SSI Schäfer Creates a solution oriented to the future for Budweiser

Between the experts of beer, the Budweiser Lager of the Czech brewery Budvar is considered like one of the best beers of the world. From the year 1265 is producing beer in the city České Budějovice and from finals of the 19th century, these delights come from of the brewery accionarial Czech, direct ancestor of the factory of beer Budweiser Budvar. The factory produces at present around 1,3 millions hectolitros of beer to the year, of which almost the half of the production exports to some 50 countries by all the continents, where only in Germany sell every year more than 200.000 hectolitros Budweiser Budvar, showing a tendency to heaves it.

In front of this reason is realising/realizing from the year 2005 a continuous modernisation/modernization of the lines of bottled and of the internal logistics. The recent improvements are the warehouse of big height of 26 metres/meters and in his three corridors, and directly linked to the production, there is availability of 3000 locations of storage of palés with a weight of until 900 kilograms. The agreement for the execution of the project, included the concept of logistics, edificación of ceiling and walls, construction of steel and technical of transport for palés, awarded after an announcement to the specialists in Intralogística SSI Schäfer, Giebelstadt, like general contractors. As it explains Pavel Panek, Logistical director and of Shopping of the brewery Budvar, “Needed a solution that satisfied ours complex exigencias with the most modern technology and the main aims were amongst other a greater use of the space limited existent, a control of process of the 100 percent, the follow-up in real time and the integration of our warehouse en bloc with RFID in the new system of management of warehouses, which is integrated in the existent system ERP. SSI Schäfer Has offered us the best concept with a good relation of price / performance”.

In March of 2009 initiated the setting of the construction of warehouse and in less than 20 weeks completed the works included the technology and the revestimiento. In August of the same year carried finish the set up programmed with storage of the first palés. From finals of September of 2009, the installation is working to full load. In the doors of exit of commodity of the new logistical centre/center of Budweiser load until 50 daily trucks to transport the beer to more than 50 countries of all the world. “Thanks to the flows of transparent commodity, the additional capacity and the fast production through the technology of the installations can face this without any problem”, comments Panek.

Nevertheless, “even the basic design of the warehouse of big height required something of creativity”, says the commercial of SSI Schäfer, Jan Rindt. “On the one hand the specifications of space were critical, by the another side the flows of commodity and the administration of the space of storage had to integrate in the structures of the existent warehouse. Also we have defined together with the factory of beer a capacity of necessary warehouse and have created a corresponding design, that with the total height elected of 26 metres/meters for the storage of 3.000 palés with products finished, immediately descartó a construction of armed concrete by reasons of time, static and money”, explains Rindt. “In his place began the works until six metres/meters underneath of the level of floor for a warehouse of big height built in shape of silo. Estáticamente The construction of warehouse autoportante forms the base also for the fixation of the external cover and of the ceiling”.

Another characteristic of the space, in the longitudinal sense of the warehouse of big height exists a big space of preparation and unification. Thus, the quantity of the corridors of the warehouse of big height is limited and to be able to achieve the necessary squares in the warehouse of 3 corridors and use of optimum form the conditions of the existent space, the construction of shelvings of the first line and the terminal of the first corridor have been designed for the storage of double depth. In the others two corridors stores with normal depth, “so that we can access to the palés individual that need of fast form”, explains the director of Logistical Panek.

The boxes of beers are paletizadas by robots of the production on some palés of 120 x 80 centimetres/centimeters and happen through a technician of transport of rollers and chains to the station of transfer until the warehouse of big height. On the other hand, proximadamente 10 metres/meters above the level of the floor of the warehouse, realises/realizes the register of outlines and weight, as well as the register in the System of Management of warehouses by SSI Schäfer. Directed by the SGA (allocation of location of storage) and the technician of control (accionamiento of the technician of transport) the palés are approached to continuation to an elevation of palés. The other processes control through the SGA, where the elevador carries the palés directly to a place of desabastecimiento in direction warehouse of block or to the transelevadores of the warehouses of big height. For the storage in the warehouse of big height exists a station of transfer, where a table giratoria provides the alineación suitable of the palés. According to the commercial SSI Rindt, “at the beginning, Budweiser decided to apply the principles and the strategies to control the automatic warehouse of big height, also in the warehouse of existent block. The special characteristic is that the processes of warehouse in the block realise/realize through radiofrecuencia (RFID). Therefore they have had to integrate to the new SGA the control of existences and processes, so much by the warehouse of big height automated, as well as the warehouse of block with manual operation with register RFID”.

To accelerate the processes of storage and desabastecimiento in the warehouse of block, Budweiser bets for avoiding losses of unnecessary times scanning squares of warehouse and processes of confirmation. “Thus we have decided of not using RFID in relation with the product, but more in relation with the location of storage” remarks Panek. All the channels of storage in the warehouse of block are signalled with labels of RFID. Besides the labels RFID also are placed in all the stations of transfer to the technician of transport. The carretillas that are instrumented with antennas RFID, receive his requests through a screen from the SGA. When a carretilla goes in in the channel of the warehouse, the information of the carretilla is attracted and read automatically. In the information of request of the SGA besides is defined if the carretilla realises/realizes storages or desabastecimientos, and which quantities. Only by the liquids that surround it, is a challenge for the RFID. Besides they have had to program the most distinct technologies and processes of control in the SGA. “The result is a system of management of warehouses highly efficient, that resume like compact unit the management of storage, taking into account the characteristics and parameters of the zones of individual storage ” explains the director of Logistics Pavel Panek. An installed visualisation/visualization by SSI Schäfer offers a global vision of the realisation/realization of the works of the installation and of the resources.

For the preparation of requests, the SGA initiates the processes of desalmacenaje in the warehouse of big height and in the warehouse of block. With a speed of 130 metres/meters by minute and an elevation of 54 metres/meters by minute, the transelevadores achieve a maximum performance and the palés taken out of the warehouse happen through the technician of transport installed with strip transportadora with rollers, conveyors of chain to the station of reception for the carretillas that are directly related to the warehouse of big height. Simultaneously to this, in the warehouse of block realises/realizes the preparation of request with the RFID and in the zone of preparation in front of the warehouse of big height, joint finally the requests and prepare for the sending. According to Panek, all the process results “a compact solution and oriented to the future” and also comments that “in a fast development and sure, taking into account the complexity of the project, SSI Schäfer has conceived an intralogística for our processes, that provides us an utilisation/utilization of optimum space and a maximum of capacity of storage and performance”.