Kardex Installs AutoStore System at SABAG in Rothenburg

To optimize small parts logistics, Kardex is implementing a highly efficient AutoStore system for SABAG Luzern AG at the company headquarters in Rothenburg (Switzerland). In the future, small products for the construction trade (sanitary) will be compactly stored here. Since its founding in 1913, SABAG Holding has been on a growth path in the building materials trade and interior construction. Today, the family-owned company, now in its fourth generation, employs over 1,000 staff.

(Bellheim/Rothenburg) SABAG Luzern AG, with a logistics area of a total of 28,000 m² (of which 2,000 m² is for the sanitary sector), is located in CH-Rothenburg. From here, all orders for Central Switzerland and Zurich are dispatched – until now, picking has been done manually.

Given the growing ranges in the small parts sector, traditional warehousing based on the “person-to-goods” principle has increasingly become a challenge. To meet the increased demands, the existing logistics center is to be automated. The search for a space-saving, scalable, and long-term profitable storage solution for small parts ultimately led Roland Wechsler, the SABAG Head of Logistics for Sanitary, to the AutoStore concept. In the future, the robot-based goods-to-person system will enable efficient handling of all small parts from the sanitary sector, significantly simplifying goods receipt, picking, customer deliveries, workshop orders, and returns processing. The contract for the planning and realization of the system was awarded to the intralogistics expert and global AutoStore partner Kardex.

“The AutoStore solution, which will be optimally integrated into our existing building, allows for maximum space utilization, faster order processing, and a significant relief for our employees in their daily tasks in the warehouse,” says Roland Wechsler, Head of Logistics for Sanitary at SABAG. “With Kardex, we have found a reliable and competent partner who quickly understood our needs and challenges. We look forward to working with Kardex to make our logistics efficient and powerful for the future.”

Maximum Space Utilization and Efficient Processes

The AutoStore solution planned by Kardex and tailored for SABAG includes space for 3,100 containers on an area of approximately 100 m². These are stacked next to and on top of each other in a flexible aluminum grid system without gaps, maximizing storage density and enabling four times the capacity compared to traditional manual storage with the same footprint. Three battery-operated robots are used to handle the containers, moving along the grid’s tracks.

The robots pick up containers, sort them, and prepare them at three ergonomically designed workstations of the ConveyorPort type. Two of the ports will be installed on the ground floor and used for the incoming and outgoing storage of items. On the upper floor, the third port will be realized for supplying the assembly/workshop. This significantly simplifies manual processes and improves and accelerates order-related picking.

Space-Saving Maintenance Zone for Robots

The maintenance zone for the robots is to be installed space-saving on the existing concrete platform on the upper floor. The modular design of AutoStore allows for expansions in throughput and storage capacity at any time during operation – thus, the system can grow with the needs of the company.

Fotos: © Kardex Germany