Since the company was founded in 1974, EA Elektro-Automatik (EA for short) has quickly established itself as a leading international manufacturer of power electronics for a wide range of applications. When the LogBer team was commissioned to analyze EA's factory logistics and develop concepts and suggestions for improvement, the complexity of the challenge quickly became apparent. With intralogistics barely able to keep pace with EA's rapid growth, one of the tasks was to get the material flow moving again by constructing a new logistics and production building.

Picking via robot-based compact warehouse

The Autostore robot-based compact warehouse forms the core of the logistical production supply system and is used for the timely picking and buffering of production orders. Warehouse lifts help with the ergonomic picking of small and heavy parts. The latter are used with lifting aids, so-called manipulators, at various points in the production and logistics areas. The material flow is controlled by an individually tailored warehouse control and management system, which guarantees batch tracking, the FiFo principle and efficient production supply and disposal.

"The situation was typical for companies that specialize in the manufacture of complex products and focus primarily on the end product over long periods of time, while necessary adjustments to intralogistics are not the focus during extreme growth," says Logber project manager Dr. Kai Semrau. "With continuous growth, the point is reached at which the previous handling of individual parts or material warehouses scattered across the factory premises becomes a problem."

Material flow influences process efficiency

In the case of EA, Logber was confronted with a whole bundle of challenges. The electronic components, some of which were very sensitive, were stored at different locations in the plant and had to be picked by hand for each order and transported manually to the production lines on trolleys. The material flow, which was based on document-based processes, took a lot of time and could hardly be reconciled with the increasing order growth.

"Small-scale production logistics require a special approach," says Dr. Kai Semrau, "and if the material flow of a permanently modernized production facility is not continuously adapted, this quickly has an unpleasant effect on process efficiency."

In order to dissolve the previous logistics processes at EA Elektro-Automatik, LogBer completely realigned the material flow and designed a central production warehouse in the immediate vicinity of the production lines. All required components are now automatically delivered to the new building and stored safely in compliance with ESD and fire protection requirements.

Improved production logistics thanks to reduced transportation routes

Production areas were relocated to open spaces in the new building, and the space thus freed up was renovated and immediately reoccupied with other production lines. This resulted in a cascade of relocations, which - now almost complete - has reduced transport routes to an absolute minimum and enabled further growth. "Over the last three years in particular, we have significantly expanded our production," says Michael Mai, COO of EA Elektro-Automatik, "and the comprehensive realignment of our intralogistics has made a major contribution to creating the necessary processes."