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Automated warehouse relies on modular conveyor

Owned by Dama SpA, Paul & Shark is one of the best known luxury sportswear brands, synonymous with Italian elegance and style. Over the years the company has expanded greatly to become a comprehensive sportswear range, appreciated by the fans of Italian fasion and high-performance technical materials, many of which Paul & Shark has patented. Today its collections are available throughout the world in 73 countries, 458 cities and 474 points of sale.

All the goods produced by Paul & Shark transit through its central warehouse and logistics hub in Casciago, around 30 miles north west of Milan, before being sent onto its established retailer network. The 27,000 sqm warehouse operates on multiple levels and is sub-divided into areas for different tasks, including folding and hanging of items with lines that allow automated handling and storage.

When the company looked to fully automated its warehouse in order to optimise the workflow and increase efficiency, it turned to local logistics automation specialist Alpi Sistemi. A made-to-measure system was designed and implemented, with the core design of the platform involving a robust, modular system that incorporates the various key conveyor elements to form a complete material flow solution to fulfil the required services. To thoroughly assess the handling of a sizeable quantity of packages entering and leaving the distribution centre, Alpi Sistemi worked closely with Interroll, who eventually supplied 100 metres of its modular conveyor platform (MCP), equipped with the 24V RollerDrive controlled by the Interroll MultiControl.

Head of logistics and operations at Dama, Andrea Di Cesare expressed his complete satisfaction with the realisation of the new system: “We needed to implement an automated system for sorting, closing and labelling packages, with the aim of drastically reducing delivery times, boosting productivity and shipping with greater reliability. Alpi Sistemi and Interroll worked together brilliantly to achieve this, creating a system that surpassed my expectations in terms of functionality, quietness and energy consumption.”

Stefano Gornati and Roberto Mombelli, directors of Alpi Sistemi, shared their client’s satisfaction: “Our philosophy is based on combining decisions and results with ethical concerns, respecting human values and professional development in order to foster trusted relationships with clients and create excellent products. The collaboration with Interroll provided us not only with superior quality products but also with excellent technical counsel that enabled us to find the right solutions to the problems that arose when creating something as complex as the new Dama distribution centre. Fashion is demanding, both in the finished product and in the quality and punctuality of its delivery.”

Alpi Sistemi provided the integration of automatic weighing, barcode reading, volume measuring, and labelling into the line. Software integration was also provided by Alpi Sistemi as well. The platform employs very efficient 24V technology that delivers high-performance operation, which is also practically noiseless. The highly versatile Interroll conveyor platform has proven to be the perfect choice as it can be adapted to the most diverse specific needs of clients and users alike.

Furthermore, it is possible to use the platform as a basis for retrofitting systems for the flow of materials in a particularly quick and practical manner. The modules, most of which come pre-assembled, made the system easy to install. The MCP is controlled by Interroll MultiControl, the new network interface card for ProfitNet, EtherNet/IP and EtherCAT. With help of the MultiControl, sensors and RollerDrive are directly integrated into the fieldbus level.

Interroll Ltd