Wholesale food products Rewe Dortmund
The dry goods warehouse was established in Dortmund in 1973 and has around 450 employees. On an area of 65,000 m², approx. 1,500t of goods are commissioned here for more than 500 regional branches every day.
The AutoLoadBaler and ten collection carts process 300 t of cardboard packaging from the commissioning area. The AutoLoadBaler was installed in the warehouse to ensure optimum operation.
Rosenberger explains: “We work according to the specialist principle. Our order pickers do the commissioning jobs and our preparation department is responsible for the organisation and the cardboard packaging collection. They always take a collection cart with them on their industrial trucks. As the Strautmann collection cart has been designed for the retail trade, Strautmann has quickly and readily built a special device for picking-up by means of the industrial truck in the warehouse. Anything else the employee has to carry with him, such as water and a wiper, is carried along in a trolley attached to the collection cart. We now have double the storage space at our disposal.”
“We have adapted the overall concept. The cart has double the storage space. Thus, only half the number of journeys to the press is needed!”
The cardboard is collected in the collection cart and transported to the AutoLoadBaler by means of the industrial truck driven by a member of staff. At the AutoLoadBaler, he sets down the cart and pushes it into the AutoLoadBaler. Due to the fact that an empty collection cart is always available at the AutoLoadBaler, the staff member takes it directly with him and does not have to wait until the full collection cart has been emptied. The filling time is considerably reduced.
“We get the advantage in terms of filling time!”
Three to four bales a day with ten collection carts
Previously: “Our members of staff could only stow away half as much cardboard packaging into the pallet cage and even had to throw it into the press container by hand, which was rather troublesome. They had to bend relatively far into the container while the cardboard packaging even got stuck in the pallet cage. So quite some force had to be applied for emptying. Furthermore, the door was open, and in winter the wind blew through causing the waste to fly around in the yard. This is all over now. Our staff members really approve of that, too.”
Now: “Our members of staff no longer have to cover great distances. The paths could be reduced by 50%, and things are tidier and cleaner. Furthermore, the AutoLoadBaler is an internal solution which does not depend on the weather. The automatic filling saves additional time. We previously calculated the profitability. Our members of staff used to be outside for five to ten minutes. Plus the distance that had to be covered. Now, we are much faster. We only have to change the cart.”
“We calculate in hundredths of minutes!
Each order is calculated on the basis of the Refa principle.
The person responsible for tidy passageways is now free for other activities. For example pulling out goods and cartons, such that the order picker is able to do his commissioning job in a more efficient way. Thus, we save time and increase efficiency even here. Bale handling was previously an issue. First, our members of staff had to get used to it, but now the bales are stored directly behind the press and a disposal company collects them on demand.
“We don’t mess about here”
Here, we really save on personnel costs!
“The actual reason for the change was the tobacco sector. We searched for a solution and decided in favour of a small Strautmann baling press. Mr Buchholz of the Strautmann Company then presented to us possible applications of the AutoLoadBaler. The concept could be calculated out very well. We did not haggle over the minutes when calculating. We did not want to fiddle about with the calculation, which was really great and trusting. Our own values were applied, no theoretical, fictitious ones. Strautmann then even placed the calculation at our disposal, such that we were able to simulate by using various figures and testing. We now have a tremendous cost comparison.”
