Ostrava, November 12, 2024 – While robots have been taken as standard in manufacturing companies for years, intralogistics is still on the threshold of a great robotic revolution. The company SLUNO, which brought the first ever AirRob in Central Europe to the leading Czech fulfillment center Skladon, presents what the near future of warehouses could look like in everyday practice.
Since October, the distribution center located next to the airport in Ostrava-Mosnov has been testing the possibilities of a completely new automated storage system in crates using the revolutionary Libiao AirRob model. It should soon be able to store up to eight meters high, operate in aisles just 85 centimeters wide with minimal gaps between crates horizontally and vertically, and pick up to 600 items per workstation in one hour.
“If companies are growing, they usually sooner or later start to struggle with the limited capacity of their warehouses. And not everyone has additional land or higher millions to build new halls. Thanks to advanced robotic solutions, we are able to optimize logistics in existing spaces so that we can increase capacity in width as well as height. By being able to service the entire warehouse space up to the ceiling – while at the same time reducing aisles to the minimum necessary. To do this, however, we need to change the whole way we think about internal logistics and bring in robots to take on the difficult tasks instead of humans,” explains Radim Tvardek, who is Head of Robotics at SLUNO.
Scalable investment with fast ROI
SLUNO has been developing cutting-edge IT for logistics and retail for 33 years and is one of the leading Central European players in the field of introducing robotic solutions into everyday operations. And now, as the first ever in Central Europe, they are bringing to the Czech Republic a unique and latest type of robot that can automatically store crates on shelves even in very specific conditions.
Its greatest strength is its ability to operate in really narrow alleys. “It is extremely flexible, modular and low maintenance. In addition, it has no increased demands on load capacity or floor surface. It can simply be fitted between existing racking and utilise existing warehouse space. The system’s power consumption is only 150 W, which is particularly appreciated when you are calculating the total cost of ownership. The scalability of the solution is also a huge advantage. Users can increase the total capacity and performance of the automated solution according to their current needs,” adds Radim Tvardek. Thus, no user has to be completely accurate in estimating the volumes of goods stored and picked, as AirRob can adapt to the pace.
Let’s keep Czech manufacturing competitive
Thanks to its location in the center of Europe, the Czech Republic is one of the most important hubs of European logistics and domestic companies such as Alza or Packeta are often able to push the boundaries of the industry. At the same time, the Czech Republic remains a country with a large number of traditional manufacturing companies that need to modernise in order to remain competitive in global conditions. This is what SLUNO wants to take advantage of as part of the new revolution in warehouse automation and robotics.
“We are a country with incredible potential for the latest technological solutions and innovations. But often companies are at a loss as to where to start with automation and robotics, which solutions make sense for them – and how to do it financially so that the payback is as fast as possible. That’s where our role is crucial, using decades of experience and hundreds of practical references to guide companies through the world that’s coming. We are familiar with the latest technologies such as AirRobs and many others, but everything should be a means to an overall strategy, at the end of which should be higher efficiency, profitability and competitiveness,” adds Tomas Szkandera, CEO of SLUNO.
