Carlini Gomme - Optimal solution for the tyre wholesaler

Carlini Gomme is Italy’s leading wholesaler for all types of tyres. Working in collaboration with STILL, they’ve constructed a new warehouse in Sicily which includes semi-automated very narrow aisle trucks (VNA) and a navigation assistance system.

Wheels make the world go round, and each wheel needs its own special tyre. The Italian company Carlini Gomme guarantees direct, nationwide distribution across the entire peninsula thanks to its network of nine warehouses. The company supplies more than 2 million tyres to over 15,000 sales partners across Italy. Carlini was founded in 1955 in Monsampolo del Tronto (Apulia), where its headquarters can still be found today. Since its foundation, the company has been active in the tyre industry and, thanks to its expertise, has continued to expand its portfolio and its sales network, resulting in a leading position in the national market today.

In September 2019, Carlini Gomme commissioned STILL to plan a new warehouse in Catania on the island Sicily, with a covered area of 6300 m2. An expert team from the Advanced Applications department of the STILL national subsidiary, the sales department of the regional dealer for Sicily (Ovecar) and brands in Eastern Italy (Movilog) successfully delivered the project – from the initial consultation to a customised racking concept and from personalised truck and software configuration to delivery. The most important part of the project was the semi-automation of the inductively guided trucks. “The opportunity to assist the customer from the very beginning of this project meant we could provide our full support and also advise on activities which we weren’t directly responsible for, but which would have an impact on the integration of our solutions. An example of this is when it came to the floor- ing for the inductively guided truck area and the equipment for the shipping space,” explains Maurizio Bernardi, Area Manager at Advanced Applications STILL.

The forklifts can navigate the thirty narrow aisles (that are just two metres wide) with ease, transporting goods from the pre- storage area and placing them in one of the 3,180 storage locations – all with a lifting height of 10 metres and a residual load of 900 kg. In September 2019, Carlini Gomme commissioned STILL to plan a new warehouse in Catania on the island Sicily, with a covered area of 6300 m2. An expert team from the Advanced Applications department of the STILL national subsidiary, the sales department of the regional dealer for Sicily (Ovecar) and brands in Eastern Italy (Movilog) successfully delivered the project – from the initial consultation to a customised racking concept and from personalised truck and software configura- tion to delivery. The most important part of the project was the semi-automation of the inductively guided trucks. “The opportunity to assist the customer from the very beginning of this project meant we could provide our full support and also advise on activities which we weren’t directly responsible for, but which would have an impact on the integration of our solutions. An example of this is when it came to the floor- ing for the inductively guided truck area and the equipment for the shipping space,” explains Maurizio Bernardi, Area Manager at Advanced Applications STILL. From the outset the project was both a challenge and an incentive at the same time, especially with the large variety of tyres and their individual handling requirements. Carlini’s range of tyres includes those small enough for a wheelbarrow, right through to extra-large tyres for vehicles used in the agricultural and construction industries – and Carlini uses special carriers for handling each of them. These carriers need to be transported to a maximum height of 10 metres, however, this additional equipment considerably changes the centre of gravity of the truck meaning a particularly high residual load has to be guaranteed at all times. Another requirement was to make the most of the space available in the warehouse. The STILL MX-X very narrow aisle trucks used here are perfect for these conditions. The forklifts can navigate the thirty narrow aisles (that are just two metres wide) with ease, transporting goods from the pre-storage area and placing them in one of the 3,180 storage locations – all with a lifting height of 10 metres and a residual load of 900 kg. However, for increased safety, precision and productivity, a semi-automated solution was sought. The VNAs are inductively guided within the aisles through guide wires that have been installed in the floor. With help from the STILL iGo pilot navigation assistance system, the forklift reaches the correct position autonomously according to their driving instruction. This means that the forks stop precisely at the right position in the shelving. EK-X vertical order pickers and EX-H electronic pallet trucks from STILL are also in use, as well as a FM-X reach truck and a RX 20-16 electric forklift truck for loading tyres. The project was completed quickly, with the first contact between STILL and Carlini occurring in September 2019, and the scope of work being defined just two months later. The first shelves arrived in February and the warehouse was already operational at the beginning of June 2020, after the first wave of Covid-19 (and the national lockdown in Italy from 9 March to 18 May). “I’m really pleased with the excellent teamwork that took place and the end results, so much so that we’re already using this model for the Catania warehouse at other logistic locations within our sales network,” concludes Eugenio Novelli, Logistics Manager at Carlini Gomme.