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We can't reinvent the wheel - but we can reinvent the shelf!
With the gewe ergowheel® wheel rack, we have revolutionized the storage of car wheels.
Car wheels are best stored lying down, in the dark and close together in a set. We at gewe LagerTec prove that this is possible: The innovation is that the wheels in the gewe ergowheel® wheel rack are no longer stored upright, but lying 4 high one behind the other. We were now able to convince AUDI AG of the innovative storage technology. They see the advantages of saving space, the easy and significantly faster access to the wheels as well as the freedom from damage to also satisfy the customer.
20,000 wheel sets, or 80,000 wheels, can be stored in the hall in Ingolstadt. A huge amount of tires, mostly stored wheels from employee and leased vehicles, with a huge space requirement. This means a challenge for the operators when it comes to sorting, storing or retrieving the wheels.
"Four wheels are stored or retrieved in just 22 seconds".
"Normally, the four wheels of a vehicle are stored classically, standing side by side on the tread," explains Stefan Nehrlich, Managing Director of gewe LagerTec GmbH in Breuna in northern Hesse. The problem: With large quantities of wheels, this type of storage requires an enormous amount of space. In addition, it is usually difficult for employees to reach the stored wheels when they are retrieved in a targeted manner. In most cases, they have to heave the wheel sets into the correct position laboriously and with enormous effort. Damage to the often expensive rims cannot be ruled out either.
"With the geweergowheel® wheel rack, up to 40 percent more storage capacity can be achieved in the same space"
In 2013, we at gewe LagerTec presented a new solution: this involves storing the wheels lying down and one behind the other. The wheels can be easily pushed into position via an inclined lying surface, which is equipped with parallel and load-bearing roller strips, and the natural force of gravity enables them to be pulled out in a few seconds, saving effort. "We measured this once: In just 22 seconds each, four wheels are stored or retrieved," says Managing Director Stefan Nehrlich, citing just one of the many advantages of the new system, which is also patented. The wheels on the roller rails help the user to retrieve the wheels. Unhandy telescopic poles for pulling the tires forward and back strain on the employees are thus a thing of the past.
But the system also offers significant economic advantages over the classic storage system: With the gewe ergowheel® wheel rack, up to 40 percent more storage capacity can be achieved with the same space. Furthermore, by eliminating numerous aisles that were previously necessary to even reach the wheels, long distances are also eliminated. This means that even the corresponding part of the lighting can be saved.
"In addition to the practical and health-related benefits for the employees in their daily work, costs can be reduced for the operator and profitability maximized," says Nehrlich, citing the main reasons for retrofitting. AUDI AG was also convinced of this. In a warehouse measuring 42 x 80 meters and with an impressive rack height of 7.30 meters at the Ingolstadt site, 80,000 wheels are currently stored in the new type of wheel rack system. "The handling is significantly better for our employees, especially with regard to their physical strain and back health," explains Dirk Köthe, Head of Customer Service Center at AUDI AG.
"The handling is significantly better for our employees, especially with regard to their physical strain"
"In addition, there is the higher packing density: significantly more wheels can simply be stored in the same footprint." With 80,000 wheels in the same hall size, this is clearly noticeable in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The fact that the horizontal wheels also offer advantages in terms of fire protection is a further benefit.