KABEL PREMIUM PULP & PAPER: AGVs manage thousands of pallet sizes and build extra-stable stacks
Kabel Premium Pulp & Paper has an annual capacity of 450,000 tons. It produces offset and rotogravure papers on two paper machine lines for both reels and sheets. In the sheet department it uses three Rocla automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to handle all the loading transportation. The AGVs were installed in the summer of 2014.
Rocla’s AGV system is responsible for unloading the conveyor belts for the wrapped sheet pallets and for transportation of these pallets to the loading ramp that is used for both internal and external trailer system. The capacity of this sheet department is 35 pallets per hour, from the conveyor belt to the storage area and finally onto the loading ramp.
Kabel Premium Pulp & Paper has a very special installation, since it handles around a thousand of different pallet sizes. The height of the pallets can also vary a lot. In the block storage room it stacks two to four pallets on top of each other.
“Our installation is demanding, and the function of the AGVs should be as serious as it can be. On the one hand we have the big amount of pallet sizes, and on the other hand we also have to make the stacks stable,” Michael Rudat, logistics manager of Kabel Premium Pulp & Paper, explains.
“The main goal for the automation project was to reduce costs. The project was made in time by Rocla, and Rocla is our main supplier for both the AGVs and the warehouse management system,” Rudat says.
The intermediate warehouse can house 300 to 500 pallets, and the mill processes around 3,000 tons of sheet paper.
“Our AGVs can handle the pallets from both sides, from the conveyor belt to the storage room and also to the loading ramp, which increases the flexibility of the system,” Rudat says.
There is a lighting system with green and red lights installed, which shows the forklift drivers from which lanes they can remove the pallets to the main warehouse. The warehouse management system knows when the pallet stack is full for the customer order.
“The AGV system is fitted with safety features to prevents hazards for people and collisions with the pallets. We checked that first, as well as checking for any failures during optimization. The whole Rocla system that run is approved by the safety authority, which means for us, that the system can run independently without any observation from our mill people,” Rudat concludes.
Rocla AGVs increase safety and reduce costs at Kabel Premium Pulp & Paper
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