Tobacco Asia

48 tobaccoasia / Issue 4, 2018 September / October "When C-48 and C-96 boxes of tobacco come in or are filled, we take them, scan, and sort them," he says. "And if needed, we feed them into pro- duction or into an automated storage and retrieval system. It all depends on what the customer would like to accomplish." The company claims to have successfully completed projects in over 26 coun- tries worldwide, primarily for blue-chip customers such PMI, JTI, and BAT, with the Middle East, Europe, and the US being the main locations. "Tobacco," asserts Imrenci, "can be ware- housed in an [almost] infinite number of ways and we at Dedem Mekatronik are experts in the logis- tics of boxed tobacco located near where cigarette production exists." For example, in Izmir the com- pany some time ago had a customer who needed to transport boxed tobacco from the warehouse to the remote production site. "We worked with our partner EK Automation on that, who provided an AGV that automatically loaded and unloaded the boxes, then sorted them for unboxing at the pro- duction location," Imrenci recalls. Cigarette production in particular, he says, is so often a continuous task that it is crucially criti- cal that raw materials are in the right place at the right time. "In our experience, automation is the most efficient and consistent way to realize this." Imrenci asserts that it is important for Dedem Mekatronik to ensure for its customers like the aforementioned PMI, JTI, and BAT that all raw materials are orchestrated perfectly to flow in and out of production at just the right time. "We want Table 2: Annual Tobacco Pass-Through at Krishnapatnam Port Source: Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 (projection) 92,000 MT 101,300 MT 116,400 MT 115,400 MT 127,000 MT (of which 100% is exported) to avoid bottlenecks and make sure that produc- tion always can run at top speed." But it is storage or warehousing of finished to- bacco products like cigarettes and cigars "where things can get very interesting," according to Im- renci. "We have developed a concept in which we store master cases by brand on a multi-layer, roller conveyor-based shelving system and then roboti- cally build up pallets to order based on the exact needs of each distribution center." Implementing automated end-of-line systems like this apparently can save the customer "an incredible amount of labor and [storage] space." In a rapidly changing manufacturing environ- ment, keeping track of best practices and techno- logical advancements in order to produce faster and more efficient, as well as cheaper and safer, is a massive challenge. "At Dedem Mekatronik," says Imrenci, "we focus on deeply understanding the project environment and objectives because we believe this is the critical first step to achieve production automation success." When manufac- turers work with a single, one-stop provider like Dedem Mekatronik, they can take delivery of a truly turn-key project, including all engineering, implementation and commissioning. "With our more than 25 years of experience we are adept in all areas of production automa- tion, from [raw] material handling all the way to assembly lines, intralogistics, packaging-palletiz- ing and sorter systems," Imrenci says. "We are even able to bring dreams to reality before any- thing moves on the factory floor by creating 3D simulations in-house," which are then presented to the client. [Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal] [Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal] Vinita Venkatesh, director of Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT) Affixing Fumigant sachets to a tobacco container Erik van Nueten, director, Andromeda Participations BV [Andromeda Participations BV]

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