Processes that were previously spread out over several locations in Solingen and Hilden are now handled centrally and in close proximity to the company’s Solingen headquarters. The new plant, located on a 67,000 m² site in the Piepersberg industrial estate, combines two crucial arms of the company under one roof – wholesale and retail.
Customers can thus get all the products they need from one place. Distributors and partners around the world can also order very small quantities, as well as cut-offs and processing for long goods and panels. The optimisation and centralisation of logistics and production has streamlined processes significantly. For example, customers in Germany are supplied within 24 hours, while item promises a delivery time of 48 hours for custom cut-offs.
Investment in the future
To ensure the continuous availability of products, item holds 5,000 small parts, 1,500 metric tons of long goods and 120 panels permanently in stock. State-of-the-art automation technology is used to handle the goods in the three warehouse areas. The ultra-modern automated warehouse facility has 45 individual storage areas, 1,600 long load containers and some 30,000 crates for small parts. The pallet warehouse also offers up to 3,100 storage spaces. On-site production covers an area of 21,000 m2 at the facility. Added to that, there are 2,800 m2 of office and showroom space. A total of 150 members of staff work at the new item site.
“The investment in the new distribution and production centre is an important step in the strategic development of our ongoing growth. Customers around the world already trust in our solutions. We need to expand on this position and improve our performance capabilities,” explains Waldemar Kurtz, Managing Director of item Industrietechnik GmbH.
