The chemical multinational consolidates its presence in Brazil with an automated rack supported building

Needs of BASF in Brazil

BASF is a company with a long history in the manufacture and distribution of industrial chemical products and a solid presence worldwide. It has always been committed to innovation, sustainability, and the pursuit of the best solutions designed to satisfy the current and future needs of society.

To adapt to market demands in the last few years, the company required a warehouse with sufficient capacity to deal with these needs.

Mecalux took the reins from the beginning of the project, which strengthened BASF’s position in South America.

BASF’s automated warehouse

Mecalux designed and constructed a 15,070 ft² automated rack supported building measuring 98' high and 331' long. It consists of two aisles with double-deep racks on both sides, which have a capacity for more than 8,160 pallets without losing direct access to the merchandise.

Each aisle is served by a twin-mast stacker crane that picks up pallets from incoming conveyors and deposits them in the location assigned by Mecalux’s Easy WMS warehouse management system. Later, these machines perform the same movement but in reverse for outgoing goods.

Since this large-scale rack supported building is responsible for storing chemical products, safety was of the utmost importance. Emergency exits have been set up at strategic points. In the event of an incident, the automatic equipment stops, facilitating the evacuation of the operators.

Incoming and outgoing goods

The operations in the warehouse stand out because of their simplicity: goods receipt and shipping are carried out automatically at the front of the warehouse via a conveyor circuit with rollers and chains that controls the pallets at all times. This system allows goods to be moved independently, without the need for human intervention, and prevents logistics errors. Both processes are separated to avoid interference.

Before entering the automated warehouse, goods must pass through the checkpoint to validate that they fulfill the requirements established for their storage in the warehouse. Pallets that do not pass inspection are deposited on the rejects conveyor, placed in parallel, for their reconditioning. 

Picking area

At the front of the conveyor system, two picking stations were also set up. Operators prepare orders with agility thanks to vacuum lifters that raise and move the heaviest goods.

Just behind the workstations are two lines of bidirectional conveyors. These are assigned to supply empty pallets needed for operations and to dispatch completed orders.

Advantages for BASF

• Large capacity: BASF’s new rack supported building has the capacity to slot more than 8,160 pallets of different sizes and characteristics in 15,070 ft².
• Maximum agility: operations are very simple, agile, and completely automated, minimizing human intervention.
• Optimal management: the warehouse is controlled by Mecalux’s Easy WMS warehouse management system to optimize all movements and operations carried out.