Customer Description

Edeka North GmbH supplies with three large branches and the affiliated logistics centers the Group’s markets in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as well as parts of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. Right next to the NORDfrische Center in Zarrentin-Valluhn is located Logistics center where approximately 800 employees handle around 22,500 items from the Dry–, Frozen–, Freshness–, Fruit– and vegetablesThe product range is stored and picked.

Project Description

As part of a restructuring decision made on short notice, Edeka’s beverage logistics—which had originally been spun off—were reintegrated into the operations of the regional branches. Additional logistics space was found at the site to handle the resulting task of sorting returnable containers. The expected volumes of returnable containers are to be processed quickly and efficiently in the near future using a highly automated returnable container sorting system. To buy time for the planning and implementation of such a system, a simple but readily available conveyor carousel for sorting returnable containers was initially installed in the warehouse that had recently been integrated into the logistics processes with pallet conveyors for sorted empties.

Technical Details

• 50-meter-long sorting carousel
• A 10-meter-long area for placing unsorted returnable containers on pallets and in grocery carts for manual loading, with pre-sorting on two levels
• A 90-meter-long sorting area for manual, single-variety picking and palletizing
• Two box counters for determining performance on an A+B item carousel
• A box counter for determining output in C/D-item counting mode with gravity discharge
• 80 m of sorting trays in the rotor to optimize sorting paths
• two roller conveyors with floor-level high-speed feeders for fully sorted pallets
• Converted loading ramp for the removal of 2- or 4-pallet stacks by forklift from the outside of the warehouse for transport to the block storage area
• Safety equipment consisting of various emergency stop pull cords along the conveyor system
• Two Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 controllers
• Touch panels with system visualization and sorting performance analysis in the control cabinets