Bayer, a prestigious pharmaceutical company, optimizes its automated warehouse by modernizing stacker crane technology and improving connectivity with production.

Requirements

In order to improve the efficiency of its automated warehouse and optimize the connection with production areas, the company turned to ULMA Handling Systems to carry out a series of technological upgrades in its facilities.

The Madrid plant needed to modernize several aspects of its installation to maintain competitiveness and meet quality standards. The main improvement points identified were:

• Modernize stacker crane technology to ensure proper technical support.
• Increase the warehouse’s dynamic capacity by 33% to meet the growing demand for products.
• Reduce positioning errors of the stacker cranes, which had been installed 25 years earlier by another company.
• Clear the conveyor head area, facilitating cleaning and improving pedestrian traffic within the warehouse.
• Enhance connectivity with the production area to optimize the flow of materials and products between different areas of the plant.

Proposed solution

To address these challenges, ULMA Handling Systems opted for a comprehensive solution that included a change in the technology of the installed stacker cranes. Instead of modernizing and adding more stacker cranes to the existing aisles, the decision was made to install a stacker crane in each aisle, which resolved the first three improvement points: the installed base was modernized, positioning errors were eliminated, and the warehouse’s dynamic capacity was increased.

Additionally, to tackle the last two points related to cleaning and connectivity with production, a shuttle car equipped with a double VTD-type conveyor was installed. This improved the circulation of materials within the warehouse, facilitating connections with production areas through chain conveyors and roller conveyors.

During the project implementation, an additional pallet entry point was also added at the rear of the warehouse. This improvement reduced the distance traveled by operators, further optimizing the workflow within the facility.

Result

The plant will feature an installation equipped with updated technology, faster and easier to maintain compared to the previous one. In addition, the new system will be much easier to clean, improving both safety and operational efficiency. The new infrastructure is also connected to the rest of the plant, optimizing the flow of products between different areas of the factory and ensuring a smoother, uninterrupted operation.