Warehousing Steel
Warehousing Steel technology from voestalpine supports sustainable logistics Gisela Upmeyer Henkel Deutschland is constantly working on optimizing its production processes. One example of this is the construction of a new distribution center at its site in Düsseldorf. Austrian steel processing company Voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik has delivered the steel structure for the center’s automatic high-bay warehouse. Henkel in Düsseldorf is globally represented with its brands and technologies in the three sectors Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Comprising fluid, powder and tablet products, Laundry & Home Care has around 15 production lines. The company has now built a new, approx. 16,000 m² distribution center (Image) at its Düsseldorf production site, which officially opened in September of this year. The new building has a warehouse capacity of 90,000 pallets, and replaces the four distribution centers previously used in Düsseldorf, Genthin and Stuttgart as the main distribution hub. The storage and distribution of the goods will now be directly connected to Production in Düsseldorf, enabling Henkel to supply both the entire German market and the neighboring countries with laundry detergent and cleaning agents. Oliver Wittig, Head of Logistics for Germany & Switzerland, Laundry & Home Care at Henkel AG: “With this new central distribution center, there is no more supply transport between the warehouses. Making this solution both cost-effective and sustainable.” In order to implement this logistics concept in the warehouse, Henkel called on Voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik GmbH (Austria) to provide steel shelving for an automatic high-bay warehouse. Focus on sustainability and quality Sustainability is an important aspect of Henkel’s corporate philosophy. Here, the company has a clear strategy with ambi- Gisela Upmeyer M.A. is Managing Director of the Gesellschaft für Marketing und Public Relations (GMP) in Munich, Germany 26 f+h Intralogistics 5/2014
Warehousing tious targets. Essentially, to achieve greater results with fewer resources. The new central warehouse is set to play a crucial role here: four warehouses will be combined to form one, reducing the total amount of tonkilometers driven by approx. 20 percent, and thus reducing CO 2 emissions by eight percent. The new warehouse also consumes only around half as much energy as a conventional building thanks to a compact structure, as well as efficient lighting and insulation systems. The sustainable construction has received LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), an American, internationally recognized certification body that sets the standards for environmentally friendly, resource-efficient and sustainable construction. Just like Henkel, the publicly traded Voestalpine AG, based in Austria’s Linz, is also active on the international stage. And both companies share a similar outlook when it comes to value. The Austrian steel company sets high standards for the quality of products and services, as it does for sustainability in production. Based on this, and on the positive experience gained from previous joint projects, Voestalpine Krems „Transport structures have been tightened with the new distribution center“ Oliver Wittig Finaltechnik GmbH, as a specialist for the steel construction of high-bay warehouses, received the order from Henkel to supply the steel shelving for the central warehouse in Düsseldorf. Construction began in May 2013 and the warehouse was finished by March 2014. Test operations ran from April to June 2014, with actual operations and deliveries to customers starting in July. High degree of automation ensures flexibility The site in Düsseldorf now boasts an automatic high-bay warehouse with a building located directly in front used for packing, picking and dispatch. The design of the channel storage system, with the dimensions 108.3 × 90.72 × 28.6 m (L × W × H), is divided into four blocks with ten levels. Five transverse transport carriages cross paths in each of the three aisles, each one responsible for the storage and retrieval of pool pallets at two levels. As there are only 60,000 spaces available for the storage of max. 90,000 pallets, stacking is to some extent an option for the pallets that are 1.05 m high and weigh a maximum of 1,000 kg. Voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik delivered approx. 4,100 tons of steel for the storage of more than 25 million packets of laundry detergent and cleaning agent. The shelving was constructed over two shifts. With a handling capacity of more than 1.2 million pallets a year, the new central warehouse will increase logistic efficiency for the Laundry & Home Care sector, thus contributing towards the growth of the company. Henkel is aiming for a turnover of € 20 billion by 2016. Photos: voestalpine www.voestalpine.com/finaltechnik About voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik and Nedcon form the warehouse systems competency center for the voestalpine Group. Finaltechnik focuses on high performance product solutions for high rack stores, roof and wall bearing high rack systems for pallets, and construction and integration racks. Their many years of experience and cutting edge fabrication technologies enable them to supply highly regarded rack solutions worldwide. Over its 35 years of operations, voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik has implemented more than 700 high rack store projects and outfitted more than 1,000 construction and C+C markets. At its Krems factory, in the Wachau region, one of the most beautiful and fascinating areas of Austria, Finaltechnik employs a staff of 150. German-Indian Business Center USE YOUR CHANCES – TAKE THE NEXT STEP www.GIBC-Hannover.org Thinking about the big step into the german market? Contact us in questions of Business development Financing Investments Marketing & sales support Strategically well-integrated into the plant infrastructure – Henkel’s new central warehouse WIRTSCHAFTSFÖRDERUNG hannoverimpuls f+h Intralogistics 5/2014 27 Hannoverimpuls.indd 1 13.11.2014 15:56:01
