German stockholder upgrades bar storage system

The new operating gantry crane at the core of the retrofit

German steel and aluminium stockholder Günther+Schramm has upgraded its high-bay store to ensure the continued reliability of its Königsbronn materials stocking and distribution operation. Carried out by engineers from the original warehouse manufacturer, Kasto Maschinenbau in Achern, the modernisation service is available to customers in the UK and Ireland through the Group’s Leicester-based subsidiary Kasto Ltd.

Supplying over 60,000 tonnes of metals and plastics annually to manufacturers in southern Germany and neighbouring countries, Günther+Schramm employs 180 staff who place a lot of emphasis on timely delivery of the high quality products. This requires a smoothly functioning warehouse, but the company’s pre-existing storage and retrieval system had started to impose limitations on what could be achieved.

Michael Sticke, assistant operations manager responsible for the Kasto system in Königsbronn, said: “After three decades of service, the original mechanics were causing frequent disruptions, leading to significant downtime. It was a classic example of a bathtub curve, where initial issues subside, followed by a long, stable period before a rise in failures due to age and wear. We were always at risk of waiting a week or two for a replacement component, preventing us from serving our customers in the meantime.”

Pictured left: The first step of the refurbishment was to open the roof at Günther+Schramm to gain access to the top of the Kasto high-bay storage system and remove the gantry crane

So the decision was taken to modernise the Kasto SNLS 5000/7100 S high-bay bar storage system —its cassettes accommodate material up to 7.1m in length to a maximum weight of five tonnes per location. Given the stockholder’s positive experience with Kasto equipment over the years, including various sawing systems such as a KASTOvariospeed C 15 circular saw with robotic handling of cut pieces, Günther+Schramm naturally chose the same firm for the extensive retrofit.

A major stipulation was swift implementation of the project, as a non-operational storage system severely impedes customers supplies. The modernisation involved a comprehensive overhaul, with only the steel warehouse structure and cassettes being retained.

Alfred Schwörer, Kasto’s sales and project manager (retrofit), detailed the extent of the work. He said: “We replaced all the moving mechanical parts, including the gantry crane, as well as the safety and control systems. The ambitious target was to complete the entire modernisation within four weeks, which we successfully met thanks to a detailed schedule and competent collaboration from the Günther+Schramm team.”

The initial phase involved removing the old gantry crane through an opening made in the roof of the building (pictured above). Kasti then deployed seven employees to install the new hardware and electrics, facilitated by a temporary platform constructed under the roof to ensure safe working at height. Central to the upgrade was the new crane, featuring a wear-free energy chain and frequency-controlled, three-phase AC drives with pre-stretched, high-precision roller chains for precise positioning. Regenerative energy exchange coupled with the ability to feed surplus energy due to deceleration back into the system contributes to an environment-friendly handling solution.

Simultaneous storage and retrieval
An updated cassette-handling system was installed with two roller frames, enabling simultaneous storage and retrieval operations based on Kasto's travelling cassette principle, which optimises movements by allowing them to take place in parallel. Like the gantry crane, it features lifetime-lubricated roller bearings and a servo inverter for continuous drive control and electronic synchronisation.

Pictured right: In just four weeks, Kasto had replaced all the mechanical moving parts, electrics and software

The control system also underwent significant updating, transitioning from the old KASTOlvr software to KASTOlogic. This provided Günther+Schramm with enhanced performance and tailored functions, including order history, simplified operator rights management, closely monitored operator inputs, and a module with a graphical user interface for managing stock. Operators access the system via a KASTOlogic client control panel that includes manual operational controls, a label printer, cassette weight display, and intuitive menu navigation to guide the user through the storage and retrieval processes.

Looking ahead, Günther+Schramm plans to integrate the Kasto environment with its SAP enterprise resource planning software, allowing for direct order data management within KASTOlogic and eliminating the need to switch between the software systems. Mr Sticke anticipates this will save valuable time, stating: “Although it only requires a minimal amount of time per order, it does add up, as we handle a large number of orders every day.”

Reflecting on the successful collaboration, he was pleased with the outcome of the refurbishment project. Mr Sticke concluded: “The detailed schedule ensured that we always knew exactly where we were and what would happen next. At the end of the project, Kasto provided comprehensive employee training, so while there was an initial adjustment period, our operators quickly became accustomed to the new processes.”