42 M High Automated Clad-rack warehouse of Kumho Tire in Nanjing

The Korean tire maker Kumho has enlarge its manufacturing center in Nanjing to deal with the increase in manufacturing achieve in recent years. Over one year’s design, manufacturing and installation, Huaruide has constructed a turnkey automated clad-rack warehouse adapted to the stand pallet of Kumho required. It is fully automated, with conveyors, stacker crane, RGV, pallet dispenser and stacker that move the pallets throughout the installation, as per the needs and storage goals of the company.

The Ambitious Tire Makers’ Manufacturing Center in China

As the NO.2 tire makers, Kumho tier is always seeking for big chance in international market. The company continually invests in its manufacturing center and China market is the biggest target. For meet the huge market demands, the business decided to build a warehouse in Nanjing for finished goods storage.

Bearing in mind that the company want to use the fixed surface area to get the biggest storage capacity, and consider to use stand-alone double-deep stacker crane solution with 24 m steel structure building (over 24m steel structure building is strictly supervised by government), the solution cannot meet manufacturing center’s need. So, clad-rack type ASRS becomes the only choice.

The clad-rack installation’s priority is to make full use of the surface to provide better storage capacity. The result is a warehouse integrated with the rest of the plant, works around the clock,. 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

The Top High Warehouse

The warehouse, measuring 42 m high, is a clad-rack built installation, different from a stand-alone structure warehouse, where rack withstand the weight of rack own, goods, side cladding and the roof. The advantage of this solution is it only fills the space available inside and provides a 16,500 pallets (1600*1600*1500 mm) capacity.

It comprises nine aisles with single-depth racks on each side and automatic operations, which requires minimal human involvement. The pallets income and outgoing from the warehouse are divided in 2 layers, their movement are done by cooperation of conveyors, stacker cranes, RGV and lifts. It fulfils the requirements frame out by Kumho Tire and the system can do 180 combined circle (180 inputs and 180 outputs).

Each aisle is served by a mother-child shuttle that picks up pallets from lift, mother shuttle move to defined row and child shuttle deposits pallets in the location that has been assigned by Huaruide WMS warehouse management system, the pallet come from incoming conveyor. Later, they perform the same movement but in reverse of outgoing goods.

RGV Loop Takes Charge of Incoming and Outgoing Goods

The first level RGV loops receive pallets from inbound station drop on assigned chain conveyor, and the pallet waits for stacker crane to pick up. The second RGV receives pallets from conveyors and drop the pallet to outbound station. This RGV loop shift goods at a controlled speed of 60 m/min.

The RGV loops are in charge of distributing the goods in corresponding aisle, according to the instruction of the Huaruide WMS warehouse management system.

Before entering the automated warehouse, goods must pass through the checkpoint to validate that they fulfil the requirements established for their location in the warehouse. Pallets that do not pass inspection are deposited on the rejects conveyor, placed in parallel, for their reconditioning.

Warehouse Management Software

Huaruide WMS is a powerful warehouse management system whose purpose is to coordinate and manage all internal operations. The functions it performs include reception, the allocation of locations and storage of pallet order preparation and final dispatch.

The WMS is in permanent and bidirectional communication with the ERP, transferring data and information to itself to operate and manage the warehouse effectively and to obtain maximum profitability from the logistics processes.

Advantages for Kumhor Tire

Maximum Storage Capacity: with the limited surface area, the installation extends form height to gain more storage layers with reliable strong structure.

Maximum productivity: Full automated warehouse need no time for rest, it works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Turnkey warehouse: Besides the racking system, Huaruide has provided all safety measures, as well as the refrigeration and fire-fighting systems.