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Element Logic takes over as general contractor for REISSER logistics center
The new logistics center of REISSER Schraubentechnik GmbH relies on fully automated intralogistics. As general contractor, the system integrator Element Logic has taken on the complete implementation - from the technology to the software. The core elements of the system are an AutoStore system, driverless transport vehicles, conveyor technology for cartons and pallets and a central software solution for controlling all processes. This comes from the Element Logic Software Suite and includes the WMS (Warehouse Management System) and Connect systems for integrating other systems. The result: a high level of process reliability and the basis for further growth.
The ground-breaking ceremony on 19 July 2022 laid the foundation stone for the largest investment in the history of REISSER Schraubentechnik GmbH, a Würth Group company: the company has built a state-of-the-art logistics center on a four-hectare site in the Osterburken Regional Industrial Park (RIO), just a few kilometers from its headquarters in Criesbach. The facility went into operation at the beginning of June 2025. Delivered screws are stored there on an area of around 20,000 square meters, assembled by machine (screw + sealing washer), weighed and packaged and prepared for dispatch. A large-scale 996 kWp photovoltaic system on the hall roofs and concrete core temperature control using a heat pump underline the sustainability aspect of the construction and energy efficiency. Fully automated intralogistics, height-adjustable assembly tables and pallet picking with lifting aids characterize the ergonomically optimized workstations.
REISSER deliberately opted for a general contractor for the complex project with a high level of automation. The contract was awarded to Element Logic. Joachim Kieninger, Director Strategic Business Development at Element Logic Germany, explains: "In addition to the technical equipment, it was crucial that we, as the general contractor, were also able to supply the complete IT infrastructure - including our tried-and-tested Element Software Suite. The combination of AutoStore expertise and our WMS software convinced REISSER."
Highdegree of space utilization, ergonomic work processes
The heart of REISSER Schraubentechnik's new logistics center is the AutoStore system. "The fully automated storage and picking system is used in Osterburken to store the packs of screws that have been weighed and are ready for sale," says Matthias Essig, Head of Warehouse Logistics at REISSER Schraubentechnik, explaining the system decision. "As no aisles are required, the AutoStore system is very compact and offers a high degree of space utilization. In addition, its picking principle of "goods to the employees" promotes our focus on ergonomic work processes."
Autonomous narrow-aisle forklifts integrated
With the automation solution implemented by Element Logic, the logistics center will meet REISSER Schraubentechnik's requirements until 2028. Scalable components throughout the installed system and conveyor technology also offer flexible expansion options. The goods delivered to the incoming goods area on pallets or in steel buckets are transferred to an incoming goods conveyor line using forklift trucks. The approximately 30-metre-long pallet conveyor line is designed with an integrated scales workstation, contour check and ID scanner for recording, receiving and transporting Euro pallets and steel buckets (800 x 1,000 mm).
At the end of this route, there are three transfer points where autonomous pallet trucks (seven in total) pick up the inspected load carriers and transport them to the narrow-aisle warehouses. There, ten autonomous narrow-aisle forklifts with telescopic forks take over the onward transport to one of the 18,000 pallet spaces in the warehouse, which is up to 14 meters high. The process-guiding software suite from Element Logic interacts with the eController material flow computer and the eHub interface converter to control and issue the movement commands.
The materials are temporarily stored in the narrow-aisle warehouse until they are called off and further processed in the plugging or weighing department. On call-off, the autonomous narrow-aisle forklift trucks return the retrieved load carriers with the required goods to the transfer stations. The autonomous pallet trucks pick them up and move them to the required location in the plug-in shop or weighing room. There, the assembled end products are counted into cardboard packaging units, weighed, labeled accordingly and consolidated onto pallets. The loading and unloading stations at the assembly stations are equipped with hydraulic lifting stations for simple, ergonomically optimized handling. The forklift trucks then transport the filled pallets with the end products to be stored to one of seven storage stations in the AutoStore system.
