To further optimize the content provided for the Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven business units and also to strengthen internal procedures at the German website in Neumünster, the Manmade Fibers section of the Swiss Oerlikon Group decided last year to put money into a state-of-the-art logistics center with a new lift center. It's been fully operational for a couple of weeks. This can be tremendously valuable for speeding up the processing of their several requests for meltblown systems for manufacturing high-quality nonwovens for protective masks and apparel which Oerlikon Nonwoven has received over the last months alone.

Purchasing a brand new Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven logistics center is paying dividends: the processing rate when manufacturing new systems -- much to the advantage of clients -- considerably improved in the first week following the center started working, not least as a consequence of the optimized procedures and the substance handling. The paternoster storage facility to date not only needed to have regular repairs completed due to its era, but it was also too small for the jobs increasingly being completed today. The only 90 m² were capable of keeping around 12,000 components. By comparison, the new logistics center now offers over 250 m² of storage space for in excess of 25,000 components. As a result, this now also houses all small parts, which used to be kept in the high-rack facility because of lack of space.

New hardware, new applications

Coinciding with the introduction of this new logistics center, Oerlikon also introduced new electronic procedures that will help cope with the increasing production volumes. For this end, consistently preserved master data and photographs for many components ensure secure, paper-free storage and handling of the content from now on. In order to minimize mistakes, a laser pointer now signals by which or to which distance the products are transferred. What's more, a photo of this content, sorted into kind, is displayed on the screen. The digitalization of this warehousing facilities simplifies the selection and put-away process so that assessing material amounts becomes superfluous when removing items in the warehouse.