The new warehouse for Cosentino, leader for design surfaces, has been installed in Cantoria
Cassioli crosses once again national borders with the project realized in Spain for Cosentino Group. The Spanish multinational company, which produces and distributes innovative and sustainable surfaces for the world of design and architecture, turned to Cassioli to fully automate the logistics of the Silestone® and DEKTON® systems.
The project, in addition to the automatic warehouse, included the creation of an automatic system dedicated to the collection of the slabs from the production lines, their transport and the integrated management of the distribution center with ERP / SAP of Cosentino, which also managed the planning and preparation of loads before shipment.
The customer requested that the automated warehouse for the storage of finished products be divided into 6 independent parts, each equipped with a stacker crane, in order to guarantee greater flexibility in the event of damage or partial blocking of the system; the handling area had to be composed of 4 independent areas with sawhorses for the slabs.
The project was designed from the outset as a modular installation: there were built 2 blocks with 3 stacker cranes each and 4 automatic preparation points for slabs. Cosentino requested to treat each slab in a unique way, in order to have a total traceability of each of them and of the information contained within them (barcode), i.e. production, storage and shipping parameters.
After a careful analysis of Cosentino’s needs, Cassioli designed an automated warehouse 4,500 square meters wide and 32 meters high, with a capacity of 11,500 packages, equipped with 9 stacker cranes (load capacity up to 3,500 kg). Entrances and exits to the warehouse can be carried out on two levels, while the preparation of orders takes place at level 0, through automatic systems specially designed for Cosentino processes.
The packages arrive from the production lines through automatic conveyors and SLS shuttles, then they are directed to a shape and data control system (automatic reading of all the bar codes), which verifies their suitability.
If the system detects that the package is correct in all its parameters, it continues the path, otherwise it is rejected and submitted to the control of the Cassioli software. Once the parcel reaches the front of the warehouse, it is directed to a specific warehouse through SLS system (Shuttle Loop System) to the entry position, where it is picked up by the stacker crane designated by the Cassioli WMS software.
When a package is required for the preparation of a specific order, it is picked up by the stacker crane in the warehouse and then placed in the special order preparation area by means of shuttles, to give greater flexibility and ensure that all packages can be addressed to any preparation area.
The system takes the slabs one by one following the specific sequence requested in the loading order; in the event that there are slabs in excess, the load returns to the warehouse and the slabs are grouped in a new load, always automatically.
Once ready, the load is taken to an automatic strapping station and then made available to the LGV (Laser Guided Vehicles) to be placed in a temporary buffer or to be loaded directly onto the truck, through the automatic loading system.
Besides the warehouse, Cassioli has created a handling system for Cosentino consisting of chain conveyors, roller conveyors and specific tilting devices for slabs. The handling system is integrated with elevators for slabs and packs and with special manipulators for slab preparation, that handle one slab at a time.
Every single slab is coded and traced thanks to a special system that allows to record specific data and dimensions. The entire Cosentino distribution center is managed by ERP / SAP software, perfectly integrated with the Cassioli management software that manages all devices and machinery for a complete warehouse automation.
Thanks to the synergy developed between the Cosentino designers and the Cassioli experts, the new Cosentino warehouse has recorded a significant increase in storage capacity and complete traceability of all the materials handled, thanks to the perfect integration between the Cassioli management system and the software of the customer. Furthermore, it is important to point out that it was met the technological challenge of sending the slabs to the customers in the same conditions as before the automation.