AutoStore supplied via container conveyor technology
Conveyor ports are provided as incoming goods stations for the AutoStore system. With rather low throughputs, they are mainly used to load the system containers with incoming goods. Two additional ConveyorPorts are already available as frames for future rapid system expansion. The empty AutoStore containers (bins) are brought in using conveyor technology from Element Logic's modular ELCON container conveyor system, filled with the carton boxes and stored. The ConveyorPorts each have an integrated overload control (maximum weight including bin 35 kg).
Element Logic built an AutoStore system with 75,000 container storage locations for REISSER Schraubentechnik. In a first step, the system is currently filled with 53,000 containers. Above the system, 29 R5 robots operate in conjunction with 19 ports that are directly connected to the AutoStore cube. In addition to the seven ConveyorPorts, 12 so-called CarouselPorts are installed, which are designed for higher throughputs. "They are used for order picking," says REISSER Area Manager Essig. "The employees pick directly into the shipping cartons at the carousel ports."
Shipping cartons in three different basic sizes with different heights are processed. The bins with the goods to be picked from the AutoStore system are delivered to the CarouselPorts by the robots. The employees erect a carton, place it on a delivery conveyor and insert the items to be picked according to the order. A scale is also integrated into the conveyor to indicate overloading. The employees confirm the completion of picking on the dialog screen. The open target carton is then transported away. Overall, the AutoStore system achieves a combined average performance of 330 bins per hour for picking and 550 bins per hour for picking outgoing goods.
Loopin outgoing goods assumes buffer function
The picked order cartons are automatically transported to the central dispatch station. There, employees at two workstations manually insert filling material and shipping documents and securely close the cartons. The exact weight for the shipping labels is then determined, the labels are printed and attached to the cartons. The final shipping cartons are reliably sealed with the help of two integrated, automatic strapping machines. Using the carton ID label, the parcels are conveyed precisely to one of eleven destination areas, which are selected depending on the shipping destination. In the dispatch area, an intelligent system consisting of a feed conveyor, feed section with loop and NiO ejection ensures a smooth process and prevents overloading in the case of high dispatch volumes. In the subsequent repacking area, employees place the shipping cartons on pallets, which are then transported to the outgoing goods area by industrial trucks.
Complete IT solution from a single source
Coordinated process control in the REISSER logistics center is made possible by the implemented, process-guiding Warehouse Management System (WMS) in conjunction with the eController material flow computer and the eHub interface converter. The warehouse management software manages the narrow-aisle pallet warehouse and the AutoStore system. The eController controls and visualizes the entire installed conveyor technology as well as the integrated peripheral devices. The eHub interface converter acts as a flexible communication interface for the direct, conflict-free integration of the system, AGV and AMR controls for the 18 transport devices and robots from the eController into the WMS.
The interface converter from Element Logic offers a repertoire of connection points that expand the functional scope of the process-controlling software systems via the small add-on programs (plugins). For example, the WMS integrates the AutoStore material flow control AutoStore Controller (ASC) directly into the coordinated process control via the plugin-based connectors from eHub. Thanks to the direct connection, the data is automatically synchronized between the warehouse management software and the AutoStore system in real time and the process control is coordinated throughout.
With the ASC, the WMS also offers a number of features specially designed for AutoStore. Furthermore, communication with the shipping system implemented by the customer, the weighing system and the customer ERP of REISSER's sister company Würth Phoenix takes place via eHub and the plug-and-play functionality Standard Shipping Connector (SSC) in the WMS. With the SSC, all data required for the shipping system is continuously available from the warehouse management software. "This also ensures a high level of flexibility and efficiency in the IT area," summarizes Kieninger. "All in all, an all-round successful, intelligently designed complete solution from a single source, which underlines Element Logic's expertise even in complex general contractor projects."
Watch video: Automated logistics center at REISSER - Intralogistics solution from Element Logic | EN
