Top marks for new extension
Extension of the Brunnen logistics centre
Generations of schoolchildren have written their homework in exercise books and notebooks provided by Baier & Schneider. The long-established Heilbronn-based company markets school and office supplies worldwide under the BRUNNEN brand. MLOG was commissioned to extend their high-bay warehouse as the storage capacity could no longer meet increasing demand.
Baier & Schneider have been in operation at their Heilbronn site since 1877 and in 1903 the company introduced the renowned BRUNNEN brand. This term, meaning ‘well’, was inspired by the art nouveau well situated in front of the windows of the company’s first premises. In order to create sufficient space for a continuously expanding product range, their existing four-aisle warehouse was extended by 38 metres to a total of 170 metres, providing a growth in capacity of around 30%. Today the warehouse features approximately 22,000 pallet storage locations, an increase of more than 5,000 on the previous figure. The extension was carried out by MLOG Logistics GmbH, Neuenstadt, who were appointed as the general contractor for the entire project.
Extension completed during on-going operation
The project was completed in several phases without disrupting the continuous operation of the original facility. During the first stage the existing floor slab was supplemented by a new slab on adjacent land, the gabled façade was completely dismantled and the existing steel structure was cut back by one section, thus enabling the emergency exit zone of the original facility to be converted into an additional storage area. Once the cladding had been dismantled, the exposed gable end was completely sealed with a temporary façade to protect the stored goods from the elements.
Next the new pallet racking and crane rails were installed which required the utmost precision to connect with millimetre-level accuracy to the existing structure. Ultimately the extension had to be carried out ‘blind’, which required considerable experience and expertise. Any errors in height and alignment when joining the two storage areas could have resulted in costly and time-consuming rework. Such expenditure was spared however due to precise project planning and execution by MLOG’s specialists.
In order to comply with fire protection requirements, the sprinkler and smoke-and-heat exhaust ventilation system was extended to create a new fire protection zone. Furthermore the bus-bars for the storage and retrieval machines were no longer adequate and were therefore completely replaced within the original aisles and extended into the new storage area. Installation was completed during non-working periods at the weekends and at night, as were all operations that could have interfered with the on-going operation of the original store.
After completing the roofing and wall cladding works the previously separate zones were “united” by dismantling the temporary gable wall and the original storage and retrieval machines were enabled to operate within the extended aisles with relatively little additional expense, mainly due to a minor software update. Although the S/R machines were not new, they were technically up-to-date, MLOG having previously refurbished them as recently as 2006, including replacement of the entire drive technology.
The extension took about six months. Following the cutting of the first turf in June 2008, the extended system went into operation in December of the same year.
Here you can get more information about Baier & Schneider.
Your contact for this project:
Jens Tangel
phone +49 (0) 7131.136-245
fax +49 (0) 7131.136-394
jtangel[at]mlog-logistics.comjtangel[at]mlog-logistics.com
MLOG extended the Baier & Schneider high-bay warehouse by 38 metres to a total length of 170 metres.
