Mecalux, a world leader in storage systems, is building a logistics centre in France for FACOM, the leader in sales of tools for industry and the automotive sector in Europe. This company, which has been part of the Stanley Black&Decker Group since 2006, will have a warehouse with an area of 18,000 m² in the town of Damparis, in the north-east of France. With this warehouse, FACOM will be able to serve EXPERT products (tools) destined for countries in Europe.
The storage systems installed by Mecalux in the logistics centre will allow FACOM to move 8,000 packages of products a day.
According to the general manager of Mecalux in France, Daniel Joly, “the logistics centre has been designed so that FACOM can optimise its operations and make the most of available space in the building”.
FACOM project manager Tanguy Buisson has explained that “this storage system will result in space and time savings for our firm, since operatives will not have to cover great distances to prepare orders”.
120 metres of conveyor systems
In the FACOM warehouse, Mecalux will install 120 metres of conveyor systems that will transport merchandise to the positions intended by operatives with the aid of metal rolling pins. More specifically, boxes and trays will be carried in a controlled manner to the required positions via the use of driving mechanism and presence-detection systems enabled by mechanical or optical detection devices.
This system is a conveyor system which is scalable to the needs of its users and can be adjusted for growth. The conveyor systems are robust, designed to operate at a high performance level on a daily basis, while their compact ergonomic design facilitates the work of the operative.
Mecalux will also equip the premises with shelves for the storage of pallets, 9 metres tall and 90 metres in length, as well as shelves for M7 picking and dynamic picking, 2 metres tall and 20 metres in length. This type of shelving allows merchandise to reach the operative promptly, so that they can prepare orders almost without having to move.
These shelves are designed for warehouses with large picking volumes, increasing the number of lines to be prepared and eliminating the need for personnel who conduct these operations to move about the premises. The shelves are made up of inclined wheeled platforms or rolling pins that guarantee the optimal entry and exit of material. Merchandise enters at one end and is moved along by gravity to the other side that faces the exit hall. With this approach there is a perfect rotation of the product, interruptions in the replacement and collection of material are avoided and orders are prepared in less time.
The whole logistics centre will be controlled using a management software program, which will provide information ranging from the status of stock to the control of orders in real time.
Clasimat® automated vertical lift
To save space and reduce the time required to prepare orders, the logistics centre will also have a Clasimat® automated vertical lift 9.5 metres tall. This Mecalux product allows merchandise stored to go directly to the operative, thus reducing the number of runs that normally occur in a building with these characteristics.
Clasimat® is a structure that has an extraction and lifting mechanism for the entry and exit of merchandise. The way in which it works is very simple: on the screen, the operative selects the product desired. The shuttle automatically moves up or down to the level where it is located, extracts the relevant tray and carries it to the picking position or output table.
Stanley Black&Decker Group and FACOM
FACOM is the leading supplier of portable professional tools for industry and the automotive sector in Europe. The company, which was founded in France in 1918, has more than 8,000 products in its catalogue, including storage facilities (trolleys, cabinets, mobile storage banks, etc.), standard tools (keys, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, etc.) and specialist tools for the automotive sector.
FACOM is one of Stanley Black&Decker Group’s most important brands. For more than 160 years, this company has manufactured and sold tools for industry, construction and the automotive sector. Worldwide, the Group has 120 offices, 25 production plants and 40,000 employees. Stanley Black&Decker has 12 different brands, such as FatMax, DeWalt, Bostitch, Porter-Cable, Facom, Emhart Teknologies, Proto, Kwikset and Mac Tools, among others.