Press release – Supply chain automation
The new high-flyer is called the Aviator™ – Westfalia, a specialist for the automation of logistics systems throughout the entire supply chain, presents the latest generation of overhead storage and retrieval vehicles: the Aviator can automate all types of storage system and is suitable for different kinds of load-carrying devices. Special modules of the Savanna.net logistics software control the innovative storage and retrieval machine and increase its performance.
Borgholzhausen, 17 September 2008 – When developing and successfully implementing logistics systems using overhead storage and retrieval vehicles, the mechanical engineering side is just as important as the software. In particular, the projects for the Swiss companies Bourquin and Sika and the international logistics service provider Dachser that Westfalia completed this year provided this innovation with an important boost. They enabled overhead storage and retrieval vehicles finally to break out onto the intralogistics market after six years of trying – an achievement for which Westfalia has even been awarded a logistics prize. The company is now preparing its latest development for full market entry and is marketing this new generation of overhead storage and retrieval vehicles under the brand name Aviator™.
Innovative hardware guarantees the required performance from the high-flyer
The use of overhead storage and retrieval vehicles in warehouses is one of the most innovative technological advances in intralogistics today. The overhead Aviator is the only technology that can be used with different load-carrying devices. For instance, it uses satellite technology alongside traditional telescopic forks for handling pallets of all sizes, volumes and weight. Westfalia then equips the lifting platform on the overhead storage and retrieval vehicles (SRV) with a so-called “satellite station” – a platform integrated into the Aviator from which a shuttle can be lowered as required into the storage channels.
Irrespective of whichever load-carrying device is used, a simultaneous transfer and lifting motion increases the performance of the Aviator. Even greater productivity can be achieved by running two machines over each other in the air along a single aisle. Westfalia has just implemented this kind of system for the Swiss chemicals company Sika.
Aviator technology makes it possible for logistics systems to supply different kinds of storage and material handling systems and order picking zones from above.“While working on various projects over the past year and a half, our engineers and technicians have created the hardware and software for a new generation of overhead storage and retrieval vehicles. The brand name Aviator is an example of this boost in the innovation of hardware and software – the benefits of which are already being felt by customers such as Bourquin and Sika”, says Matthias Upmeyer, Managing Partner of Westfalia.
Stefan Bonifer is the contact partner for Aviator technology
Stefan Bonifer is a fully qualified engineer and joined Westfalia on 1 April 2008 as Regional Manager for the South West. He has considerable expertise in storage automation and has been the contact partner for questions relating to overhead storage and retrieval vehicles including the Aviator since 1 August 2008. Bonifer is responsible for the smooth running of projects involving overhead logistics systems with new and existing customers, such as Dachser Logistics in Gersthoven. “Our new high-flyer is called the Aviator. Westfalia plans to use this brand name to market its overhead storage and retrieval vehicles. The name Aviator clearly indicates that this new, innovative machine operates logistics systems from above and moves along the aisles as if in flight”, says Bonifer.
Systems controlled by special modules from Savanna.net logistics software
Savanna.net logistics software will be used to control the Aviator. It will calculate the optimal speeds, acceleration and resulting oscillations of the storage/retrieval device and goods from the movements of the storage and retrieval vehicles on the wire cables. The .move module calculates and controls the timing and efficiency of the travel paths to counteract oscillations from the overhead machines – particularly during simultaneous transfer and lifting motions through a high-bay warehouse. By recording movement data, .move also makes it possible to improve throughput continuously and enhance monitoring of the hardware’s wear and tear. “What’s more, the .connect module will connect the Aviator warehouse to company software such as SAP and create a communication link with peripheral devices such as scanners and order picking trolleys. Another module, .show, controls the visualisation of the material flows of Aviator systems. In this way, Aviator is able to achieve a very high throughput with excellent flexibility, depending on the circumstances of a given warehouse”, added Bonifer.
About Westfalia
Westfalia is a specialist for supply chain automation. The company plans, produces and installs automatic warehousing, conveying and order-picking systems (e.g., high-bay warehouses). Automation of the entire supply chain includes the control and IT connection of systems to logistics software such as the company’s own Savanna.net. Westfalia also links in-house and transport logistics (e.g., by means of automatic loading and unloading systems for lorries, such as SpeedLoaders, or automatic load securing systems such as AirProtect). Maintenance, modernisation and extension of systems guarantee long-term customer partnerships. In its over 35-year history, Westfalia has implemented more than 650 automatic logistics systems worldwide. The headquarters of the proprietor-managed family business are located in Borgholzhausen between Bielefeld and Osnabrück. Approximately 300 employees work at the plants in Europe and the USA. Further information:
www.westfaliaeurope.com
www.savanna.com
www.westfaliacarpark.com
Westfalia Logistics Solutions GmbH & Co. KG
Corporate Press Office - Christian Meyer
E-mail: c.meyer[at]WestfaliaEurope.com
Tel. +49 (0)5425 808 907 - Fax +49 (0) 5425 808 901
Industriestrasse 11 – 33829 Borgholzhausen – Germany
