Photo: ARNE DEDERT/ZUMA PRESS

KION Group building a new highly automated Spare Parts Distribution Center in Germany

Posted on Feb 24, 2023 in Nuts & Bolts

• A new highly automated distribution center will provide even better and faster spare parts supplies to its customers

• Total investment of around EUR 60 million

• KION subsidiaries Dematic and Linde Material Handling are providing the latest warehouse technology for the distribution center

• The planned completion date is January 2025

• Andreas Krinninger, Member of the KION Executive Board: “The new distribution center will enable us to even better support our customers by reducing processing times and creating full transparency through digitalizing the end-to-end material flow from goods-in to goods-out.”

Following the official ground-breaking ceremony in Kahl am Main near the German city of Aschaffenburg, the extensive construction and installation work on this new spare parts distribution center can now begin. Work will be completed by January 2025. The distribution center is set to house around 22,000 square meters of floor space for the spare parts logistics for the KION brands Linde Material Handling and Dematic. The building complex will be divided into different halls, among them a 30 m tall fully automated high-bay warehouse.

“This highly automated distribution center will ensure that we can provide a fast and reliable spare parts service for our customers in Germany and several neighboring countries. This flagship project demonstrates the broad scope of the KION Group’s capabilities and brings together cutting-edge automation, digital, safety, and energy technologies from the two operating segments—Industrial Trucks & Services and Supply Chain Solutions. The new distribution center will enable us to even better support our customers by reducing processing times and creating full transparency through digitalizing the end-to-end material flow from goods-in to goods-out,” said Andreas Krinninger, Member of the KION GROUP AG Executive Board, at an on-site meeting with Jürgen Seitz, mayor of the municipality of Kahl am Main, other representatives of the company, and key individuals from the construction company carrying out the building work.

A Showcase for the Group’s Material Handling and Intralogistics Solutions

The building complex for the new warehouse will feature several areas for goods inward and goods outward, order picking zones, and a special warehouse with block storage. Goods will be delivered via 16 truck ramps. “The technical set-up in the halls will be a ground-breaking example of integrated solutions from the two KION segments Industrial Trucks & Services and Supply Chain Solutions,” stressed Krinninger. Continuous conveyors for small and large parts from Dematic and AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) from Linde Material Handling will be perfectly integrated into the material flow. Highly efficient Li-Ion-powered electric forklift trucks and pallet stackers will also be used.

“Combining technologies from our Group with our collective project expertise enables us to find the solution that best meets the speed, flexibility, safety, energy efficiency and transparency requirements of the new distribution center. And the consequence of this is that our customers will benefit in the future from even higher availability and even faster delivery of spare parts to their sites”, explained the Executive Board Member. The KION subsidiary Dematic, one of the leading global providers of integrated automation technology, software, and services for optimizing the supply chain, is supplying the high-bay warehouse with six aisles and the multi-shuttle warehouse operating in five aisles and serving 110,000 storage locations.

Secured Jobs and Ecological Compensation Areas

The investment also secures the long-term future of the site and makes it even more attractive for highly qualified employees. The investment in Kahl am Main, where KION’s brand Linde Material Handling has had a spare parts warehouse and some parts of its production since the mid-1970s, is also well supported by the local community. Residents were involved at an early stage through a public information event and are being regularly updated on the progress of the plans since then.

The sustainability ambition of the KION Group is also well reflected in the design, construction and fit out of the new distribution center. This involves also making optimal use of the existing site without any further ground sealing. In addition, extensive compensatory measures for the protection of nature and species have been initiated or already been implemented, and there are plans for more of these. Environmentally friendly building methods and photovoltaic panels are other key elements of the site concept and will ensure that the site is significantly contributing to climate-neutrality.