Prism-fork device counters negligence

Mühlen Sohn warp beams can now be transported to warehouses with greater speed and reliability.

It is true to say that as a world market leader, Mühlen Sohn produces the best products for the corrugated-board industry, but it has taken some time to optimise the logistics for these technical textiles. Until now, internal transport of warp beams weighing as much as 5000 kg from the production line to the warehouse was performed manually.

Finding an ideal solution did not prove to be easy, thanks to the extraordinary weight of the warp beams and their bulkiness at 4 m in length. Another challenge that had to be overcome was the need to transport the beams across the asphalt yard, with all its bumps and slopes, and even in inclement weather. In response to this, Genkinger-Hubtex developed a special device for Mühlen Sohn with an inlaid chassis, based on the tried-and-tested construction kit. This tool helped to achieve the sought-after level of transport reliability under the challenging conditions. At the same time, the maximum speed was reduced for safety reasons – this is now a maximum of 3 km/h to help keep the drivers fully satisfied. A bevelled surface has also been incorporated into the device as an additional structural security detail to prevent accidental or careless sitting on the device.

So what has been the outcome after a year? Andreas Stöferle, Production Manager at Mühlen Sohn, and Purchasing Manager Ulrich Lengl explain: “We are very satisfied. We have improved our internal logistics processes just as we expected we would. The device from Genkinger-Hubtex has been perfect.” The decisive elements for the company were the consulting service, device quality, service and price. “In the same way that we have a duty to provide high quality standards to our customers on every level, we also expect the same of our suppliers, in this case Genkinger-Hubtex.” Helmut Grasfer, Sales Manager at Genkinger-Hubtex explains: “We require six months from the initial concept through to delivery. We worked in close consultation with the client throughout the development process.” Genkinger-Hubtex was able to preserve comfort, traction and braking on uneven surfaces, as defined in the specifications for the job, with the use of a balancing pendulum drive.

Initial considerations of transporting warp beams to the warping machine by installing a crane system were dropped by Mühlen Sohn following a profitability assessment – this proposal would have cost around €10,000 more, whilst being far less flexible.

Visit www.hubtex.com for further info

• CID: 20162