AR Racking installs a new warehouse for Leku-Ona

AR Racking installed its new industrial storage solutions at Comercial Leku-Ona’s new plant located at Alto de Itziar in Deba, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The new premises concentrate the Group’s processes and subsidiaries, including the companies MKL and Urtxinox, previously located in Elgoibar, Zestoa and Deba.

Leku-Ona specialises in manufacturing automation-related components for the pneumatic, hydraulics, machining, laser cutting, formed tubing and assembly sectors. An industry leader, the company has been over 40 years in the business, committed to diversification and global solutions. Nowadays, the Group has six business units, operates in 16 industrial sectors and employs 50 people.

The new premises are the result of the Group’s strategic targets. The new warehouse is intended to improve productive projects and increase synergies among companies with a view to continue diversifying, grow and access new markets.

Leku-Ona’s new warehouse is 8,500 square metres. This is a major key in customer service, in an industry in which stock is not stored by the customer, who demands that the manufacturer has the product in stock for immediate delivery.

To address this, a combination of two solutions was implemented: an Adjustable Pallet Racking system with a capacity for 990 pallets, designed by AR Racking, and a automated Miniload system with a capacity for 6,006 cartons, designed by Ulma Handling Systems.

The project was developed by AR’s technical team in tight collaboration with Ulma and managers at Leku-Ona. This way, the storage systems were fully tailored to space needs and pre-set goals. According to Alex Zabala, Sales Manager at Leku-Ona, “Collaboration with a qualified technical team will allow us to improve our operating and logistics capacity in order to provide the best service to our customers.”

AR Racking has a certified fully-automated production centre and an R&D tech centre, where complex storage solutions are developed to meet new market needs. The company is commercially present in over 35 countries.

It is part of Grupo Arania, a group specialising in steel processing that has been in the business for over 75 years. This industrial group operates worldwide. All member companies show export rates above 80%.

The installation

The Adjustable Pallet Racking system meets the need for versatility in storage and agility in load access. A highly flexible system that accommodates any type of unit load and forklift truck. It is also very easy to assemble, easy to replacing parts and easy to extend. Therefore, it offers huge possibilities for evolving and re-configuring the warehouse space. Agility is determined by allowing immediate access to the stored goods.

The Adjustable Pallet Racking system installed by AR has a capacity for 990 pallets, 1200mm width x 800mm. depth, 1000kg max. per unit load. It is 8500mm high and has 5 beam levels, each with a bearing capacity of 3000kg.

Leku-Ona also had a MiniLoad storage system installed, an optimal solution for storing small and light high-rotation unit loads. This system uses robot equipment for handling loads, supplied and installed by Ulma for a storage structure designed by AR Racking. Materials handling automation improves productivity by reducing operations times and mistakes, and performing daily inventories of stocked products.

The MiniLoad system installed at Leku-Ona’s new plant has a capacity for 6,006 cartons, 400x600mm base, and is 11,950mm high.