Budweiser expands its operations with SSI Schaefer
Traditional Czech brewery Budweiser Budvar has commissioned SSI Schaefer as a general contractor to create and equip a new distribution centre at its production site in České Budějovice (Budweis).
The contract was awarded as a follow-up project. Back in 2009, SSI Schaefer implemented a three-aisle automated high bay warehouse (HBW) for Budweiser with a direct link to production. At the time, the system layout was designed as a growing, future-proof solution that would accommodate the upcoming expansion.
The new project will see SSI Schaefer establish a second site at the brewery's headquarters, where the intralogistics specialists are creating a seven-aisle HBW with more than 19,000 pallet storage locations. Storage-retrieval machines (SRMs) from SSI Schaefer's latest Exyz generation will ensure quick, energy-efficient processes with more than 160 pallet stock additions and 280 pallet retrievals per hour. Furthermore, the existing installation constructed in 2009 is being incorporated into coordinated material flows with a nonreactive product transport. The production building and the new distribution centre will be linked via a bridge over the street with an electric monorail system (EMS). In the new distribution centre, an additional EMS with 21 vehicles will transport pallets between the HBW pre-zone and the dispatch area.
The systems in the existing buildings will also be connected via a conveying system. In addition to roughly 730 conveying system components, SSI Schaefer is also installing a pallet checking station and empties checking function, a pallet changer, and a new material flow system. The in-house developed WAMAS logistics software with WAMAS Lighthouse will ensure transparent processes and user-friendly visualisation of the system, while the configurable dashboards will make it possible to optimise material flows at any time.
