The Customer

Döhler GmbH, which operates internationally, is one of the leading specialists in the production of natural ingredients and solutions for the food and beverage industry.

Various functional ingredients are developed and produced from fruit and vegetable concentrates, flavorings, and colorings, which are used in many foods and beverages to enhance their taste, appearance, and nutritional value.

Project Description

As part of a major expansion of the company’s headquarters in Darmstadt, various operational areas were expanded and new production facilities were constructed. Upon completion of the project, the new mixing and filling hall will house two filling systems for small containers (canisters, bottles, buckets, etc.) as well as eight mixing and filling lines for large containers (stainless steel tanks, IBCs, etc.).

Additives are fed into the larger mixing plants via separate pallet conveyor systems on two levels, equipped with the appropriate lifting equipment. The mixing lines, each equipped with two filling stations to ensure a continuous process, are supplied with empty containers via a complex yet flexible conveyor system.

The sophisticated system, featuring various storage locations and four high-speed transfer carts, ensures that the diverse empty containers—which arrive unsorted in the hall from various operational areas via a central logistics corridor—are routed to the filling stations as needed, on time, and safely.
The fully filled large containers are then transported to the central logistics area via the same system.

Two on-site small-container filling lines are also supplied with empty containers via the system, and the palletized finished products are also fed into the intralogistics system.

Technical Specifications

• Infeed and return buffer sections for blending lines with vertical lifters for aggregate on pallets
• 1 distribution cart with a telescopic fork for pre-sorting incoming empty containers
• 2 dual-distribution carts with telescopic forks for direct loading of the filling stations
• 1 double-deck distribution cart with telescopic forks for background unloading on high-performance lines
• Protection of manual processes using 2 telescoping sliding doors and 4 safety light curtains each
• Empty container return and finished pallet disposal for small-container filling lines using two palletizing robots, as well as a pallet stretcher and a label applicator
• Key components designed for hygienic wet-area use (IP65, stainless steel, etc.)
• SIMATIC S7-1515F-2PN safety controller with visualization on a 15-inch touch panel
• Data exchange with SAP/EWM via NGKP2 interfaces with various reporting points
• Communication via MFR/SSI and Integration with the Logistics Network