When planning a replacement warehouse for its Kansas City service centre, US steel distributor Steel and Pipe Supply
(SPS) had a clear vision of its priorities: safety, high throughput, minimal error rates and a compact footprint.
It found the perfect supplier in the German manufacturer,
Kasto, whose products including storage systems and sawing machines are sold into the UK and Irish markets by the group’s Leicestershire subsidiary.
John Conley, co-president at SPS said: “We supply the Midwest with a wide range of materials. Our customers rely on us not only for their quality, but also for the service we provide. This kind of warehouse upgrade has made a real improvement, not only to our efficiency and productivity but also to the morale of our staff.”
Established in 1933 by Sam Goldstein as Kansas Hide and Wool, the business entered the metal scrap and steel sector in 1954. During the next five years, Sam’s son Jack fully transitioned the company into the steel sector and adopted the firm’s current name. Today, SPS operates across multiple sites in the Midwest and is among the largest privately-held steel service centres in the US.
The company’s broad product range includes structural steel, flat sheet and plate, and coil. It also offers a variety of value-added services to customer specification, such as sawing, drilling and bevelling, as well as flame, laser and plasma cutting.
SPS had already installed Kasto automated storage systems at its sites in Tulsa (Oklahoma) and Longview (Texas), both of which experienced significant performance improvements as a result. Mr Colney added: “The systems made our operations faster, more precise and significantly safer. Incorrect deliveries are now a rare occurrence.”
Like many steel stockholders, SPS faces many challenges such as limited storage space, the risk of operator injury from manual handling of heavy goods, and the need for precise stock management. For the company, a Kasto UNICOMPACT 5.0 honeycomb automated storage and retrieval system was the ideal solution for the facility. Constructed for maximum storage density, the system makes optimum use of the available space. Automated loading and unloading significantly reduce manual labour, while accelerating picking and material flow.
Due to the goods-to-person design, orders are processed quickly and ergonomically, ensuring both high throughput and operator convenience. SPS can now move long stock more efficiently, with fewer handling errors and less waste. The system is designed to handle material up to 24ft in length and 16-inch high. With thousands of individual honeycomb storage locations, the high-density configuration provides far greater storage capacity than conventional racking systems. Fast cassette changes streamline operations, enabling staff to retrieve material and consolidate orders quickly.
Material movement is monitored in real time via the KASTOlogic warehouse management system. The intelligent software records inventory data automatically, removing the need for manual entries and reducing the likelihood of errors or misplaced stock. The results are greater transparency, improved accuracy and measurable savings in labour costs.
For SPS, investment in the Kasto automated solution aligns perfectly with the company’s long-term strategy of enhancing operational efficiency through automation and digitalisation.
With the Kasto UNICOMPACT in place, the Kansas City centre is now able to stock about 16,000 tonnes of material, despite the location being near an airport, which meant that when built the warehouse had to comply with a strict height limit.
Although the project involved a few logistical challenges, Conley praised the fast and professional support of Kasto’s US-based team.
“Their support is excellent. Whenever we needed assistance, service engineers are quick to respond and highly competent. That kind of reliability keeps downtime to a minimum and helps us remain agile,” he said.