New solution for empty goods gets logistics system moving
KROMBACHER BRAUEREI BERNHARD SCHADEBERG GMBH & CO. KG in Kreuztal-Krombach is one of Europe's most modern breweries.
This family firm founded in Germany in 1803 has been involved in a number of projects as a sponsor.
One example of this is the Rain Forest Project, with Krombacher Brauerei donating a sum of EUR 500,000 to the Rain Forest Foundation of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Germany. In the field of sport, Krombacher is the official main sponsor of the football club DSC ARMINIA BIELEFELD in the new match season.
The largest private brewery has demonstrated success in its very own sector by notching up a market share of 9% with its core product, Krombacher Pils. It thus remains Germany's most popular brand of beer. In 2003, it managed to remain the frontrunner in the German brewing industry with sales of EUR 515.8 million and a total output of 5440 hectolitres – despite the beer market generally tending to show a downward trend. The consistent rebottling policy of Krombacher Brauerei is seen as a decisive factor for its disproportionately high gain of 12.0%.
Investment in the future
The company's strategy of expansion also shows itself in the creation of 30 extra jobs and investment in new machinery and bottling equipment.
Under the company's programme of future-orientated investment in the site of Kreuztal-Krombach, Westfalia Storage Systems was commissioned to install an extensive conveying system for in-house pallet transport between production, the warehouse and dispatch. For the "Westerweiterung" (West Extension) project the materials handling system providing for reversible operation was designed to extend over three levels to transport empty goods pallets on the upper level.
The load units consist of Euro pallets and 3-runner special pallets measuring 1150 mm x 1150 mm. The height of the load unit is max. 2000 mm on the ground floor, and max. 2400 mm on the platform and upper level. Its weight may be min. 200 kg and max. 1250 kg with an evenly distributed load. As goods have to withstand accelerations and delays of 1 m/sec in all transport directions without harm and without shifting position, they have to be packed very securely.
Logistics paths
The pallets are brought to the loading zone lengthwise by forklift trucks, which set them down at the 6-pallet receiving station. Here the pallets are separated using special roller conveyor technology.
To ensure that only clean pallets are passed for further transport to the rotating table equipped with dynamic holding devices, there is also a cleaning station, which uses brushes to clean the dirt from the underside of the pallets, collecting it in a container.
They are rotated through 90 degrees and then conveyed to the contour checking station. Here a check is made of the runners under the pallets as well as the free spaces in the load unit. The control process ends with a contour check, with the goods centring station being activated if the load dimensions are exceeded.
Pallet errors are detected during this check, followed by the fully automatic replacement of defective pallets by new pallets, available in a magazine, and subsequent collection in a separate magazine.
If load units and pallets are correct, they are transported via rotating tables and gravity roller conveyors to the vertical conveyor, which takes them to the upper levels. This is designed for a maximum speed of 90 m/min and the horizontal conveyor for a speed of 15 m/min with frequency converter. The capacity of the entire plant is between 150 pallets per hour without pallet changing and 120 pallets per hour with pallet changing.
The materials handling equipment used on the upper level and the platform is also designed for reverse operation (centre runner alignment). On the upper level, pallets are transported lengthwise. They are first separated after receiving (6 or 4 pallets) and then brought back together again at the receiving / delivery station. The platform is also equipped with a 6-pallet receiving /delivery system parallel to the ground floor.
Flexibility with shifts
The plant previously operated round the clock in two and three shifts, but the changes to the business organisation now include a five-shift model.
Krombacher is already planning the next stage of expansion as the steady growth enjoyed by this family firm makes further construction work unavoidable
