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Close17 metre vertical conveyor for auto the warehouse
A Ukrainian confectionery company has been widely introducing innovative solutions since 2015. And since then, it has fully automated the manufacturing process of its products.
In 2019, the company increased exports of its products from 5% to 25%. And given the growing demand for confectionery products both in Ukraine and globally, the manufacturer has a steadily positive sales growth rate. Therefore, the company is actively improving and automating its production and storage processes in order to provide consumers with tasty and high-quality sweets.
The confectionary production is located on 3 floors and the finished product warehouse is in the next building. The production and the warehouse are connected by a gallery. The volume of the production is constantly increasing. The existing lift system and storage equipment could not cope with the demand. In order to increase the capacity of the storage area, the company decided to upgrade it.
During the analysis of the client’s warehouse processes, we identified the main tasks of warehouse automation:
- provide lifting of goods between the three floors of production;
- speed up the descent of pallets with goods;
- automate the movement of pallets to the finished goods warehouse;
We started the project with a detailed analysis of the client’s storage processes and the development of a conceptual solution. For the factory it was very important to connect all three floors of production, so we developed a unique project for Ukraine with a vertical conveyor of 17 meters in height.
The automation solution for the warehouse for finished goods of confectionery consists from:
- vertical pallet conveyor;
- straight conveyor sections for pallets by KAPELOU®;
- diverter chain, for reversing the transport direction of the pallets on the conveyor system;
- HMI control panels for monitoring the machines;
- automatic gate for the safe operation of personnel.
A driven pallet roller conveyor is installed on each production floor. Using a warehouse truck, the pallet is placed on the conveyor and automatically moved to the vertical conveyor.
Safety comes first. The vertical conveyor is safe for staff. For this reason, we have installed a safety fence around the vertical conveyor shaft and a sliding gate on the pallet loading side. This keeps personnel safe from possibly dangerous situations.
Reverse conveyor mode. We have taken the customer’s business processes into account and implemented a reversible mode of vertical conveyor to replenish the production floors with packaging materials, pallets and raw materials for making sweets.
Software. The WCS software was developed to manage the equipment. This software coordinates the individual elements of the automated warehouse, manages the operation of the material handling equipment and the work of the personnel and the automation system in a synchronized manner.
Results of automation:
- increased conveying capacity to 60 pallets/hour, from 15-20 pallets per hour before the project;
- implemented reversible operation of the pallet vertical conveyor for replenishing production stock;
- released personnel and warehouse equipment for other processes;
- ensured energy-efficient use of the automation system.
Thanks to the complete KAPELOU solution, pallet descent and transport in production is fully automated and safe. The system transports up to 3 times the pallets to the finished product warehouse without the involvement of warehouse machinery or personnel.
