VAHLE opens state-of-the-art automated miniload warehouse

Kamen, Germany: PAUL VAHLE GmbH & Co. KG has opened one of the most modern material flow systems of its kind in Kamen. This marks the official end of the modernisation of the warehouse, which cost €2.5 million. The system provider for mobile industrial applications supplies the connected production facility with individual components from this site. Effective immediately, order picking takes place automatically with the latest warehousing equipment made by Jungheinrich. Politicians, businesspeople and administrators attended the official opening of the plant.

“With this investment, Vahle has catapulted into the future and created the foundation for the sustainable optimisation of all upstream and downstream production processes,” says Achim Dries, CEO & Managing Director of Paul Vahle GmbH & Co. KG. The heart of the new system is an automated miniload warehouse with 7,314 storage locations. Boxes measuring 600 x 400 and 300 x 400 millimetres are stored double-deep or quadruple-deep and crosswise. These are serviced by what Jungheinrich views as the most powerful stacker crane of its class, which moves at a speed of six metres per second. A wide-aisle warehouse, cantilever racks for the storage of long goods and drive-through racking were also built. The logistics area nearly doubled through the modernisation, to around 3,500 square metres. 

“With the  Go Live of the miniload warehouse, VAHLE is the first company in the world to utilise the Miniload STC  which was introduced by Jungheinrich in 2018,” explains Jürgen Wagenknecht, the responsible project manager at Jungheinrich. It has energy storage devices called SuperCaps which are specially  adaptedto the stacker crane’s driving characteristics. These store the energy released during braking processes and feed it back into the drive system during acceleration. “This reduces our energy needs – in particular the power required for the stacker crane compared to conventional systems – by up to 25 per cent,” says Dries.

The VAHLE conductor bar system vConductor VKS 6 provides power transmission. “We have installed the best components that are currently available on the market,” says Dries. “In this way, we not only  ensure the performance of our miniload warehouse but also make it possible for our customers to see the conductor bar system live in action.” The system is also designed for maximum efficiency with regard to space utilisation. By means of an innovative rail design and the drive system, which saves space through its integration in the mast base, the stacker crane realises the smallest approach dimensions in its class. The result is less space required, with a simultaneous increase in warehouse capacity and higher throughput. In order to further increase the order picking performance in shipment logistics, a modern pick-to-light system was installed parallel to the automated miniload warehouse. It  is connected to  a drive-through rack for up to 600 fast-moving components. 

About Paul VAHLE GmbH & Co. KG

Paul VAHLE GmbH & Co. KG is a system provider of mobile industrial applications. Since its founding in 1912, the company has delivered individualised energy and data positioning systems for diverse application areas worldwide. It focuses on the crane technology, intralogistics, port technology, automotive, people mover and amusement rides sectors. Among other things, the company is known for Paul Vahle’s development of the first copper conductor bar in 1912.

Paul VAHLE GmbH & Co. KG is headquartered in Kamen, Germany, and is part of the VAHLE Group. The value-oriented family business thinks and acts sustainably and stands for quality, innovation and a solution-oriented approach. The Group generates revenue of over €120 million worldwide. Of the more than 750 employees, about 630 work at the German sites in Kamen and Dortmund as well as in twelve national sales offices. VAHLE is active in more than 50 countries worldwide, with twelve subsidiaries and representatives.