element Logic enters Czech market

Posted on by David Priestman

With more than 100 implemented AutoStore systems around Europe, Element Logic is now entering the Czech market.

With increased demand for automation of all processes and the overall Industry 4.0 revolution, implementing modern technology is essential. The growth in e-commerce has created demand for faster logistics, especially for companies selling electronics, fashion, sports equipment, or cosmetics.

“These sectors experienced a boom during the pandemic, when the number of daily orders reached pre-Christmas sales,” Jindřich Kadeřávek, Managing Director of Element Logic Czech Republic explains. “AutoStore is an efficient solution for them because it can pick thousands of orders per hour.

“Companies are looking for opportunities to optimize all logistic processes,. Modern warehouse solutions are a key part of business sustainability. Thanks to decades of experience, Element Logic is able to create an attractive and contemporary solution that reacts to the current demands.”

First installation

The first installation of AutoStore locally will begin at Continental Automotive in the end of September 2021. It is designed to supply online materials to the production line to make the production more efficient. The goods to person process is ensured through 13 robots and four swing ports which transport the bins from mezzanines down to the ground. The installation should be completed by December 2021.

“Continental is expanding its production and the space for warehouse management is getting smaller,” Kadeřávek explains. “We designed AutoStore in the mezzanine to save floor space as much as possible, because it is used for receiving materials and following expedition processes.”

“With AutoStore, Element Logic offers the ideal solution for businesses with an intense preparation of orders in the smallest possible space, a model that has been amply validated with more than 100 implementations throughout Europe,” says Armin Gesslein, Executive VP Central & Southern Europe.

“We are very proud to announce the opening of our office in the Czech Republic and with Jindřich’s professional experience within the industrial and logistics sector, we are convinced that we will get a strong development and the growth we need.”

 

Animal feed producer gets high-density storage solution

Posted on by David Priestman

Skretting, a leader in the production and supply of animal feed, has commissioned AR Racking to fully optimise the floor space of its new 2,400 sq m warehouse in Cojóbar (Burgos, Spain) with high-density storage. The new warehouse is located next to the plant dedicated to the production of feed for aquaculture and attached to the one for the production of pet food.

AR Racking installed two different storage solutions for the Dutch multinational, both designed for high-density compact storage.

On the one hand, the warehouse has the shuttle system with capacity to store 2,953 europallets of finished product. It is a semi-automated solution that uses motorised pallet shuttles to transport the load autonomously inside the racking.

On the other, drive-in compact pallet racking systems are designed to store 594 europallets of auxiliary material.

“Our logistics capacity has been greatly increased with this new installation, which will help consolidate our position as leaders in the sector. We are very happy to have a warehouse equipped to operate in a very agile way and that takes advantage of every square metre,” said Skretting’s management.

Mikel Bilbao, Northern Region Sales Executive at AR Racking, added: “The semi-automated shuttle solution is ideal for a continuous flow of goods required by Skretting with its finished product. Rotation of auxiliary materials was not a primary factor, so we opted for a solution that would make the most of the space dedicated to those goods with Drive In compact pallet racking systems.”

Skretting belongs to the multinational Nutreco, a global leader in animal feed. Skretting is present in 18 other countries on all continents. Founded in 1899 and with its HQ in Stavanger, Norway, its aquaculture feed production capacity reached 2.4 million tonnes in 2020. Skretting España manufactures and supplies innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions for the aquaculture and pet industry.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE PROJECT HERE

 

AR Racking sets up research programme

Posted on by Keith McKinley

AR Racking and the University of the Basque Country (UPV) have signed an agreement to collaborate in a research programme that will take shape through the launch of the AR Racking Research Centre: Storage Solutions at the School of Engineering of Bilbao of the University in this city.

The agreement between both bodies was ratified on 15th July at the School of Engineering of Bilbao by Eric Arana (pictured on the left), Chairman of the Arania Group (the organisation to which AR Racking belongs), and by the principal of the School, Charles Pinto (pictured on the right). The inauguration was also attended on AR Racking’s behalf by Iñaki Arriola (Managing Director), Pablo Montes (Technical Director), Javier Ruiz (Product Manager) and Lorena López (Marketing and Communications Manager). Jesús Cuadrado (professor at the UPV and technical director of the research centre) also attended the agreement event. The centre will begin its activity in September, coinciding with the start of the next academic year.

It will be dedicated to analytical studies of structures made up of thin-walled profiles. In the short term, and as a matter of priority, the bases for carrying out the studies and research on fatigue in these types of profiles are being established. Other objectives include promoting studies on seismic analysis, the characterisation of components and spacers, and analyses of structural collapse mechanisms in case of fire.

Another of the main ongoing objectives of the AR Racking Research Centre: Storage Solutions is that it should serve as a career development space for member engineers, who will be able to join AR Racking’s structure to support the growth of the company, both in terms of actual projects in execution and in the product and solutions development area.

AR Racking, a company of the Arania Group with headquarters in Zamudio (Bizkaia), is specialised in the design, manufacture, calculation and installation of industrial storage systems for all types of loads. With an export rate of over 85%, AR Racking has a commercial presence in more than 60 countries. A trajectory marked by internationalisation and a clear and firm commitment to R&D&I. This is the second research centre provided by AR Racking and connected to the University after the collaboration agreement signed in 2019 with the University of Mondragón, where the AR Lab research facility and test bench is located.

