There is no dead end here

Around 30 employees are responsible for ensuring that the ordered goods reach the customer quickly and reliably. Around 60 percent of the workforce is employed in the warehouse. With the construction of its new warehouse in 2014, the company was able to more than triple its capacity.

With a floor area of 300 square meters and a height of five meters, the walk-in, two-storey shelving system from Julius vom Hofe forms the center of the warehouse. The shelving manufacturer was involved in the redesign of the warehouse in collaboration with the company PTG mbH and the architect. Generous aisle widths, a three-way system and adequate lighting support the working conditions. Underfloor heating, which can also be used for cooling in summer, ensures a pleasant room temperature.

Plug-in dividers provide structure

With around 1,200 pallet spaces, the goods receiving area is located directly next to the warehouse. The upstream picking stations at an ergonomic height ensure short working distances.

There are currently around 10,000 different items on the shelves in Lüdenscheid, comprising several million twist drills. These are shipped worldwide. The approximately 300 article groups range from diameters of 0.2 millimetres - no larger than a hair - to a diameter of 100 millimetres. A twist drill can weigh up to 18 kilograms. This explains why the shelves require a high load-bearing capacity. All shelves are provided with perforations for shelf dividers, which can be added at any time. Dividers have been used to better subdivide the different types. They provide structure in storage and prevent misplacement. Clear labeling and colour coding also reduce the error rate. The variable dividers are pluggable and can be moved as required if the stored goods change.

"The flexibility of the shelving system and the possibility of expansion were very important to me personally," reports Karl-Heinz Kreutzmann, Managing Partner at PTG. "In its predominant function as a trading company, the racking system forms the heart of the business, so to speak. For this reason, I place high demands on efficiency, benefits, flexibility and quality," continues Kreutzmann. The company's new 10,000 square meter building is generously designed and there is room for expansion. The warehouse was also planned with a generous 2,450 square meters.

Expansion was possible without any problems

The fact that the company already had a two-storey shelving system from the same manufacturer in use in the previous warehouse proves that the expansion with shelving from Julius vom Hofe is possible without any problems. This meant that all the shelves and many other components could be transferred to the new system. "I can't even tell the difference between the old and new shelving components," the entrepreneur continues. To ensure that operations could continue as usual, some of the new shelving racks had already been assembled and fitted in the new hall. These were then supplemented with parts of the existing shelving system. This meant that order picking could continue at both locations and outgoing goods were secured.

Currently, around 120 parcels and some forwarding consignments weighing up to one ton leave the company. In order to stand out in the market, PTG has to offer its customers a high level of service: This is certainly guaranteed by good advice, but a fast delivery time and a high delivery rate are existential here. The majority of orders leave the company on the same working day. "We do our best to be able to fulfill requests for "today's delivery". This means that orders received by 2 p.m. can leave the company on the same day if the customer so wishes," says Fabian Kreutzmann, authorized signatory and partner at PTG.

Shelves accessible from all sides

Fabian Kreutzmann, authorized signatory and partner at PTG, relies on the flexible Hofe shelving system and describes the shelving system as an "oversized goods dispenser".

In order to process orders as quickly as possible, the company decided to make the shelves accessible from all sides. This has the advantage that the employees can pick more efficiently thanks to optimized work paths. "The wide aisles within the racking systems allow two picking trolleys to be in the aisles at the same time. This means there are no waiting times and the goods can be accessed at any time. The fact that we have opted for a three-way system has also proved its worth: This means that there are no dead ends within the racking system and unnecessary routes are avoided. This has two positive aspects: The physical strain on the employee is reduced and the order can be processed more quickly," explains Fabian Kreutzmann. For this reason, the decision was made to use two staircases.

Order picking takes place at tables at an ergonomic height, which are positioned directly in front of the shelving racks. It is therefore not surprising that Kreutzmann has also described the shelving system as an oversized goods dispenser.

Julius vom Hofe also planned and supplied the directly connected 6.50 meter high pallet racking warehouse, which serves as a raw storage area. PTG needs around 1,200 pallet spaces to stock all twist drills. "A minimum stock for consumption of three months guarantees that we can deliver reliably and quickly," says Kreutzmann. Two transfer stations in the two-storey racking system enable time-efficient working. The goods to be picked can be loaded and sorted in the shelving racks and picked at the same time. In this way, the interaction between the unfinished warehouse and the picking warehouse has been optimized.

Contact:PTG Präzisions-Technik Handelsgesellschaft mbH 58099 Hagen Tel.: 0 23 31 / 9 60 90 E-Mail:[email protected] www.ptg-gmbh.de

Julius vom Hofe GmbH & Co. KG 58511 Lüdenscheid Tel.: 0 23 51 / 98 80-0 E-Mail:[email protected] www.hofe.de