Around the world ten times with Mitsubishi

There are currently 70 employees at WRW in Ahlen, 15 of whom work in administration, five in the warehouse and the rest in production and quality assurance. WRW pipes are a firm favorite with many system providers in the world of sanitary and heating installations. Added to this are the individual solutions for industrial customers. Here, many years of experience in the production of multilayer composite pipes and the associated industry knowledge make the difference: every customer receives the best product for their requirements. Naturally in their own colors, with their own logo and packed in their own boxes.

If you were to add up the annual production of the Ahlen-based pipe manufacturer, you could wrap the earth at least ten times. WRW produces more than 40 million meters of pipes with diameters ranging from 11.6 to 110 millimeters. Production is only made to order and at full steam. Because business is booming: production runs around the clock in three shifts, seven days a week. "Our pipes are fast-moving items, no order stays with us for longer than two weeks. We don't produce for stock - we maintain a real in-out transshipment center," explains Logistics and Shipping Manager Michael Kersting.

From production station to distribution warehouse

150 pallets are currently moved there every day by two Mitsubishi electric forklift trucks. One of them is an EDiA EM three-wheeler with a full cab for outdoor use, equipped with a fork positioner with sideshift for picking up pallets of different dimensions. It transports the pallets from the so-called production station, a warehouse located directly next to the production facility, to the rented distribution warehouse 500 meters away. The pallets are loaded onto a 7.5 ton truck and then driven to the distribution warehouse. There they are unloaded with the pallet trucks. Due to the short distance, transportation from production to the production station is carried out by hand pallet truck.

Michael Kersting, Head of Logistics and Shipping, and his colleague Dennis Czapla from the Sales and Marketing department rely on the industrial trucks from Mitsubishi Gabelstapler and the service from Degener Staplertechnik. Photo: Mitsubishi

However, WRW is currently building its own large hall for the finished goods with an area of around 3,000 square meters, which will soon be put into operation so that the distances will be shorter. The new hall will be ten meters high and will have an office wing, four loading ramps and a pallet conveyor system and will provide space for a monthly production of around four million meters of pipes.

Two pallets at once with extra long forks

But until then, the pallets are transported to the two ramps in the rented hall using two Mitsubishi PREMiA (PBV20N2) low lift pallet trucks with a folding driver's platform and loaded into the trucks. One of the two electric pallet trucks is equipped with extra-long forks for transporting up to two pallets at a time.

The most powerful material handler in the team at WRW is part of the Mitsubishi series of EDiA EX four-wheel electric forklift trucks, which won the "red dot award" last year. Mitsubishi itself claims that this is currently the best electric forklift truck in the world. Tobias Deppe, one of the four forklift drivers at WRW, is also impressed by the 3.5-tonne truck: "It's really really good. I haven't driven a better electric forklift yet."

Control even on slippery ground

The EDiA EX 80 volt electric forklift truck is incredibly maneuverable even in confined spaces and drives comfortably, easily and sensitively. The four-wheel differential steering enables an unprecedented 100° rotation of the rear wheels, while two drive motors at the front independently ensure total control even on slippery surfaces. The intelligent curve control system calculates all the characteristics of a curve even before the truck enters it. No other truck offers faster and safer cornering. This increases the driver's confidence in the truck as well as productivity. It also has IPX weather protection so that it can be used outdoors even in heavy rain. The latter is also an advantage for use at Westfälische Rohrwerke. In addition to transporting pallets to the finished goods warehouse, the EDiA EX must constantly supply production with the necessary raw materials. Every day, three to four trucks deliver cardboard, aluminum and granulates on pallets or in big packs, which are destined for the production of multilayer composite pipes. A job for the 80-volt forklift truck. As production, unlike the logistics department, runs in several shifts, the EDiA EX is equipped with a charging system that allows the truck to be charged in between so that it can work at full capacity in every shift.

Degener Staplertechnik from Senden is responsible for ensuring that it stays that way. The company not only supplied the Mitsubishi industrial trucks, but also ensures that operations in Ahlen never come to a standstill due to a non-functioning green forklift truck. "Over the last two years, we have replaced our three gas-powered forklifts with the two EDiA electric forklifts and have not regretted it so far," explains Dennis Czapla, responsible for sales and marketing at WRW. "Our maintenance costs have been noticeably reduced and, together with Degener, we have calculated that we will save around 24,000 euros in energy costs over ten years," adds Michael Kersting. "That quickly put an end to the discussion about whether to use gas or electricity." It is therefore not surprising that a new EDiA three-wheel electric forklift truck with a lifting height of 6,500 millimetres has already been ordered for the new warehouse.

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