Industry
Mechanical engineering
Networking early pays off
The company Knoll Maschinenbau started planning for the future early and exploited all opportunities to gain sufficient storage capacity to meet future requirements as well as increasing productivity. Their foresight proved fruitful.
KNOLL Maschinenbau GmbH
www.knoll-mb.deThe family company, Knoll, was founded in Bad Saulgau in 1970 and has grown continuously over the years. Today it is one of the leading suppliers of conveyor and filter systems in the metalworking industry with its headquarters in Bad Saulgau in southern Germany. The company's displacement pumps are used in sectors such as the chemical and food industries. Highly flexible assembly and transport systems complete their portfolio.
Challenges
Knoll Maschinenbau has been growing year by year since it was founded 45 years ago. One facility followed the next. From 2007, the team faced the challenge of setting up an entirely new factory layout for sheet metal processing. The goal was to shorten pathways and speed up processes. Storage capacity was a key challenge. For its systems, Knoll manufactures components and assemblies consisting of up to seven different materials and in quantities of 1 to 20. Consequently, it was crucial that materials could be delivered to the right machine at the right time.
Solutions
Knoll opted for a fully automated STOPA warehouse, measuring 70 meters in length and with 1,200 storage locations and 13 loading and unloading stations. A pallet lift system is the heart of the warehouse. TRUMPF's TruTops Fab Storage production control system regulates and monitors material flows, triggers material replenishments based on incoming orders, and provides continuous, accurate information on stock levels and machine utilization.
Implementation
TruTops Fab is connected to Knoll's main production control and planning system (PPS) via an interface. The company uses this interface primarily for materials management. By implementing the tool, Knoll has come a big step closer to the Smart Factory.
Forecast
For Knoll, it is now time to make the most of the existing systems. In the past four years, the mechanical engineering company has increased its productivity in sheet metal processing by at least an estimated 20 to 25 percent. And it now continues...
