Structured and compact storage

Founded in 1947 on Lake Constance, the Motan Group, with its subsidiaries, branches and sales agencies, is now present in over 80 countries worldwide and, with 600 employees worldwide, is a leading partner for process peripherals in the plastics industry. At the Isny site in the Allgäu region, the company employs 192 people, from the development and HR departments to production and logistics. Additional warehouse and production space was to be created here in 2022.

Those responsible decided to transfer the entire logistics operation to a new building. Customer request and special condition: The new hall had to be built and equipped entirely in accordance with 5S and lean standards. The central task was also to efficiently consolidate the available space and optimize the new building accordingly. The aim was to create a structure for an optimal material flow in a modern, clearly laid out logistics hall, so that all processes are efficiently coordinated.
For the realization of this complex project, Motan wanted a reliable partner who could guarantee maximum support for all phases from planning to implementation, as well as after completion of the new hall. "We have found this partner in BITO-Lagertechnik," says Jan Fay, Logistics Manager of the Motan Group.

Efficient compaction of the available space

The Motan Group manufactures various systems and the corresponding process peripherals for the plastics industry. The new hall building serves as a supply area for production. It was added to the overall complex, which consists of several buildings and houses various production facilities. The new logistics hall is connected to the production areas and supplies production with the required parts via tugger trains.

Individual parts of different sizes are used in the manufacture of motan machines. For this challenge, BITO-Lagertechnik has developed an individual and coordinated storage solution together with the customer. Here, everything from the smallest screw to bulky components, such as housings for systems or entire cable drums, can be stored optimally, with the large components being stored in cardboard boxes, in BITO XL 800 x 600 containers with runners or as bulky goods individually in BITO pallet racks with many individual details. Holding brackets as a special solution, for example, enable safe and space-saving vertical storage of metal sheets in the lower shelf levels. Mesh shelves ensure that the system can be operated safely and also offer flexibility. Both whole pallets and two half pallets can be stored one behind the other. Large, heavy cable drums are stored in a separate drum racking system, from which the required cable harnesses are picked directly from the reel as required.

Structured small parts storage in containers and shelf boxes in special colors

For the storage of all small parts, a multi-level shelving system creates a lot of storage capacity on the existing storage area. All the small parts accessories required for the manufacture of Motan machines are stored on two levels in BITO XL containers and in BITO shelving boxes, each in different sizes on shelving racks. All containers in the entire logistics area were produced in special colors at the customer's request. The containers are fitted with different dividers as required. This overall package not only saves a lot of space and therefore storage space and costs, but also ensures a well-structured overview. This in turn saves time when picking small parts.

The multi-storey system is equipped with a steel construction platform in front of it. This gives Motan additional storage locations on the upper level and a separate consolidation area in the lower area. A pallet transfer area on the second level serves to replenish materials and enables the picking trolleys to be transferred from the upper area. Staircases connect the floors inside the multi-storey system so that the upper area for picking small parts is easily and safely accessible for employees.

Optimization of the internal material flow

Motan tugger trains are used to supply the production area with materials. Small parts are transported to the production area in BITO containers, which are then made available to the employees on the production lines via BITO flow racks. "Our production halls have already been equipped by BITO, so their positive experience was another important factor in our decision, which is why we chose BITO storage technology again for the new warehouse," says Jan Fay. "Now we can connect everything together perfectly and ideally guarantee the supply of production via a classic Kanban system." In order to achieve a uniform overall appearance, not only were all the containers manufactured in a special color, but the entire shelving technology was also coated in the special color requested by Motan.

Jan Fay: "The perfectly structured new logistics hall has not only created an ideal storage location for our wide range of parts. Thanks to the efficient warehouse design, we now save a lot of space and therefore costs. In addition, we have now also reduced the unavoidable waste that has to be taken into account in day-to-day production and optimized our material flow. This is not only noticeable in the production process, but also economically for us."