Tuesday 28 June 2016 saw the opening of the extension of the Würth Elektronik eiSos GmbH & Co. KG logistics centre. Attended by representatives from politics and commerce and from the Würth Group, the manufacturer of electronic and electromechanical components celebrated the completion of a major project, which doubles the company’s warehouse capacity.
14,000 different items will now be directly available ex stocks, and state-of-the-art technology now makes it possible for 4,000 picks to be made each day. Electronics engineers and producers as well as branches throughout the world draw their supplies from Waldenburg. The new logistics centre will open its doors to the broad public at a separate Open Day on 3 July 2016.
The speakers at the opening ceremony included Robert Friedmann (Chairman of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group), Dr Matthias Neth (District Administrator for the Hohenlohekreis district), and Dr Walter Döring (former Minister of Industry and Commerce of Baden-Württemberg). Prof Dr h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth was present at the ceremony via a video message.
In the course of the opening event the guests were invited to see for themselves just how an automated warehouse operates using ultramodern conveying technology and intelligent enterprise-resource planning software. They also learned that the current expansion stage, code-named ‘2018’, is just one of a series of steps of a major, long-term project: once the next expansion phase, which is already in planning, has been completed, the capacity will double yet again by the year 2023.
All speakers emphasized the importance of the logistics centre for Germany as an industrial location as a whole and for tHohenlohe-Franken in particular. Würth Elektronik has already received several accolades for its role as a major employer and vocational-training company in the region, and the new building is seen as an impressive commitment to the company’s head office in Waldenburg. The amount of money invested in the project totals €25 million.
Besides the almost 5,000 square meters of additional warehouse space that has been created, the project has also brought a number of new offices and 800 square meters of extra laboratory space for quality assurance and product development. The ultramodern small-parts warehouse alone consists of 140,000 shelf spaces, the containers in which are taken out by an automatic shuttle system.
When finally completed, the warehouse will be capable of enabling 10,000 product picks each day. The centrepiece of the facility is the fully automatic shuttle warehouse, which counts as one of the most advanced of its kind in the whole of Europe. Although the project involves a great deal of automation and state-of-the-art technology, no jobs will be lost at the Waldenburg location. The new logistics centre is aimed at enabling continued growth in all aspects.
“Service orientation is the very core of our brand, and is the foundation on which our reputation in the electronics sector is based. Thanks to the expansion of our logistics facility, our ability to deliver our products immediately from our stocks will remain secure even when we continue to grow,” said Oliver Konz, CEO of Würth Elektronik eiSos.
Thomas Schrott, CEO of the Würth Elektronik eiSos Group, added,“The view over the new logistics centre fills our company with pride, and the building is an impressive symbol of our dynamism.”