At Still's Kion Automation Center in Antwerp, customer projects are managed, training courses are held and hardware and software development is carried out. On January 29, the international trade press was given an insight into the supplier's automation portfolio.

Myths about automation hold companies back

There are numerous reasons to promote the topic of automation in intralogistics - from the increasing shortage of skilled workers to process quality. "At Still, we firmly believe that automation offers great opportunities for intralogistics," explains Still Managing Director Dr. Florian Heydenreich. "What currently stands in the way of its scaling are the persistent myths of major barriers to entry, high costs, complex handling and a lack of support. These often prevent smaller companies in particular from engaging with the innovative topic of automation. This is despite the fact that - under the right conditions and with the right partner - any company can automate today."

Scalability and standardized solutions play a key role

Successful, long-term and fail-safe automation of processes requires established technologies as well as scalable and standardized solutions that also work reliably in existing warehouse layouts. They not only reduce failure risks, but also enable fast service thanks to standardized components and interfaces.

Scalable solutions also make it easy for small companies to get started with automation. Equally crucial - on both the provider and customer side - is a deep understanding of the fact that automation is a long-term process and is often accompanied by comprehensive change within the company. Accordingly, sound planning and advice from an experienced partner are important from the outset, starting with the tender and the definition of the specifications with all requirements and actual circumstances - because this is the basis of the entire project. "A major source of error in current automation projects is the human factor. When automation projects fail today or are fraught with errors, this is almost always due to inadequate preparation, planning and communication - and not to the technology," explains Dr. Heydenreich.

The goal: to become the leading full-service provider of smart automation solutions

Full-range suppliers such as Still do not focus on individual products, but on developing customized solutions that are designed to make a customer's entire material flow efficient, reliable and resilient in the long term - regardless of its size and the complexity of its applications. Still wants to position itself even more strongly in this area with a view to the near future. "We want to become the leading full-service provider for smart automation solutions, from consulting to hardware and software to service," announces Dr. Heydenreich. "We cover the entire spectrum of process automation, from small companies with no automation experience to global corporations, from the smallest solutions with just one vehicle to complex large-scale projects."

The technological basis for scalable automation is Still's software. The modular system is based on standardized components and is available in two variants that build on each other: Still uses the iGo easy entry-level version for small projects with just a few vehicles and moderate requirements in terms of the activities performed. It allows quick and easy implementation as well as intuitive handling, even without automation experience. For complex automation projects in which a large number of different vehicles and systems are to be orchestrated in order to map complete material flows automatically, iGo systems is used. The compatibility of both solutions ensures that customers can scale their automation seamlessly at any time.

Thanks to the Still iGo flow and the standardized VDA 5050 interface, which Still is successively integrating into all automated vehicles, the integration of partner products, the control of Still vehicles via third-party software or the connection to higher-level systems are also possible without any problems.