World market leader in weaving technology Michel Van de Wiele automated its warehouse to the highest degree with stow racking. By using our modular racking systems, Van de Wiele and stow succeeded in creating a unique picking and storage solution.
Michel Van de Wiele NV, is located in the rural town of Marke, Belgium. Specialised in the development, production and assembly of carpet and velvet weaving looms, the company has known constant growth over the course of its 125 year long history.
Starting out as a family business in the second part of the 19th century, the company’s production centers are now spread all over western Europe and Asia. With sales- and service centers to be found as far as India and the U.S.A, and 85% of turnover coming from the export business, Van de Wiele is truly a global company, constantly in demand of quality research to increase the efficiency of its production in order to meet the ever-changing needs of its diverse clientele.
It should stand as no surprise that this almost grail-like quest for maximum efficiency and minimal overheads should be reflected in every aspect of the enterprise; not only in the new and innovative weaving machinery Van de Wiele constantly develops for its clients, but also and primarily in its proper mode of production. In order to reach this goal, a unique system had to be created and an experienced and trustworthy partner with a matching vision had to be found.
Operating in virtually the same environment and thus facing a lot of similar challenges, Van de Wiele decided to engage compatriot stow as a partner. Since 1977, stow has been specialized in individual storage solutions. The company, based in Dottignies immediately seized the opportunity to become a part of this ambitious project.
Both companies have had to learn to cope with the nation’s notoriously high labor costs. In order to safeguard solvability and life expectancy of their respective businesses, a thorough automation of the production cycle was needed. By doing this, stow had already succeeded in reducing these costs to a bare minimum, while at the same time increasing productivity.
Van de Wiele, faced with virtually the same problems, was in need of a custom-made solution. Needless to say both companies were immediately on the same page, the result of which is the now fully automated production plant and warehouse in Marke.
At the Van de Wiele production plant, all redundant operations and interventions between supplying of machine parts and the workstations where they are assembled by the mechanics are eliminated. Reception, revision, assembly, packing and dispatching are now all taken care of by the plants’ central hosting computer. With its long experience in programming weaving machinery, the company did not have to look very far for skilled software developers and mechanics that were up to the task.
Luc Bruneel, assembly manager at Van de Wiele, explains: “Pallets with mounting parts from our suppliers arrive at the factory and are immediately integrated into the system, so all manipulations are done by the AS/RS installed in the Mini-Loads. This means that there are hundreds of movements per hour. This required us to invest in a double Mini-Load and 3 RBG’s. Two of these operate in one corridor and each one is able to transport 2 pallets at a time. So there are actually 4 pallets moving at once in that corridor.”
At night, the RBG’s pick the parts necessary for assembly from the warehouse and drop them in a system with 690 trays, integrated in the custom-made stow racking. In the morning, mechanics who arrive at one of the 14 workstations find the parts necessary for assembly of a specific unit immediately at their disposal by means of this ingenious system. The assembled units are then put into another RBG, that stores them automatically at the right place in the warehouse. Also worth mentioning is the superfluity of forklifts, which means significantly less accidents and damages to the construction.
Complex picking system like this can only work properly when it is combined with a reliable racking construction. Especially for this project, stow has developed a double pallet rack that is an impressive 19,25 meters high and 166,42 meters long. Because the racks are more than 8 meters wide it allows for 2 pallets to be stored per location. The heavy cranes that run in between are held in place by top rails, and their weight is counterbalanced by the sturdy construction.
The Mini-Load Single Store (MLSS) consists of one corridor and is built to store the smaller assembly parts. It includes an ingenious roller system and is 17,4 meters high. The length is the same as the pallet racks, as is the length of the mezzanine plateaus. These plateaus are 5,6 meters wide and guarantee maximum safety and accessibility for the personnel.
The realization of this project can truly be called a fusion of different fields of expertise and experience. Without losing track of their common goals, Van de Wiele and stow have succeeded in creating a unique picking and storage solution based on these three important principles: efficiency, profit potential and minimum overheads. The result is an installation that is both inventive and functional, a textbook example of the possibilities of creative engineering that has set the bar for future endeavors.
