TPi September 2015

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business & market news
14 Tube Products International September 2015
Automated warehouse at core
of new distribution centre
Pipe Center has opened a new
distribution centre in Measham,
Derbyshire, UK, the newest and most
technologically advanced distribution
operation in the supply chain of parent
company Wolseley UK.
The 142,000ft2 facility has given Pipe
Center the ability to provide next-day
delivery across its entire network, and
has created more than 50 new jobs.
At its heart is a bespoke, 3,332-location
KASTOunicompact 4.0 automated
warehouse, built in Germany and
supplied through Kasto Ltd. The
cassette-type tube storage system
provides dynamic goods-to-man
presentation for efficient picking, which
reduces the amount of manual handling
required.
The warehouse structure, which
required the installation of 182 drive
piles to provide deep foundations,
has boosted storage capacity by 20
per cent compared with the previous
operation, which relied on storage of
long stock using a mixture of cantilever
racking and bulk stacking. There was
also a separate section for small parts
and an area for pallet storage.
The Kasto system has reduced the
distance warehouse operatives
have to move when
picking, speeding the
consolidation of orders.
The warehouse design
also increases the
height used for storage
of Pipe Center’s stock
keeping units.
The Kasto control
interfaces with the
Measham centre’s
HighJump warehouse
management system,
which offers tracking and
traceability of inventory,
further maximising
efficiency.
The resulting optimised
storage and picking
coupled with improved stock
management allows an even broader
range of products to be stored and
delivered to the branch network.
The portfolio includes Bondloc, Geberit,
Ideal Stelrad, Spirax Sarco and Marla
Tube Fittings.
The 3,332 cassettes, each 7m long, are
arranged in 78 blocks horizontally and
22 rows vertically to a height of 12m
on both sides of a central area, along
which a picking crane travels on rails.
Some locations are not filled due to the
presence of building columns.
The crane travels with two cassettes,
weighing up to 4,150kg each, between
the store locations and three input/out-
put stations, extracting and/or returning
material at up to 160m/min longi-
tudinally and 40m/min vertically. These
motions are performed simultaneously
for maximum productivity, while cassette
pulling and return speed is up to
80m/min.
Andy Wighton, managing director
of Pipe Center, and Climate Center,
commented, “We have created one
of the most dynamic and advanced
distribution centres in the industry that
will help us achieve customer service
excellence. Measham DC is ideally
placed geographically and fits with our
supply chain strategy to operate as
efficiently as possible. It optimises our
distribution capability for Pipe Center
and Climate Center so we can offer
our customers next-day delivery, and
accommodates our exciting growth
ambitions for the next ten to 15
years.”
Pipe Center – UK
Kasto Ltd – UK
A view of the KASTOunicompact 4.0 automated warehouse for
pipe and other materials at the Measham distribution centre
One of the input/output stations serving the KASTOunicompact warehouse