Founded in 1874, Vaillant is one of the leading suppliers of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology. The product portfolio includes condensing boilers, heat pumps, ventilation systems, control technology, storage heaters, solar thermal systems, photovoltaic systems and battery storage systems. Vaillant pays particular attention to sustainability, including in the transportation of its heating components: Thanks to a recyclable reusable system, the company achieves enormous savings in resources.

Previously, each of Vaillant's suppliers had used their own disposable packaging. This made handling time-consuming and complex. This challenge was overcome with the introduction of the standardized reusable transport system: Hundreds of different types of packaging were replaced by two large pallet systems, which enabled the use of automated conveyor technology.

A study by Vaillant showed that the use of reusable boxes pays off compared to disposable solutions. This is due in particular to the fact that the containers achieve 100 cycles if handled properly, whereas disposable packaging requires costly disposal. This results in considerable savings just a few months after the changeover. In addition, reusable transport solutions are extremely stable, protect components better than disposable packaging and also reliably repel environmental influences such as moisture and dust.

Vaillant therefore decided to replace the disposable packaging with a reusable transport system. Walther Faltsysteme was the right partner for the changeover. Numerous tests were carried out in the search for the best possible customized system: The transport solutions were fitted with Vaillant components and subjected to extreme situations in simulations that could occur on the up to 1,400 kilometer long transport routes through Europe. These tests resulted in two custom-made pallet boxes: the Hybox measuring 1,200 x 1,000 x 1,188 millimetres and the Mega-Pack S 1200 with system heights of 975 and 1,085 millimetres.

There is a practically unlimited range of internal packaging options for each box, while the external dimensions of the transport solutions always remain the same. This means that all components can be transported safely with just three different pallet boxes. This standardization simplifies handling and speeds up processes. Users also benefit from the fact that the containers are foldable, which means that their volume can be reduced by up to 80 percent when transported empty. When folded, up to 330 boxes can be transported in a jumbo truck with a loading height of 2,700 millimetres.

The two large load carriers from Walther are tailored to Vaillant's individual requirements. The Hybox, for example, is specially tailored to the internal transportation of large and heavy Vaillant components such as heat exchangers and hydraulic modules. The Hyboxes are transported to Remscheid, Belper in the UK and Nantes in France, among other places, for the final assembly of heating appliances.

The Mega-Pack boxes, on the other hand, are mainly used by suppliers and are provided by a large pool service provider. The task for the plant in Remscheid was to develop a standardized load carrier that is compatible with the automated conveyor systems used. To make the Mega-Pack boxes suitable for the chain conveyor system in Remscheid, they were fitted with four feet instead of skids like standard pallets.

"Our motto is: do justice to the production line. That's why we focus not only on the packaged goods, but also on the customer's in-house processes," says Oliver van Neerven, Project Manager at Walther. This is also demonstrated by the Hyboxes, which have interfaces for hand-guided robots so that they can remove the systems from the packaging. Weighing up to 28 kilograms, the components are not suitable for manual removal.

Conclusion: Despite heavy use, the pallet boxes achieve a service life of eight years or more and over 100 cycles. This has convinced Vaillant: up to 70 percent of goods are now delivered in the reusable transport packaging; wooden crates and cardboard boxes are used much less frequently. Vaillant currently uses a total of around 10,000 Hyboxes and around 15,000 Mega-Pack boxes. This figure could increase significantly in the future. In addition to the high stability of the containers, this is due in particular to the fact that Walther's development work is geared precisely to individual customer requirements, enabling it to present the best possible solution. as