Jungheinrich has received an order from the Bilstein Group for a pilot project to introduce mobile robots at the Gelsenkirchen logistics center. With the help of four Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) of the model "EAE 212a", long floor-to-floor transports within the site will be automated in the future, according to a press release from Jungheinrich dated April 16.
In the first step, the "EAE 212a" pallets to be used will transport over a distance of 220 meters to the staging areas of the goods exit. The "Logistics Interface" set up specifically for the process by Jungheinrich manages the transport orders and acts as the interface to the customer's Warehouse Management System (WMS). The Mobile-Robot-System receives clear transport orders from the WMS, which are processed according to the principle of minimizing empty runs. The WMS manages the allocation of pick-up and drop-off locations. The commissioning of the AMR at the Bilstein Group is planned for the fourth quarter of 2025.
“It is the first deployment of Autonomous Mobile Robots in the Bilstein Group and, alongside our picking robots, another important step towards the automation of processes,” said Phillipp Becker, site manager of Bilstein Group Gelsenkirchen.
Particularly efficiency gains and the opportunity to employ their well-trained forklift drivers in more complex transportation tasks motivated them to delve into this topic.
The "EAE 212a" is designed for the automation of low-lift operations and is therefore suitable for the supply and disposal of inbound and outbound goods tracks. With its chassis design, the AMR is narrower than a Euro pallet at 790 millimeters. This is intended to enable nimble and agile ground-to-ground transport at speeds of up to six kilometers per hour. The vehicle is capable of transporting loads weighing up to 1.2 tons. The AMR operates in navigation without artificial landmarks.
