From old to new – TELOGS modernizes for SMS Siemag AG

Reliability is the essential criterion of logistics systems – this was no longer the case with the 30-year-old pallet conveyor technology from SMS Siemag.
The company therefore decided in favor of modernization by TELOGS GmbH. The challenge for the maintenance and retrofit expert:
Implementation of the project in the current 2-shift operation at full capacity of the warehouse and without a complete technical documentation of the plant. Within just eight weeks, the service provider replaced the entire mechanical system, drive technology and sensor technology. Nothing more remained of the original plant than the solid steel structure.

RetroFit Conveyor technology
with TELOGS

SMS Siemag AG is a leading global manufacturer of plants and machinery for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. At the Hilchenbach site near Siegen, the company designs and manufactures metallurgical and rolling mills. To supply the production, which runs in two shifts, SMS Siemag operates a two-aisle warehouse with 3,604 spaces for industrial and Euro pallets. “After almost 30 years of operation, the conveyor technology showed clear signs of wear on drives, rollers, bearings, chains and sprockets. In particular, the sensor technology reached its limits – in short: Availability was no longer guaranteed,” recalls Volker Grebe, Head of the Bearings work area at SMS Siemag in Hilchenbach. Moreover, some spare parts were no longer available at all.

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Task:
same plant, only more reliable

The pallet conveyor system connects the approx. 100 meter long section between goods receipt, picking area and high-bay warehouse. In detail, the
System consisting of two central transverse transfer cars, 21 roller conveyors, five lift tables, 23 chain conveyors, one vertical conveyor, one longitudinal transfer car, one turntable, one scale, and two contour controls. The steel structure, which serves as the basic framework of the plant, was of good quality and should therefore be retained; the company was also satisfied with the basic performance.

Modernization was therefore the means of choice for SMS Siemag. TELOGS had to overcome two hurdles in the process: incomplete technical documentation for the plant and handling during ongoing 2-shift operation.

Overnight rejuvenation:
the implementation At the beginning of the project, it turned out that all moving parts, drives and sensors had to be replaced – this affected about 75 percent of the plant. This recording was followed by a construction phase. “Many parts that were required for the modernization were no longer available and therefore had to be newly developed. In the mechanical area, this concerns around 70 percent of the components,” explains Marc Punzert, project manager at TELOGS GmbH. Before the newly designed prototypes were mass-produced and installed, TELOGS tested them on a pilot conveyor. Another project challenge only became apparent during the implementation phase: universal assemblies based on standard parts were developed and manufactured for the conveyors. However, the conveyors had a large tolerance, so the majority of the components had to be customized. In addition, TELOGS integrated a 73-meter conductor rail on the longitudinal transfer car.

TELOGS supplied a total of 130 sensor elements and 43 drives, all of which differed in design from the previous drives, so that the conveyors and the adaptation had to be adapted in detail here. The realization phase lasted a total of eight weeks. The implementation of the work was carried out exclusively during the night and on weekends. The retrofit expert organized his assignments in such a way that the customer found a functioning system again the next morning or at the beginning of the new week.

Project Features

  • Modernization during ongoing 2-shift operation and full capacity utilization of the warehouse
  • Within eight weeks, the entire mechanics, drive technology and sensor technology were replaced
  • Technical documentation of the plant was no longer complete
  • 70 percent of the spare parts were newly designed

Convincing results
“We are very satisfied with the results of the modernization. Our specification to obtain the same plant with modern components and maximum reliability was implemented exactly,” emphasizes Rüdiger Brücher, Head of General Purchasing and Inventory Management. Plant availability is now close to 99 percent. Overall, the system is easier to maintain after the RetroFit, since the entire sensor system has been designed as a plug-in connection. “Due to the positive cooperation, TELOGS is also the first contact for us for future tasks,” Rüdiger Brücher states.

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Results at a glance

  • Plant availability is now 99
  • Spare parts can now be procured quickly and cost-effectively, as new parts lists are available for them and standard parts were used in the new design
  • The sensor system was designed as a plug-in connection: This makes the system easier to maintain

Press contact:

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Sascha Troge
Key Account Manager
TELOGS GmbH
Im Ostpark 25
35435 Wettenberg

Tel.: +49 641-944649-78
Fax: +49 641-944649-20
Mail: s.troge@telogs.de

Press contact

Sascha Troge
Key Account Manager

TELOGS GmbH
Im Ostpark 25
35435 Wettenberg

Tel.: +49 641-944649-78
Fax: +49 641-944649-20
Mail: s.troge@telogs.de

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