The Vahle Group, a manufacturer of energy and data transmission systems based in Kamen, has commissioned Jungheinrich to build an automated small parts warehouse. The order includes conventional warehouse technology and industrial trucks. At the heart of the system is the new STC 2B1A storage and retrieval machine. The miniload will serve a total of 7314 rack locations at a speed of 6 meters per second in Kamen. Two different container formats are used simultaneously in the small parts warehouse – boxes measuring 600 x 400 millimetres, which are stored double-deep, and boxes measuring 300 x 400 millimetres, which are stored four-deep crosswise. The system is scheduled for completion at the end of 2018.
Rüdiger Kuhn, Head of Purchasing and Materials Management at Vahle, explains: “The Vahle Group always and everywhere focuses on quality – in our products and services, employees, training and building equipment. Our commitment to continuous improvement is also reflected in the new automated small parts warehouse that Jungheinrich is building for us in Kamen. The innovative power of the new storage and retrieval machine together with Jungheinrich’s holistic solution expertise for logistics systems from a single source have convinced us. That’s why we will be working with Jungheinrich on this project to implement a wide-aisle warehouse, cantilever racking for long goods and live storage racking in addition to the small parts warehouse.”
Jungheinrich’s STC 2B1A was presented for the first time at Logimat 2018 in Stuttgart and is considered an extremely powerful storage and retrieval machine for automated small parts warehouses. It has energy buffers, so-called “super caps”, which are specially adapted to the driving behavior. These store the energy released during braking and feed it back into the drive system when accelerating. This has made it possible to reduce the energy requirement and, in particular, the connected load of the stacker crane by up to 25 percent compared to the competition. Energy transmission is ensured via a Vahle conductor rail system.
According to Jungheinrich, the STC 2B1A is also designed for maximum efficiency in terms of space utilization. Thanks to the innovative design of the guide rail and the space-saving Omega travel drive integrated in the mast base, the storage and retrieval machine achieves the smallest approach dimensions in its class.
Compared to other storage and retrieval machines on the market, Jungheinrich’s STC 2B1A enables its customers to achieve lower space requirements with the same storage capacity in a warehouse of the same size or increased storage capacity with higher throughput. Another innovation is the new modular mast design. Despite its lightweight construction, it ensures particularly high stability of the appliance up to a height of 25 meters.