When goods are received, each pallet is classified and assigned to a green or red track depending on its condition. "Green means that the pallet can continue on to the stores, red means that something is wrong, for example because a block or board is missing," says Sahinovic. You can tell that something is wrong with a pallet as soon as it is delivered or unloaded.

If a pallet is damaged and needs to be replaced, it is placed in a special area where the pallet turner is located. Several dozen pallets are repalletized here every day. Particularly heavy goods, such as tiles, laminate and wood, are re-palletized in Essingen.

The palletized goods are driven into the pallet turner with the industrial truck. Two clamping tables are then activated via the control panel, which clamp the load before the device turns the goods 180° upside down within a few seconds. The guide plate, which is now on top, is raised so that the pallet on top can simply be lifted down and replaced. The upper clamping table is then lowered again using the operating console so that the goods are fixed in place and can be turned back 180°. The goods are then removed from the appliance again using an industrial truck. This process takes a few minutes in total.

The pallet turner has a load capacity of 2,000 kg and is suitable for all types of products and packaging. Two-meter-high safety guards and light barriers at the entrance to the machine ensure the safety of personnel. Thanks to its double clamping plates, the pallet turner can pick up loads with large size deviations and, depending on the nature of the goods, turns over between 15 and 25 pallets per hour. However, particularly bulky products, such as those from the gardening sector, are handled manually in Essingen, as the pressure of the clamping tables is not changed.

The pallet turner is constantly operated by one employee in the logistics center, which works in two shifts. A certain amount of rotation in personnel planning is possible, as only a short briefing is required and the learning curve is quickly reached. "We have many different employees working on the device," says Sahinovic.

Hornbach initially rented the pallet turner for six months to see the benefits of a pallet turner for itself. After it became clear within a very short space of time that it would make things much easier for the company, the device was purchased and a device was also ordered for each of the Lehrte and Vilshofen sites. They were also equipped with Bartels pallet turners last year in order to guarantee a high level of safety throughout the Group.

While similar devices are used in other companies to deploy staff more efficiently or optimize operational processes, Hornbach's primary focus was on safety. "We didn't look at what we could save, but instead focused on the issue of safety," says Sahinovic, pointing out that the quality of the pallets delivered had deteriorated in recent years. "With the pallet turner, we have improved safety and quality," says Sahinovic. "To achieve this, we have invested in the pallet turner itself and in two additional employees who constantly operate the device in shifts." Previously, it could not always be ruled out that defective pallets would leave the logistics center, causing problems in the stores. In this respect, the costs associated with the pallet turner were a good investment.

"With the pallet turner, we can maintain a very high level of quality in the stores, regardless of the pallet quality supplied." In addition, the pallet inverter offers the opportunity to relieve employees, as repacking is much faster and more ergonomic than manual repacking.

Even after more than a year in operation and several thousand shifting operations, there are still no technical problems. "The pallet inverter is a very stable, robust device in which a lot of metal has been used," says Sahinovic. However, the most important advantage remains safety: "With the pallet turner, we bring a 100% intact pallet to the stores, so that we protect our employees and our customers from possible dangers caused by defective pallets."