Automation at work at BASF

Egemin Automation has installed a fully automated storage and distribution system at BASF France at the Breuil-le-Sec site, located to the north of Paris, for the handling of pallets and boxes.

The system comprises a pallet warehouse with two automated VNA trucks, a miniload warehouse and a conveyor system. All of the intralogistics flows are fully automated and managed without human intervention.

The site is in the middle of its ramp-up phase and its maximum capacity should reach 2,500 boxes over two shifts, or 14 hours.

The coatings division of BASF France manufactures, develops and markets paints and lacquers destined mainly for the automotive sector. The site, BASF's biggest in France, employs more than 500 people. The paints and lacquers are used for both vehicle bodywork and repair and vehicle and equipment manufacturers. Over 70 % of production goes to export.

The pallet warehouse provides storage space for approximately 3,500 pallets.

For the BASF management, operator safety, risk prevention and protection of the environment and resources are key concerns, leading them to opt for an automated solution.

Together with the racking, Egemin delivered two VNA trucks fitted with Egemin's E'gv automation pack.

Some orders for full pallets are retrieved directly from the pallet warehouse by the automated VNAs. Other orders with multiple references are conveyed to a depalletizer and stored in the miniload warehouse which provides place for approximately 14,000 boxes.

Another palletizer reorganises the mixed pallets after storage.

Egemin Automation, part of the KION Group, designs, integrates and maintains automated materials handling solutions to improve the intralogistics processes in warehouses, production and distribution.

Egemin Automation operates on a world-wide scale from its headquarters in Antwerp and has offices located in Europe, North America and Asia, along with partners in other areas, and employs approximately 350 people.