Multiple benefits to automated storage 

Demands placed on Mechtop by sectors such as paper, automotive, and chemical are stringent, with strict hygiene standards, fierce international competition and time and cost pressures to match. Suppliers have to deliver top quality products reliably every time.

Mechtop director Dominic Felice, says: “We mainly manufacture small and very small batches down to one-offs. This is often the case when spare parts are needed urgently, for instance. To meet these demands, we need systems that are versatile enough to deal with a range of processes, including our internal logistics. We try to make delivery of raw materials through to shipment of our products as seamless as possible.”

The most commonly used materials are stainless steels, since the finished components and systems must be suitable for use in hygiene-sensitive food applications. The company processes sheet metal as well as long stock including bar, tube and profile. In the past, both of these raw material types were stored in manually operated cantilever storage facilities. 

“This was extremely time-consuming and laborious,” says Felice. “Employees first had to search for the required items and then painstakingly remove them by hand or forklift.”

Mechtop therefore decided to modernise and automate its storage infrastructure. The company opted for a compact KASTOecostore and a UNITOWER tower storage system.

The UNITOWER is equipped with 108 storage cassettes for holding long stock up to six metres in length. The cassettes are lined with aluminium to avoid damage to the stainless steel materials during storage. The KASTOecostore has 26 pallet storage shelves able to accommodate sheet material up to 3 x 1.5 metres.

The two tower storage systems are positioned on the outer wall of Mechtop’s factory. The UNITOWER was installed in a pit three metres deep, enabling optimal space utilisation despite the limited building height. The bar stock storage system has an external goods delivery station that can be accessed directly by delivery lorries.

“The automatic storage systems offer us a range of advantages,” explains Felice. “We’ve gained a lot of valuable space, a better overview of our inventory and more control over our stocks, so we can work more productively and efficiently.”

For more information, visit www.kasto.com