Würth Industrie Service expands its state-of-the-art logistics centre for industrial supplies in Europe

“This investment is a sign of the company’s steady growth and, at the same time, a commitment to our roots and thus to the Main-Tauber region. As the industry’s leading C-Parts partner, we aim to strengthen the security of supply to our customers’ in the long-term – not only in Germany, but throughout Europe.” said Rainer Bürkert, Member of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group.

A clear commitment beyond the region
Würth Industrial Park at Bad Mergentheim is regarded as one of the most modern logistics centres for industrial supply throughout Europe. Around 20,000 customers are supplied from here – ensuring a secure supply of production resources as well as auxiliary and operating materials. Around 500 tons of goods leave the logistics centre every day. By focusing on supplying all European customers directly through centralised logistics, Würth Industrie Service pursues the strategy of the largest possible supplier consolidation – based on the commitment of quality throughout Europe. To meet this objective, Würth Industrie Service has so far invested more than 392 million euros in the location and logistics centre. The new investment is not only a positive sign for Europe, but also a sign of clear commitment of Würth Industrie Service to Bad Mergentheim. In their speeches, Nina Warken and Christoph Schauder also focused on the importance of the company for the region and the opportunities offered by the company’s increased international orientation.

“The expansion of logistics significantly increases efficiency and capacity throughout the value-added process. Only in this way can we ensure supply to our customers in Europe in the long term and leverage the synergies. With the expansion of logistics, we are clearly investing in customer benefits and customer development, and thus in the future of Würth Industrie Service.”, said Martin Jauss, General Manager at Würth Industrie Service. 

Our linchpin – logistics: Expanding to high-bay warehouse
The investment volume for the expansion of the logistics location in Bad Mergentheim amounts to more than 30 million euros. The fully automated high-bay warehouse is an impressive building with a height of 50 metres, width of 34 metres and length of 121 metres. The modular expansion stage comprises a total of six aisles with storage and retrieval machines for automatically loading and unloading the pallets. Thanks to the double-depth design of the outer aisles, it was possible to optimise the storage density in addition to the statics, while at the same time considerably reducing the area required. On a base area of more than 4,000 square meters, the high-bay warehouse will offer more than 59,000 additional storage spaces for pallets in the future. This increases the high-bay capacity at the Bad Mergentheim location by about 33 percent to a total of 235,000 pallet storage spaces. Thanks to the direct integration of the high-bay expansion into the existing plant, the company is expanding its related logistics capacity, thus continuing the consistent automation strategy. Through the use of innovative technologies such as camera inspection systems, autonomous bin shuttles and self-learning robots in picking and palletising, the C-Parts partner is continuously increasing its degree of automation and digitalisation within logistics. In addition to increased logistics productivity, the systems used have the task of reducing the physical burden on employees and improving workplace ergonomics. By implementing the goods-to-person picking, the items to be picked are made available dynamically and automatically at the workplace. The efficient 44 metre high storage and retrieval machines are particularly economical on space thanks to their single column design, and can carry out up to 600 pallet movements per hour with their two load handling equipment. The energy requirements of storage and retrieval machines are optimised by means of energy recovery. “Innovation is the key to securing the future. Our challenge is to improve the location and logistics by continuously developing known technologies and integrating new approaches. We are thus increasing the competitiveness of Würth Industrie Service and expanding customer benefits by offering new services.”, reports  Helmut Eisenkolb, Head of Logistics at Würth Industrie Service. 

Focus on sustainability
With the construction measures being currently implemented and planned, Würth Industrie Service has taken significant steps to ensure a seamless supply to the customers in the future and unlocked potential with regard to sustainable business processes. One of the components of Würth Industrie Service’s sustainability strategy is the continuous expansion of photovoltaic systems, which already contribute to energy self-sufficiency with an output of 900 KWP and an estimated output of 800,000 kWh. Discussions are underway with the specialist engineers to expand the photovoltaic system on the southern facade of the new high-bay warehouse. Being one step ahead and acting in a sustainable and forward-looking manner is what the company stands for.