The company plans to double its logistics space with a 15,000 square meter extension at its headquarters in Buchloe. With annual sales of over €100 million, Franz Mensch is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of hygiene articles, occupational safety products, and packaging solutions.
Klinkhammer's scope of services includes the implementation of a five-aisle high-bay pallet warehouse with around 43,000 pallet storage locations in silo construction. The warehouse concept is supplemented by the connection of a new AutoStore warehouse with extensive container conveyor technology for the efficient handling of small parts orders. Two commissioners are used for order consolidation as automated order consolidation buffers with a total of 2,032 container storage locations. In addition, Klinkhammer is supplying the pallet conveyor technology, integrating packaging machines, and retrofitting an existing automatic high-bay pallet warehouse. The aim of the overall project is to significantly expand storage capacity, shorten throughput times, and accelerate logistics processes in the long term.
For over 50 years, the family-run company Franz Mensch has been delivering to major customers worldwide. Their online shop has about 10,000 products, from disposable gloves and protective gowns to eco-friendly packaging. A big chunk of their stuff is disposable clothing for hotels and restaurants, medical settings, and workplace safety. However, continuous company growth and increasing order volumes mean that the existing logistics center, with its ten-year-old automated high-bay pallet warehouse and narrow-aisle warehouse with a total of 64,000 pallet spaces, is increasingly reaching its capacity limits. The current logistics complex, with 14,000 m² and 16 truck docking stations, is to be expanded by 15,000 m² and will then offer a total of 107,000 pallet spaces and an automated storage system with around 63,000 containers.
In order to continue to ensure fast and reliable delivery to customers and to be able to efficiently pick and pack small shipments, Franz Mensch has decided to build an automatic silo pallet high-bay warehouse and install an AutoStore system for containers. The packaging and shipping processes will also be extensively automated. Orders are consolidated using two lift beam commissioners, which enable orders to be combined in the correct sequence and serve as an efficient buffer between picking and shipping. The extensive conveyor technology includes the construction of new automated goods receipt and picking stations with pallet buffer stations, an empty pallet stacker, and pallet wrappers. The packing workstations and two automated packaging lines with sealers, volume reducers, and strapping machines are also connected via an automated container conveyor system with an integrated empty container buffer. This enables a continuous, highly automated material flow from goods receipt to goods issue.
As part of the retrofit of the existing automatic high-bay pallet warehouse, Klinkhammer is renewing the PLC controls and the software for the storage and retrieval machines and the associated conveyor technology. In addition, the KlinkVISION plant visualization system is being implemented to further increase transparency and user-friendliness. With the combination of new construction, automation, and retrofitting, Franz Mensch is laying the foundation for future-proof, scalable, and high-performance intralogistics. "Klinkhammer impressed us with its in-depth intralogistics expertise and a holistically designed overall logistics system. The high degree of automation creates a future-proof and scalable basis for us to serve our international customers efficiently and with short throughput times in the long term“, explains Achim Theiler, managing director of Franz Mensch GmbH. ”This is the largest investment to date since the company was founded."
