The Porcelanosa Group entrusts Mecalux with the completion of their logistics complex

The heat of fire, the humbleness of sand… basic elements on which Porcelanosa has built a solid business group which covers all sectors of ceramics, from tiles to solutions for the most contemporary of architecture.

 

5 logistics centres in Castellón are the result of years of close collaboration with Mecalux, which has designed and implemented the best solutions for each project, providing “innovation, technology and excellence” in each one. Three words that sum up their working philosophy and turn them into the best allies of a large group like Porcelanosa.

 

Mecalux took its first steps in this great project with the Porcelanosa logistics centre in 2003, followed by the Ceranco centre. Six years later the l’Antic Colonial and Noken centres were built, and finally Venís in 2011.

 

Venís, a pioneering flooring company, with a wide variety of types and finishes, is the last of the 5 logistics centres built by Mecalux for the Porcelanosa Group. This centre is fitted out with the most recent technological developments present in each and every part of the circuit.

 

The cycle starts with the pallets with the finished product. These mostly come from the production centre, connected to the silo through an underground tunnel more than 1 kilometre long.

 

Monitored along their route by Mecalux’s Easy warehouse management software, they are lifted on the double lifts that allow two pallets of up to 1,600 kg each to be loaded until they reach the aisle entrances of the store.

 

In addition to the tunnel entrance, the store has another auxiliary entrance for pallets from other centres.

 

The pallets are moved on the roller and chain conveyors to the identification point, where Mecalux’s Easy warehouse management software controls any incident. Here each pallet is measured and weighed and it is made sure that they are in perfect condition.

 

The auxiliary entrance is also used for bringing in empty pallets. Both these and those from other centres comply with rigorous quality control.

 

 

Venís silo: 7,000 square metres, 31 metres high and with a capacity to store 65,000 pallets.

 

The silo structure comprises 10 aisles where 10 twin-mast stacker cranes circulate and lift the pallets to place them strategically following the orders of the Mecalux Easy warehouse management software.

 

The faster-rotating goods are placed closer to the aisle entrance.

 

The twin-mast stacker cranes operate at a speed of up to 180 metres per minute and are able to perform as many as 237 combined cycles.

 

The stacker cranes are capable of recovering an average value of 15% of the energy consumed for self-consumption.

 

This logistics centre project created by Mecalux especially in accordance with Venis’s needs, also has space for future extensions to be built.

 

Goods delivery has also required specific solutions from Mecalux, both for the more complex picking zone and for and that of full pallets.

 

Eight work posts have been set up in the picking zone, able to prepare a total of 31 orders at the same time.

 

Pneumatic arms allow operators to handle the load effortlessly, facilitating movements with weight and speeding up the whole process.

 

The tables are fitted with height-adjustable hydraulic systems for greater ergonomics for workers.

 

The Mecalux Easy warehouse management software controls the preparation and the dispatching, enabling 4 orders to be completed at a time at each picking post.

 

Two double shuttles run along the picking aisles, keeping the safety distance and distributing the loads on the output tables.

 

All details count in the Venís logistics centre. Mecalux built a tunnel in Venís to connect the picking zone with the dispatch area to avoid the shuttle circulation area.

 

The delivery zone has two areas for full pallets and another two for those coming from picking.

 

The full pallets are distributed along 6 lines on either side of the silo. Those coming from the picking zone are wrapped to be shipped.

 

The large variety of Porcelanosa products has generated specific requirements in some of the group’s logistics centres. This is the case of l’Antic Colonial, where the parquet flooring is stored in large, wrapped flat packs requiring double pallets for storage.

 

Mecalux has designed lifts, stacker cranes and picking posts especially for these unconventionally large items.

 

In the case of Noken, another of the companies of the Porcelanosa Group, which stores small products as a manufacturer of taps and bathroom units, Mecalux designed an automatic warehouse for boxes instead of pallets. A solution that provides greater agility in goods input and output.

 

This is the daily work of the logistics centres of the Porcelanosa Group, a company that has risen as a benchmark of quality and innovation at the service of logistics. A challenge taken on by Porcelanosa and Mecalux now more than 15 years ago materialised in the 5 automatic logistics centres built to date.

 

Mecalux and Porcelanosa. A long trajectory offering the best products to their customers. Mecalux technology and experience for the Porcelanosa Group.