DC Velocity - February 2016

16_0015 DC Velocity_FEB Mod: December 23, 2015 2:03 PM Print: 12/30/15 2:56: 22 PM page 1 v7

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SHIPPING SUPPLY SPECIALISTS
HUGE SELECTION OF POLY BAGS IN STOCK
COMPLETE CATALOG

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st ra te g ic i ns i g ht LIGH T MANU FA C TU R ING

ed in each lane of the AS/RS then take products to their assigned storage locations. The cranes can each handle 50 pallets per hour.

Throughout the day, about 300 pallets of ingredients are removed from their storage locations and sent to production to keep the manufacturing lines operating continuously. The same cranes retrieve the pallets and place them onto outbound conveyors, where a vertical lift then raises the load to an upper level. There, a shuttle system that can hold two pallets at a time picks up the loads and transports them through an overhead bridge approximately 300 feet to production. Once the loads arrive in the manufacturing area, a forklift retrieves the pallets for transport to the various production lines.

MIX, FILL, REPEAT

Before they enter the processing area, many of the items, such as olives, are placed into large vats for washing. They are then sent to one of several production lines, depending on how they will be mixed with other ingredients and packaged.

Four production lines operate throughout two daily shifts in the manufacturing areas at Taunusstein. One production area handles fresh products. Fresh olives, pasta shells, and other delicacies are mixed in large tubs to create Mediterranean salads before being hand packed into plastic store-ready containers.

Other lines rely heavily on automated processes. Ingredients are mixed in large tubs and then inducted into automatic filling machines. One line, for instance, mixes sauces such as taco sauce, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, and ketchup. Other lines package olives, peppers, ancho-vies, pepper balls, fish, caviar, and other specialty offerings.

Products sold in jars are also filled via automated equipment. The jars are sequenced to receive the ingredients in what appears to be a highly choreographed process as they’re whisked through the filling machines. Once filled, the jars are capped and labeled in a language appropriate for the destination market before being packed into cases.

Robots handle some of the palletizing duties and are able to arrange 77 cases per minute onto pallets. Many of these cases will be routed back to the warehouse AS/RS for temporary storage until they are readied for shipping.

CONSISTENT FLOW

Since Dittmann built the new warehouse, production has been able to keep up with demand. The automated systems deliver the right ingredients to the lines when needed so that the production lines can keep running without break. Managers are also better able to track what ingredients are on hand and where they are located.

“Before, we worked with paper, and people had to go and look for the products. Now, we know what we have in stock,” notes Reichold. “This is a big advantage for us.

Everything is much easier now.”
‘We do that too.’”
Reichold notes that one of the reasons that Dittmann
chose Krones for the project was that although it’s a very
large manufacturer, it acts like a family company and
responds quickly to customer needs. “This is for us an
important point,” he says.

The AS/RS that Krones supplied consists of five lanes with 15 storage levels and 12,500 pallet positions. The lanes are divided into three temperature zones: a deep-freeze lane that keeps products at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, a refrigerated lane area whose temperature is set at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and three ambient lanes for ingredients that do not require temperature control. Some finished goods are also stored in the ambient lanes.

Plastic barrels and large containers containing tomatoes, fresh olives, olive oil, fruits, pickles, artichokes, vinegars, sauces, and more are received on pallets at the facility’s docks. Most of these incoming pallets are suitable for use with the automated equipment, but about 10 percent need to be transferred to other pallets before entering the AS/RS.