Automated guided vehicles
On the road in the intermediate realm
Intelligent logistics meets architectural monument: driverless transport vehicles connect post and customs in the Zurich-Mülligen letter center via retracted intermediate floors.
Grenzebach and Gilgen Logistics are pooling their expertise to automate the intralogistics of Swiss Post and customs at the Zurich-Mülligen letter center. Thanks to the new automated guided vehicle system (AGV) from Grenzebach, Swiss Post and customs are now handling small consignments even more efficiently, flexibly and sustainably.
The vehicles are used in the Unterwegs im Zwischenreich listed Swiss Post building on specially installed mezzanine floors. Gilgen Logistics, the Swiss general contractor for warehousing and logistics, developed the corresponding warehouse concept for the existing building. It shows that intralogistics solutions can also be implemented in structurally challenging existing buildings with numerous columns and shafts.
Post and customs - separate and yet connected
Around 30 million foreign consignments reach their recipients every year via Swiss Post. If goods are imported from abroad, they have to be cleared through customs in a separate security area. Grenzebach supplied the infrastructure to connect the two separate work areas. AGVs and the fleet manager, which is connected to the warehouse management system in the mail center and regulates the transport orders between the spatially separated partners, are part of the intralogistics solution. "With the volume of consignments that reach the sorting center every day, no two days are the same. An off-the-shelf logistics system would quickly be under- or hopelessly overstretched," says Renzo Pedretti, Head of the International Mail Center at Swiss Post. "Reorganizing the intralogistics for the Zurich-Mülligen letter center was an exciting and challenging task for us. With Grenzbach, we were able to gain a partner who is also constantly working on further developments for the intralogistics world," says Daniel Gilgen, Head of Systems Business and Deputy CEO at Gilgen Logistics.
Modern use of existing buildings
For security reasons, customs must be separated from Swiss Post in terms of processes. The customs officers work from Monday to Friday, while Swiss Post operates around the clock seven days a week. The existing building with its many columns and shafts was a challenge for the intralogistics concept. An intermediate floor (mezzanine) was installed due to the limited space available. This is where the L600 AGVs from Grenzebach now transport the pallet boxes to their destinations. "Gilgen Logistics' solution for Swiss Post is an excellent example of a modern utilization concept for existing buildings. Our AGVs are predestined for such brownfield projects because they can even be used in very low ceiling heights," explains Alexander Gebelein, Key Account Manager 3PL and eCommerce at Grenzebach.
The article appeared in materialfluss 6/22.
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