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world of industries 1/2017 (EN)

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  • Logistics
  • Intralogistics
world of industries 1/2017 (EN)

Earthquake-resistant

Earthquake-resistant intralogistics for India’s largest development project Interdisciplinary know-how was key to realizing a suitable warehouse technology solution for Amul Dairy, an Indian dairy cooperative. To avoid excessive investment and operating costs, the system was to ensure a high storage density coupled with short access times. Earthquake regulations also had to be fulfilled. These challenges were met head on by the intralogistics specialists of SSI Schaefer. The result is a mobile rack system that incorporates some of the very latest developments from the field of nanotechnology. CEMAT SOUTHEAST ASIA

WAREHOUSING Amul is much more than just the biggest brand on the Indian food market. It represents an entire movement, which has resulted in the country becoming the world’s largest producer of milk. The entire story can be traced back to a single idea: that smallscale farmers should organize themselves into cooperatives, thus increasing their productivity and their sales. The movement first gained traction in the farmyards of Gujarat, a state located roughly 500 kilometers north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Convinced of the virtues of this concept, the Amul Dairy cooperative was born in 1946 and soon spurred India’s “white revolution”, which saw Indian milk production grow at a tremendous rate to be- come the world’s market leader. A significant factor in this development was the innovative decision to turn away from cow’s milk and to instead focus on buffalo’s milk, an unrestricted commodity. Amul Dairy is owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF). These farmers, including some landless smallholders, generate enough income from the sale of their buffalo milk to secure a future for their families, making the cooperative an important weapon in the fight against poverty on the subcontinent. European standards of quality foster trust Many liters of milk are collected from communal collection points and brought to the cooperative’s dairies every single day. Marketed as “The Taste of India”, the product range includes prepacked milk, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream, yoghurt and chocolate, some of which is also destined for markets overseas. The brand with the strongest growth is Amul Cheddar, a compact hard cheese made from buffalo’s milk. It is the result of a special production process, during which the cheese has to spend at least four to six months maturing in temperatures of 5 °C to a maximum of 7 °C. Up to now the maturing cheese had been held in bins and temporary temperature-preserving containers, which were placed on the ground. Yet as the production volumes continued to grow, space became short. In response to the extra costs and workload caused by these capacity problems, Amul decided to construct a new warehouse on greenfield land. “In addition to providing the maximum possible capacity, our other top priority for the new rack system was 100% selectivity”, explains Amit Vyas, General Manager Projects & Engineering at Amul Dairy. As strong earthquakes are a fact of life in southern Asia, it was also essential that the new building took these risks into account. Indeed, the most damaging earthquake in Indian history struck Gujarat in January 2001. More than 20,000 people are reported to have lost their lives, buildings collapsed or were heavily damaged and roads were completely destroyed. Two more severe earthquakes in Kashmir and Nepal in 2005 and 2015 also failed to respect national borders, leaving more destruction in their wake in neighbouring India. Highly dynamic, optimized filling rate, short access times Against such a backdrop it is important to use technology that does more than meet the predefined performance values alone. It has to be designed right from the offset to withstand About SSI Schaefer Group The SSI Schaefer Group is the world’s leading provider of modular warehousing and logistics solutions. It employs over 8,500 people at its group headquarters in Neunkirchen, Germany, at its domestic and international production sites, and at its 60 foreign subsidiaries. Across six continents, SSI Schaefer develops and implements innovative industry-specific answers to its customers’ unique challenges. As a result, it plays a key role in shaping the future of intralogistics. WORLD OF INDUSTRIES 21