The Customer

Still is one of the leading manufacturers of forklifts and other vehicles for intralogistics. With approximately 7,000 employees, the company operates four production facilities and 14 branches in Germany, as well as 20 international subsidiaries.

Among other things, the Hamburg plant manufactures high-quality, user-friendly electric forklifts with high availability. State-of-the-art manufacturing methods are used, which are continuously optimized through internal production planning.

Technical Specifications

• Cargo: 2-4-piece mast assemblies on steel pallets
• Dimensions: max 3500x1300x1100
• Capacity: 30 units/hour
• Load capacity: up to 1,500 kg
• Control System: Siemens S7-300
• Storage capacity: Line 1: 11 units
• Line 2: 6 units
• Steel pallet storage: 3 stacks each

Function Description

After the 2–4 mast sections for a forklift have been manufactured and aligned together, the final surface coating is applied. The central coating facility is accessed from various production areas via an overhead conveyor system (P&F system) that runs beneath the factory ceiling.

The transport system we supplied connects two mast production lines to the manually operated P&F station. This allows matching mast components to be transported together while adhering to the FIFO system. The system’s storage capacity decouples the workflows.

The slings are loaded manually because multiple mast sections are attached together using connecting chains. An automatic transfer cart is used to move to the transfer point so that the employee has unobstructed access to the mast sections from all sides.

The steel pallets required for transport are no longer needed after the P&F loading process and are automatically stacked in a forklift-friendly manner and stored for return.