Wood Panel & Timber Handling Solutions

Despite weighing up to 100 kilograms and extending up to 5.60 meters long, these panels must be picked individually, but also stacked safely, quickly, and flawlessly.

Automated solutions with stacker cranes clearly outperform manual concepts with side-loading forklifts or mobile platforms.

At Kardex we offer specialized storage and retrieval solutions tailored to the unique needs of the wood panel handling industry. These solutions provide numerous benefits that can optimize operations and enhance efficiency.

1. Full or Half-Format
   Dimensions are not defined exactly. The length and width depend on each manufacturer’s production machines. From the manufacturing site, the panels move to retail trade or are processed further – either in their entire length or cut into half-formats. Storage and 
   retrieval machines (SRMs) with side-loading forklifts or mobile picking platforms (common features in retail logistics) convey both sizes.

2. Reduced Personnel Costs
   The advantage of this variant lies primarily in reduced personnel costs. Companies must, of course, weigh this against the significantly higher investment required. The procurement 
   costs for a self-propelled platform depend greatly on the configuration in each case. Costs of 300,000 euros and upwards per platform are not unusual. For this price, however, you receive a customized one-off machine optimally tailored to your specific requirements.

3. 300 %  Space Gains
   The investment calculation must also take space costs into account – and this is where a fully automated solution comes into its own. Panel warehouse operators using storage and retrieval machines can make use of available space, up to 24-meters high. With the 
   other solutions described above using manually operated forklifts and platforms, the height limit is approximately eight meters. The 300 percent space gains are related to the design of the storage and retrieval machines.

4. Necessary Redundancy
   Contrary to popular opinion, fully-automated solutions are not only highly efficient but also very flexible. With some forethought in the planning stage, companies can subsequently change their warehouse layout and adjust the dimensions of the stored panels to meet changing market requirements. It is also possible to adapt the picking performance of an SRM to match current demand without time-consuming personnel planning. The production planning originates, after all, in the IT system. Companies who build at least a two-aisle warehouse also have the necessary redundancy system in the event of technical hitches.