SSI Schaefer has delivered another fleet of WEASEL automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to fashion logistics service provider NextLevel Logistik®. The vehicles are being used in the picking area of a hanging goods warehouse.
This repeat order underlines the high degree of flexibility and costeffectiveness that is an integral part of the barrier-free automation solution. It was just 18 months ago that NextLevel Logistik® GmbH commissioned a WEASEL fleet from SSI Schaefer for its headquarters in Eltmann, near Schweinfurt. This innovative internal fleet solution went on to pick up the “International Forklift of the Year“ (IFOY) award in the category “Intralogistics Solution” at CeMAT 2016 in Hanover.
The WEASEL has already more than proved its worth at Eltmann. “Whatever we have asked it to do, the system has impressed us with its reliability, efficiency and safety, which has led us to extend its application”, says NextLevel managing director Henrik Bugiel. “The wide choice of options to support flexible configuration of the transport vehicles and the very straightforward scalability of the solution were important criteria in our decision to choose this system.”
In a separate hall, the new WEASEL fleet supports the picking of hanging goods. The bodies have been fitted with special fixtures for transporting such goods. A fully automatic goodsin reading process is achieved by using RFID read tunnels for the automatic RFID bulk stock recording of the transported goods. With optical track guidance, the AGVs do not require any fixed system components. This facilitated the rapid implementation and seamless integration into the internal flow of goods. The new WEASEL fleet started work at the end of September 2016. “A flexible and modular transport solution that we were able to implement within a very short timescale”, concludes Bugiel. “We are very happy.”
Automated Guided Vehicles are also assuming greater importance in the food and beverage industry. In increasing use at both manufacturing and production facilities and in distribution warehouses, their flexibility gives them a distinct advantage over fixed route transport systems such as conveyors.
Schaefer’s WEASEL masters almost all transport tasks for loads up to 35 kg and ensures an optimal, ‘barrierfree’ material flow, with low purchasing and operating costs, as well as a rapid return on investment. Heavy duty version AGVs are also available to carry larger loads (e.g. pallets) and heavy crates.
SSI Schaefer returns to the Southern Manufacturing and Electronics Exhibition at Farnborough, from 6th to 8th February 2018 to provide manufacturers with hands-on advice and guidance on a range of innovative, yet practical solutions to boost productivity and reduce costs. The company will be focusing on storage, materials handling, assembly and component containers, component presentation and line feeding. The company’s stand will also feature the WEASEL.
As the UK’s and world’s leading provider of integrated solutions SSI Schaefer satisfies the diverse needs of automated materials handling for production, storage and transportation within the complete sphere of intralogistics. Products range from plastic totes, through shelving, flow-racking, AGVs, vertical storage machines and mezzanine floors to high bay pallet warehouses and related IT control and management systems. The organisation offers expertise in the design, build, installation and maintenance of major, and often bespoke, production and distribution centre operations across a broad spectrum of commercial and industrial sectors.
SSI SCHAEFER
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