With the help of gravity

Ferag AG will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next year. The company from Hinwil in Switzerland is primarily known for its systems for the graphics industry. The Axel Springer publishing house in Hamburg-Ahrensburg, Pravda in Moscow and Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire in the UK and Australia are among Ferag's customers. But the newspaper industry is not a market that is growing. In order to position itself for the future, the decision was made in 2013 to establish the Intralogistics division. Based on the existing know-how and expertise in the area of overhead conveyor systems with single-item transport, the aim today is to expand the systems to other areas of application and industries.

Skyfall on the upswing

So far, four companies have opted for the Skyfall system and almost a dozen systems are in operation - in Belgium at construction chemicals manufacturer Soudal (we reported on this in issue 10/2015), in Germany and in the USA. Sales Director Enrico Caruso is optimistic that several dozen systems will be added in 2016. Skyfall can be used to bridge production lines with different cycles. As the rails are mounted above the employees' heads or run close to the ceiling, there is enough space on the floor for the workstations. The demand is there and Skyfall and the new Skysorter have hit the mark. The advantage is that the Skyfall systems only need a few drives. As a rule, one drive is sufficient for a section of 80 meters. Even on slight gradients, the innovative technology works exclusively with gravity.

Swiss understanding of quality Almost all components for the systems - the rails and switches in which the conveyor pockets are suspended - are produced in Hinwil itself. Caruso emphasizes that only high-quality materials are used. The systems are produced individually according to customer requirements - it usually takes three to four months from receipt of the order for the system to be delivered to the customer.

Material flow: Although Ferag was founded in 1957, the intralogistics division was only added in 2013. How important is intralogistics within Ferag AG today?

Enrico Caruso, Sales Director for Germany, Austria, Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland

Enrico Caruso:

It has been decided that intralogistics will become an important pillar of the company. Intralogistics is not only on everyone's lips, it is also on everyone's agenda. In the sense that we are gradually expanding this area.

MFL: What is the turnover ratio of intralogistics to your other business divisions, i.e. the graphics industry, direct mail and software?Caruso: At the moment, we are talking about a few percentage points of the total volume. We only started with intralogistics a good two years ago, at the end of 2013.

MFL: In May 2015, you announced that you had entered into a strategic partnership with SSI Schaefer. And that you want to cooperate on projects with overhead conveyor technology. How did this come about? Caruso: SSI Schaefer is a family business like us. We have many similar ways of thinking. We got talking to each other and decided that we would work together in the field of overhead conveyor technology. Schäfer contributes its expertise in the area of storage and sorter systems. We provide the overhead conveyor systems.

MFL: As a family business with a Swiss understanding of quality, you are proud to systematically promote innovation. I assume Skyfall is a major innovation?Caruso: Correct. But so is the way we develop and produce machines. We work with the help of rotary processes. This limits the centrifugal forces and gives us higher performance.

MFL: And a small innovation? Caruso: A small innovation is, for example, a solution for bundling products that are difficult to bundle. For example, magazines that are very slippery. To ensure that the package remains stable, we developed a technology that allows magazines to be securely bound and delivered.

MFL: What specific plans are you pursuing over the next one to two years?Caruso: Our priority is to expand and deepen the comprehensive expertise that we have built up over decades and implement it in various intralogistics application areas.

MFL: What would be an example of such an application?Caruso: Basically, we convey individual parts. And we can carry out additional processes in the flow during conveying. For example, when companies in the industrial sector want to connect production islands with each other. When producing individual parts - such as bags, bottles or cartridges - the aim is to store, pick and deliver them.

MFL: Which sectors are you targeting ? Caruso: The sectors we are addressing are producers of plastic or metal parts or sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, e-commerce and logistics.

The interview with Enrico Caruso, Sales Director for Germany, Austria, Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland, was conducted by Susanne Frank at Ferag's headquarters in Hinwil. Caruso is not a descendant of the famous tenor, he owes his name to his rebellious parents who, contrary to good Italian tradition, did not want to give him his grandfather's name. He admits that when he sings, it tends to have a soporific effect.

Contact:

Ferag AG 8340 Hinwil, Switzerland Tel.: 00 41 / 44 / 9 38 60-00 E-Mail: