Goldsteig Ksereien Bayerwald GmbH, headquartered in Cham in the Upper Palatinate, Germany, is one of Europe's main manufacturers of hard, semi-hard and soft cheeses as well as mozzarella. This company, founded in 1992, employs 530 people. In 2009, it posted annual revenues of approximately EUR 380 million. With growth ongoing in recent years, the company has taken the decision to expand its logistics capacities further and also to optimise the existing high bay warehouses as part of a general refurbishment operation. This demanding assignment is being handled by the systems integrator from Parkstein, Witron Logistik + Informatik GmbH. Project completion has been scheduled for as early as the end of 2011.
The deliverables and services to be provided by Witron include the realisation of a 5-aisle high bay warehouse that has roughly 15,000 pallet storage positions and is divided into three temperature zones. In the warm storage area, the cheese products will mature at + 20 degrees Celsius. Once ready for dispatch, the products will be stored in two cold areas, at 0-6C or 3-6C. The stacker cranes used in the plant will have built-in measuring devices so they can determine the maturity of the cheese, which is very important for safeguarding their quality and ensuring they can be processed further.
The HBW is being erected using a silo construction with conveyors connecting it to both floors of the cheese processing centre, the different production lines, the packaging lines, the palletising robots and the dispatch area. The conveyor system will also incorporate something known as a maturing container turning station. This will turn the cheese loaves automatically so they can develop in optimal fashion.
Goldsteig has been a client of Witron since 1997. Projects handled by the logistics experts from Parkstein in the past include the commissioning of two 6-aisle automated pallet high bay warehouses. The extensive modernisation measures now being implemented involve fitting the stacker cranes and conveyor components that are used there with state-of-the-art drives and controls. As a forward-thinking step, some of the stacker cranes will also be equipped with energy recovery units.
In addition, the existing warehouse management systems (WMS) are being replaced with a Witron warehouse management system that will be standardised for all warehouse areas at the site in Cham and will include an Material Flow Control System (MFC). This means that the new Witron WMS will also be replacing a third-party system currently still in use in another Goldsteig HBW.
"The successful relationship that the companies Goldsteig and Witron have enjoyed over many years shows that when it comes to projects it is vitally important for both partners to work together in an open and trusting manner", explains sales manager Jack Kuypers.
"With almost all our clients, we have been treading a common path for many years. And thanks to our broad portfolio of services, we are able to offer our clients everything we need to look after them perfectly within the framework of a long-term partnership logistics planning and business process analyses, the implementation of holistic solutions for distribution logistics or production link-up, expansion services, complete retrofits or partial modernisation work, and also comprehensive after-sales support", says Kuypers. "Almost 80% of our turnover is generated from orders placed by regular clients. It is a percentage we are very proud of and a true mark of the trust that our clients have in Witron."
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