Gaugler & Lutz turned to Hubtex for itsy complex facility.

Manufacturer Gaugler & Lutz is using automated Hubtex sideloaders to maximise productivity at its new logistics centre in Aalen-Ebnat (Nord) in Germany. The leading supplier of core materials and products for lightweight manufacturing has installed a 12 m-high cantilever racking system spanning 2,200 sqm, creating enough storage space for roughly 2,500 pallets. The pallets are transported around the warehouse by two MQ 30 electric multidirectional sideloaders. The sideloaders transport goods across the new mobile racking facility with the aid of an inductive guidance system. The forklifts precisely place the pallets in the designated location using the semi-automated positioning system, while making ideal use of the storage space available. "We store and remove up to 120 pallets of raw materials on a daily basis," says Rüdiger Wittenbeck, project manager for process optimisation at Gaugler & Lutz. The various material formats and varying pallet sizes made it difficult to precisely store materials while making optimum use of the available space. Before the new logistics centre was built, goods were stored in standard shelving units or simply stacked on top of each other. Frontloaders transported the pallets to their destinations. "We were, therefore, unable to make optimum use of our storage space. Due to the rising demand for our products, we always needed more room," explains Vanessa Iliadis, who is responsible for logistics processing at Gaugler & Lutz. "After implementing our semi-automated warehouse logistics system at the new site, transportation and storage are now much more effective." The electric multidirectional sideloaders are guided along their paths, ensuring precise positioning of the vehicles. The inductive guidance system in the mobile racking facility guarantees maximum safety, more or less ensuring that racks and goods are never damaged. Optimised routes within the warehouses help save time when storing and retrieving goods. The use of Hubtex forklifts enables goods to be stored in the smallest possible amount of space, as the space between each row of racks can be kept to a minimum. "Thanks to our mobile racking system and the MQ 30 multidirectional sideloaders, we have halved the amount of storage space required," stresses Wittenbeck.