Swisslog Automates Logistics for Organic Pioneer Rapunzel

The Bavarian organic food company has commissioned Swisslog to implement an automated pallet warehouse at its headquarters in Legau. The new building expands Rapunzel’s raw material logistics capacities. Driverless mobile vehicles and conveyor technology for pallets complete the new state-of-the-art raw material warehouse and are a central component in the anticipated productivity increase for the dry product range.

(Buchs/Legau) Business is going well at Rapunzel Naturkost GmbH, a German organic pioneer in the production and distribution of vegetarian organic foods. “Consumers are increasingly opting for products from organic farming that are produced under fair conditions,” says Stefan Schmaus, Head of Logistics at Rapunzel, and continues, “this has resulted in a pleasing sales growth of ten percent per year over the last three years.”

The organic company has been on a growth path for some time and has correspondingly expanded its production and logistics structures in recent years. Now an expansion is being added: A new automated high-bay warehouse for raw materials and packaging materials with conveyor technology and a fleet of driverless transport systems (FTS) is being built at Rapunzel’s headquarters in Legau, Bavaria.

The executing logistics provider is once again Swisslog. The start of productive use of the facility is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023. “We are very pleased that Rapunzel is once again placing its trust in us,” says Jens Schmale, Head of Region EMEA at Swisslog, emphasizing his company’s experience, “we know the high dynamics in the food industry and the resulting special requirements for logistics, whether in production or in multi-channel distribution.”

Automated High-Bay Warehouse with 9,300 Storage Spaces

“For us, Swisslog was the first choice,” describes Stefan Schmaus, Logistics Manager at Rapunzel, “because the company not only has a lot of experience in food logistics. Previous joint projects have also shown that we can rely on Swisslog in every respect: on planning expertise, on verbal commitments, as well as precise and timely execution of the trades – even in times of Corona – and on reliable service after the implementation phase.

The interpersonal component is also important to us; it simply has to fit when implementing such projects,” says Stefan Schmaus, adding: “With a good logistics facility, you may not gain new customers, but with poor logistics performance, you are highly likely to lose the newly acquired customers.”

Thus, the intralogistics provider already created an automated pallet and order picking warehouse for the organic manufacturer in 2020 at the Bad Grönenbach site. The current expansion in Legau includes a high-bay warehouse with approximately 9,300 storage spaces for Euro and industrial pallets, is 4-aisled, and is designed with Vectura storage and retrieval machines from Swisslog. Approximately 450 meters of automatic conveyor technology of the ProMove type, also from Swisslog, are planned for the periphery. The new building adjoins an existing building, with transfers between the two buildings taking place via a driverless transport system.

High Requirements for Availability

Similar to previous contracts, the collaboration with Rapunzel initially started with a detailed concept study. The existing data was thoroughly analyzed by Swisslog, and the on-site situation was captured in a joint workshop.

The solution proposal was developed step by step together with the customer until the final tailored version. Rapunzel’s current storage volume is around 9,000 pallet spaces on a logistical usable area of a total of 7,500 square meters. “Of this, 95 percent are already utilized,” Logistics Manager Schmaus notes and adds hopefully: “The current expansion prepares us for the future by ensuring that the automated operation provides the necessary raw materials completely and on time.”

Photo: © Swisslog / Image Caption: (l. to r.): Stefan Schmaus (Head of Logistics Rapunzel Naturkost), Joseph Wilhelm (Managing Director Rapunzel Naturkost), Margit Epple (Managing Director Rapunzel Naturkost), Jürgen Bäumle (Head of Solution Design, Swisslog), Klaus Küffel (Sales Manager, Swisslog), Sven Borghoff (Sales Manager, Swisslog)