Finieco has revamped its logistics systems with the start-up of a new automated warehouse in Portugal.

Finieco, one of Europe’s largest paper bag manufacturers, has revamped its logistics systems with the start-up of a new automated warehouse in Porto, Portugal.

Finieco’s production rate has steadily risen in recent years. Currently, it manufactures more than 1.5 million paper bags a day.

To cope with this increase in demand, the company needed a high-throughput logistics centre. This would enable it to gain space and improve stock control, thus, reducing errors and logistics costs.

On this basis, Mecalux proposed equipping the installation with the automatic Pallet Shuttle system served by a stacker crane. This solution optimises the available surface area, providing the largest possible storage capacity. It consists of a high-density system designed to store products with a large number of pallets per SKU and is ideal for installations with significant goods flows.

The version deployed in Finieco’s warehouse is fully automated, as it includes a stacker crane that transports the goods between the warehouse entry and exit points and the storage channels.

The centre can hold up to 5,000 pallets distributed amongst five levels standing 10 metres high.

Pallets from production arrive at the automated installation via a conveyor circuit.

A light-duty stacker crane measuring nine metres tall moves up and down a 45-metre-long aisle, positioning the shuttle in the assigned location.

Once at the entrance of the channel, the Pallet Shuttle inserts or extracts the pallets according to orders received from Mecalux’s Easy WMS warehouse management system.

Easy WMS is the nerve centre of the installation, managing all processes and operations taking place in it. The objective is to have complete control over the pallets stored and to automate goods inflows and outflows in line with each order.

Exits from the installation are divided amongst nine live channels that operate by means of gravity.

The stacker crane works all night long following orders from Easy WMS, depositing pallets in the different channels based on their classification by customer or route.

One of the advantages of automating the warehouse is high goods availability. The conveyors and stacker crane can establish continuous product flows and operate without interruption 365 days a year.

With a presence in over 70 countries, Finieco is a company that relies on automation and technological advances. With its warehouse set up by Mecalux, the firm has successfully automated its supply chain. It has reached a high level of competitiveness, thereby ensuring the utmost quality of its products and services.