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Interroll, a worldwide leading producer of high quality key products and services for internal logistics, has been a partner of Villeroy & Boch, a company with a rich tradition that offers a complete range of high quality products in the areas of tableware, kitchens and bathrooms, for many years.
Nearly seven years ago, a picking system from Interroll that features 24 volt RollerDrives was installed in Villeroy & Boch’s highbay warehouse. Compared to the traditional 400 volt system the company also uses, the Interroll system continues to demonstrate its dominance with its smaller space saving footprint, lower energy consumption, time saving efficiencies during order picking, plus it has proven to be more reliable with less downtime and maintenance requirements.
The product range at the Villeroy & Boch warehouse is extremely broad and includes basically every thing from utensils to precious sugar bowls, which require a great deal of care in handling. Nevertheless, the time factor is still very important in relation to efficiencies in the area of logistics.
In the picking unit that is equipped with components from Interroll, tower-high interim storage areas are filled with orders that the picker then fills. Vertical buffer zones are then used as puffer towers to save space.
According to Michael Dietzen, responsible for the technology used in the distribution warehouse for tableware, throughput was one of the most important factors in making this decision. “The main requirement was to get these products to our customers as quickly as possible. Due to the approach that the existing system takes, the entire process took a lot of time. Thanks to our new system, we have now been able to increase our speed by a factor of approximately 10,” Dietzen notes.
The energy costs saved should not be underestimated either. For example, the 24 volt RollerDrives are only operational when there are goods that need to be driven and transported in the respective zone. This is not only much more efficient, but also quieter. Furthermore, due to the lower wear and tear, maintenance needs to be performed less often.
Reliability and avoidance of downtime – Whereas it takes about two hours for two to three people to replace the drives in the 400 volt version at Villeroy & Boch, if the Interroll RollerDrives ever malfunction, this causes only about half an hour of downtime and only one person is needed to repair it.
Ideally suited for retrofitting, the 24 volt Interroll technology can easily be integrated into existing
systems. In fact, this was the case with Villeroy & Boch in some instances, where new sections of zero pressure accumulation conveyors incorporating 24 volt RollerDrives were installed into older existing systems. Because only individual sections or zones can be replaced, they can be modified more easily to improve specific processes and meet new demands.
Innovative strength, lifestyle competence and consumer orientation rank amongst the most important factors for Villeroy & Boch. The same can be said for the warehouse and how quickly and efficiently the company ships its products to its customers.
In the meantime, a close partnership and intense dialogue has developed between Interroll and Villeroy & Boch and the logistics experts are always available to offer assistance and answer any technical questions that the people responsible for the warehouse might have.
