In order to cope with the dynamic growth of the company and the increasing number of orders from the pharmaceutical industry, the specialist freight forwarder karldischinger decided to expand its storage capacity. Above all, this should not only create space, but also relieve employees and speed up processes in incoming and outgoing goods. Gebhardt Fördertechnik GmbH and Managing Director Reinhold Himmelhan were awarded the project in 2016. After the design and clarification of all technical requirements, the project was implemented within ten months and went into operation in 2017.

karldischinger GmbH specializes in complex logistics services. The specialist forwarding company has particular expertise in national and international procurement and distribution logistics. In addition to transportation, storage and handling services, it also offers a large portfolio in the areas of warehousing and value-added services. In particular, tasks relating to order picking, assembly, packaging activities and quality control are successfully implemented here. Customers from the food/consumer goods, automotive and pharmaceutical industries account for the majority of karldischinger's orders. With the new building, the latter industry sector now has access to a total of 35,000 pallet spaces, which have been audited and qualified by the pharmaceutical industry in accordance with the important requirements of Good Distribution Practice (GDP).

The pharmaceutical industry is the fastest growing sector for the specialist forwarding company with locations in Germany, Austria, Croatia and Spain. Due to its central European location in the border triangle of Germany, France and Switzerland, this has led to a permanent increase in storage capacity, among other things. The automated flow of goods to reduce throughput times was a requirement when the order was placed.

From goods receipt to storage

The delivery and collection of palletized goods by truck takes place within an airlock function. The temperatures in the storage area can therefore be maintained and are of great importance in the pharmaceutical industry. The goods are brought from the truck and with the help of industrial trucks to the consolidation area of the warehouse, from where they are transported to the goods issue area after the entire contents of the truck have been unloaded. A scale and a contour check check the pallets for errors in terms of their dimensions, weight and pallet quality. Once the pallet has been released by the goods infeed, it is transferred to one of six integrated storage and retrieval machines via various roller and chain conveyors.

In the next step, a retrieval order is created using the Gebhardt StoreWare warehouse and material flow software. This provides the warehouse with information on which goods are to be sent to the retrieval stations via the conveyor systems. These are removed from the station by the warehouse employees using industrial trucks and taken to the consolidation area for loading onto the trucks.

"If everything fits."

Even in the company philosophy, karldischinger names partnership-based cooperation and the joint development of innovative solutions as important cornerstones. Karlhubert Dischinger had a good feeling about the tender for the project in particular, but also about the direct award of the contract to Gebhardt Fördertechnik, as both companies have similar structures and medium-sized companies should also support each other. "Once the warehouse with its automated modules was completed by Gebhardt and we were able to put the warehouse into operation, we were not left alone. This showed us at this stage of the project that we had chosen the best partner for us," says Karlhubert Dischinger.

Premiere of the RBG Cheetah heavy at LogiMAT

What Gebhardt was unable to do a few years ago, and where it often had to rely on the expertise of other companies, can now be produced and integrated independently. As a supplier of complete systems, Gebhardt's aim is to provide customers with the best possible systems - ideally digitally networked - by perfectly synchronizing the mechanical, control and software systems. With the development of the RBG Cheetah heavy, Gebhardt will be able to offer pallet storage and retrieval machines from its own production in the future. The Cheetah heavy will be presented for the first time at this year's LogiMAT and represents a powerhouse with a maximum payload of 1,500 kg.

The rail-mounted Cheetah heavy can be used for single or double-deep storage and retrieval of Euro or industrial pallets and pallet cages. Multi-deep storage using the StoreBiter 500 pallet shuttles is also possible. The special feature of the Cheetah heavy is its high degree of standardization, which is guaranteed by its modular design. This results in short delivery times for Gebhardt customers. Furthermore, the storage space can be optimally utilized thanks to minimized approach dimensions.