As part of the Heinzel Group, Laakirchen Papier produces publication and packaging papers on the PM10 and PM11 paper machines. Since the rebuild, PM10 has specialized in the production of lightweight corrugated base paper based on recycled paper for environmentally friendly packaging solutions. This increases its production capacity. At the same time, the capacity of SC papers for magazines, catalogs and advertising prints has been expanded on PM11.

Rolls for five trucks per hour
The automated dispatch warehouse with the two Demag process cranes accommodates the entire output of the PM10. The two cranes, each with two independently movable trolleys, ensure high handling rates even at peak times. Around five trucks can be loaded per hour and the loading time is around 30 percent shorter than with a floor storage system.

The winch units are equipped with vacuum lifters that can be used to store and retrieve the unpackaged paper rolls quickly and gently. Each individual crane is designed so that it can store or retrieve rolls with a diameter of up to 1,500 millimetres, a width of 3,300 millimetres and a maximum weight of 4.5 tons in pairs or individually. This technology achieves a system performance of 104 reel movements per hour.

Two-trolley solution swallows peaks
In the context of the limited warehouse dimensions and simultaneous just-in-time delivery to customers, the four independently movable trolleys in the paper warehouse ensure the necessary flexibility even at peak times. In addition to the limited space, the challenge in this project was the limited loading time of five working days. In order to handle the peaks in the paper warehouse, the initial focus was on reducing the number of crane movements. This was achieved by installing two trolleys per crane. The high performance values were achieved by transferring the fast travel and lifting speeds of the process cranes to this two-trolley solution.

Laser distance measuring systems are used to position the cranes precisely above the positions specified by the warehouse management system (WMS). The paper rolls are sucked in by the vacuum lifter in less than a second. The cranes stack the paper rolls up to 15.05 meters high on an area of 2,700 square meters. With a filling level of 80 percent, the warehouse can hold around 8,870 tons of paper. Filling takes place 24/7, but deliveries are only made 69.5 hours a week. During the remaining time, the process cranes controlled by the Demag LVS optimize the warehouse and prepare the requested retrieval orders.