Upswing predicted in automated storage

Automation of the two initial steps in manufacturing – storage of raw material and cutting it prior to the first production process – is essential in order to stay competitive in world markets.

Yet Britain and Ireland lag behind most developed nations in their adoption of all types of mechanisation. 

Kasto has installed 1,900 automated industrial storage systems worldwide but there are only eight of the top-end, fully automatic warehouses in the UK.

This is despite goods-to-operator material handling being typically three times faster than manual picking, added to which automated storage has a footprint up to 75% smaller than conventional racking. It saves valuable space, significantly increases output and growth, and lowers cost per pick.

So the potential for British and Irish stockholders and manufacturers to benefit by upgrading and automating both their logistical and sawing functions is enormous. There are early signs that more firms are getting the message and that the UK’s short-term approach to investment in manufacturing is starting to come to an end. So also is its failure over the past couple of generations to promote apprenticeships. 

Consequently, we foresee that manufacturing will become an ever more important part of the economy over the coming years and provide an increasing percentage of GDP.

Automation is the key. Trying to pare back raw material costs will only get you so far; it is in reducing the labour overhead where the real opportunity lies. In everything Kasto does, a cost-saving solution emerges because we know that capital investment in our equipment can be offset against a saving in operator-hours.

As far as our automated storage systems are concerned, the 1,900 installations around the globe have been delivered to one-third that many customers. It is proof that when a company has one of our warehouses, it often wants another. Admittedly it takes a few years to pay back the investment, but from then on the systems represent pure profit through higher productivity.