Automated warehouse management – Mastergrip® creates efficiency and saves energy
Raumaster Paper delivered an extensive automated warehouse system to the Paloma d.d. mill in Slovenia. A significant part of the delivery was one of the largest Mastergrip® grippers supplied by the company to date, which ensures efficient, reliable and energy-saving roll storage.
Paloma d.d., a Slovenian company with a 150-year tradition of manufacturing and marketing hygienic paper products, part of the Bratislava based SHP Group, ordered a fully automated warehouse solution from Raumaster Paper Oy. The delivery included the patented Mastergrip® roll gripper, the tailor-made programming of the automatic warehouse system and a crane.
The task
In the past, Paloma’s factory had jumbo rolls stored in various locations of the mill site. Higher efficiency in using the available space was needed in order to further develop the mill’s operations. The best solution for Paloma turned out to be an automated storage with stacked paper rolls, which required a minimum of access and transport routes.
“Raumaster Paper gripper was already for some time in use, so it was a solution that was proven. Also the time schedule that we had was tough and Raumaster Paper was able to follow it. This is the main motive why we chose Raumaster Paper", says Boris Latinovic, Project Manager at Paloma d.d.
Versatile and gentle roll handling
The Mastergrip® roll gripper is a fully electromechanical device with six gripper arms, suitable for all types of paper. It can handle both unwrapped rolls and rolls wrapped in kraft paper or plastic film. If necessary, the gripper can also be used to move stacks of several narrow rolls simultaneously.
“With six gripper arms we can reduce the necessary amount of force to the minimum to reduce any damage to the rolls. There’s no hydraulic system involved which could introduce oil leakage or any other fire hazards”, says Gerhard Gabriel, sales representative for Raumaster Paper Oy.
Very low energy consumption
The Paloma project involved the largest Mastergrip® supplied by Raumaster Paper to date, with a maximum tissue jumbo roll diameter of 2500 mm.
The Mastergrip® uses remarkably less energy compared to conventional vacuum lifting units. This is possible due to the fact that the force is only applied when the Mastergrip® grips the roll or releases it. The brakes hold the rolls firmly even without electricity, ensuring that the rolls do not fall off the gripper during a possible power outage.
From design to production, working together
The new warehouse is located between the production building and the river Mura which forms the border between Slovenia and Austria. It was possible to get the subcontracted crane components into the building by lifting them over the river with two truck-mounted cranes. Raumaster Paper chose a very experienced crane supplier and mobile crane contractor for the project, so the installation work was also smooth despite the relatively challenging conditions.
At the Paloma mill, the automated storage system today serves the tissue paper production, the converting department and the shipping department. This can create a high capacity demand which the Mastergrip® system is well designed to handle.
“Raumaster Paper has a very strong in-house engineering both on the mechanical and on the automation side, which becomes more and more important nowadays since all the processes are becoming more complex", says Gerhard Gabriel.
To meet the specific needs of the mill, a dedicated user interface was also designed for the warehouse operators in close cooperation with the Paloma team.
“SHP team is happy with the project we executed together and also with the support we are getting from Raumaster Paper while using the system. Final outcome completely fits to our expectations and the task given to Raumaster Paper at the beginning of the project”, says Boris Latinovic.
Raumaster Paper delivered a fully automatic warehouse system to a customer in Slovenia. The delivery consisted of a Mastergrip® rollgripper with the warehouse management system and the crane.
