Go-live of Häfele’s new high-bay warehouse

Following the successful installation of the stacker crane in August 2021, Häfele commissioned the new high-bay warehouse together with io. Sibylle Thierer, Chairwoman of the Managing Board at Häfele, officially opened their fourth new high-bay warehouse at the logistics center in Nagold with a ceremonial inauguration of the stacker cranes. io, as their long-standing planning partner, was also on site. Ever since 2018, the world’s leading technical consulting and planning company from Heidelberg and the international specialist for hardware technology, electronic locking systems and lighting in Nagold have partnered up to plan and implement Häfele’s logistics and make it fit for the future. io provides support in logistics, IT, construction and project management with its holistic Lead Consulting // plus approach.

Important milestone reached

The new construction of the high-bay warehouse and the associated plant expansion meant the existing logistics function could be expanded and modernized. “The go-live of the high-bay warehouse is an important milestone in our logistics strategy. Even with the unpredictable delivery times and rising costs seen since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we managed to complete the project within budget and on time. This is why io is such an important and reliable partner for us,” says Matthias Wehle, Head of Logistics at Häfele.

The high-bay warehouse with around 15,000 storage spaces and seven aisles reduces walking distances and provides more ergonomic workplaces. Goods-to-person picking, for example, is now standard in the warehouse. “Put-to-light” and “ProGlove scanners” are also used. The workstations are connected to the high-bay warehouse by a high-performance electric floor conveyor. The pallet conveyor system in the goods receiving extension was designed to allow flexible storage in both the new and existing warehouses. Detailed migration planning meant all work could be carried out during ongoing operations without affecting Häfele’s day-to-day business.

Against this background, the last few months were one of the most exciting project phases. The installation of the conveyor system and the planned electric floor conveyor were completed and integrated into the existing building. The entire plant has now been commissioned, with the storage and conveyor technology as well as the picking workstations ready to be further expanded at any time.

The Nagold distribution center was originally constructed in 1974 and has undergone continuous expansion and automation over the years. Today, it consists of a number of automated high-bay warehouses and additional manual storage areas providing a total of more than 100,000 storage slots.