Better logistics for Ensinger

An automated warehouse, a dedicated production line and six certified clean rooms, all geared to offering an even more efficient service: this is the new equipment installed at the Ensinger plant in Nufringen, Germany. The design of the new production area at the company’s headquarters was driven by a determination to speed up logistics, increase the range of products in stock and improve the packaging and shipment service, while maintaining customer friendly prices. In the new building, operational since last summer, a long bridge and modern transport systems link the various internal areas with the automated warehouse and with the production department, making these infrastructures even faster, more efficient and more functional than before. A large part of the new building was designed with a view to extending the production department through the installation of more extrusion lines and the construction of six clean rooms in compliance with the main regulatory standards. In fact, this area is given over to the production of special semi-finished products for the semiconductor industry and for the medical sector, in which it is crucial to ensure the absence of any kind of contamination. The fact that extruded semi-finished goods are shrink-wrapped and packaged before leaving the clean rooms guarantees that the end product will not be exposed to contamination during the subsequent internal transport and storage and shipment phases. The six clean rooms have been certified as Class 8 in conformity with DIN EN ISO 14644-1, and as Class D in compliance with EU GMP. Operating in three zones according to a cascade principle, they constitute cutting-edge solutions, engineered according to a completely original design concept. Ensinger semi-finished products for medical use are required to meet extremely strict quality standards. Sheets and extruded bars and tubes of different sizes are cut to specification inside the clean room and then cleaned. Using an X-ray machine, cavities, contaminants and other foreign matter can be rapidly and reliably detected. Before being stored in the automated warehouse or shipped, the products are wrapped in protective film and packaged. These are two steps that will, in the future, be carried out in the clean rooms, so as to meet the ISO Class 9 / EU-GMP Class D standards. To link up the internal logistics processes, the company has developed a bespoke system allowing fully automated transport and stocking of sheets and bars up to 3 metres long. The capacity of the automated warehouse, which has two aisles and high shelving, is four times greater than the previous one and offers the possibility of increasing the material kept in stock as well as adding new items. The new building has allowed tangible improvements to be made to the shipment process, reducing the average time needed to process an order. Thanks to the installation of modern systems and the use of modern construction technologies, and also thanks to the new plant, in which heat recovery is a key feature of the design, the company has succeeded in meeting the requirements of the Energy Saving Regulation (EnEv).