The creation of research centres/labs is a valuable and effective instrument both for academic institutions and for companies for their contribution to technological development, the training of engineers and the generation of expertise in the industrial fabric. A goal shared by such an important institution as the UPV and by AR Racking, whose sound track record is clearly associated with a pioneering spirit of continuous improvement.

Jaylo’s logistics platform now at full capacity

Posted on by Keith McKinley

After a commissioning period, the specialist transport and logistics services company Jaylo is now operating its new 17,000 sq m logistics platform in Tudela (Navarra, Spain) at full capacity. AR Racking has equipped the innovative logistics centre with its storage systems.

The installation integrates Jaylo’s facilities with those of its customer SKF, a company specialised in the design and manufacture of bearings for the automotive sector. Its first intralogistics division project, Jaylo did not hesitate to count on AR Racking as its trusted partner to optimise the space of the logistics platform, which is now at full capacity.

AR Racking installed, on the one hand, adjustable pallet racking, providing 2,700 new positions for pallets and 2,200 new positions for half pallets. And, on the other, FIFO live pallet racking, resulting in 2,160 new positions for half pallets. In total, a storage capacity of 7,060 new positions for pallet loads, occupying 4,250 sq m of the total area of the warehouse. Thanks to these storage solutions, Jaylo can supply and collect the finished product at the request of its customer SKF 24 hours a day.

“It is a strategic project for us because we can directly and immediately improve the competitiveness of one of our most important customers,” explained David García Osta, Jaylo Director. He added: “AR Racking knew how to put all its experience and know-how at our service during the design, planning and installation phase. The deadlines were also strictly met, which was an advantage in a project that involved the participation of both companies and teams.”

The combination of both storage systems has given Jaylo a logistics platform that fully optimises the space as well as enable time and resource savings in handling goods.

The adjustable pallet racking area provides direct and immediate access to products, while the FIFO live pallet racking facilitates perfect stock rotation and fast movement of the unit loads. To guarantee the correct positioning of the half pallets of the live pallet racking systems, the structure has been fitted with lateral guide wheels, ensuring a maximum lateral movement of 15 mm in the descent of the loads down the conveyor. This means that the driverless AGV forklifts can satisfactorily collect all the unit loads.

“It was clear to us that Jaylo needed a logistics proposal with both plenty of storage capacity and fast handling. We are fully confident that, with the solutions installed, the performance of the platform will be immediate”, said Xabier Rica, AR Racking Sales Representative.

Click here to watch the video

 

Clad-rack warehouse system for Spanish dairy company

Posted on by Keith McKinley

García Baquero, a well-known Spanish company with an international presence in more than 60 countries dedicated to the production and distribution of dairy products, has improved its intralogistics with a clad-rack warehouse for pallets installed by AR Racking in Ciudad Real, Spain.

The new warehouse has 36m-high racking which, apart from storing the load, is part of the structure of the building supporting the external enclosures. The main characteristic of clad-rack warehouses is that the racking is part of the building structure, thus fully exploiting the space. García Baquero’s new warehouse, covering 1,080 sq m, is equipped with a stacker crane to handle the goods.

AR Racking, a company that specialises in industrial storage systems, worked on this project with a European engineering company to integrate automated elements in the racking structure. The new centre is also designed to store refrigerated products so “the structure has AR Racking 100% galvanised racking that offers ideal corrosion resistance for this type of environmental conditions”, explained Juan Francisco Contreras, AR Racking Project Manager.

According to Diego Medina, Technical Manager at García Baquero, “this new automated warehouse will help us to improve our daily operating performance and our logistics efficiency. We are delighted to have a structure perfectly suited to the characteristics of our product and this large load capacity.”

“The clad-rack warehouse is the most suitable solution for high-bay storage. We worked painstakingly on the planning of the installation phases and carried out an exhaustive follow-up to ensure the project would be completed as planned and strictly meet the customer’s storage needs,” explained Bernardo Sopeña, AR Racking Sales Engineer.

Bullet Express equipped to go the extra miles

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Bullet Express, the Glasgow-based international logistics, transport and storage company, has installed 3.5 miles of pallet racking in its new 30,000 sq ft storage logistics facility in the city. Laid end to end, the racking is long enough to stretch from the storage facility at 2129 London Road, Glasgow, to George Square in the heart of Scotland’s largest city.

The new racking, manufactured by Spanish specialist AR Racking and installed by local installation experts, Rackit Ltd, means that the facility is now fully operational only two months after Bullet Express received the keys to the building.

The new storage facility:

Represents a seven-figure investment from Bullet Express
Can hold 5,000 pallets
Increases Bullet Express’s capacity by 25% to 26,000 pallets
Has 20 rows of high-capacity racking, creating 364 storage bays stacked seven layers high
Operates 10 aisles
Has a narrow aisle configuration to accommodate Aisle Master forklift trucks

Bullet Express’s creation of the new storage facility reflects a surge in demand from both existing and new customers for storage services. This is in response to tighter consumer delivery demand following a 40% rise in online shopping due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The new facility will result in the creation of up to 10 new jobs initially.

David McCutcheon, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Bullet Express, said: “Demand from existing and new customers for storage space close to their customers is at unprecedented levels and investing in this high-capacity racking means that we can accommodate their needs, offering an end-to-end service. So much so that the facility is already close to reaching its capacity with new business wins from blue-chip customers in the retail grocery sector.

“I’m full of admiration for the service we’ve received from AR Racking, Rackit and Douglas Gillespie Plant, whose high-lift plant was used throughout the installation. I’m proud, too, of Bullet Express’s own team who have moved heaven and earth to get this installation completed in record time.”

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