Material Handling

Riedel Glass Works (A)

Multi-order picking ensures a sparkling performance

Multi-order picking ensures a sparkling performance

The lifting forks reach for the sky, carrying an order picker and Wanzl's KT 4 order picking trolley to a height of almost three metres in the new central warehouse of Riedel Glass Works in Schneegattern, Austria. The trolley is securely held in place on the forks of the truck with forklift loops. Once at the top, the co-worker picks the goods for the order and places them into the Wanzl trolley. He is then lowered back to the ground and moves on to the next order picking level, where the maximum pallet height is 1.30 metres. Here the order picker and order picking trolley stay on the ground – the order picker simply reaches over and picks the goods in next to no time. Wanzl supplied 60 nimble, smooth-running KT 4 order picking trolleys with a special design to Riedel Glass Works in the spring of 2012. Ever since then the trolleys have been used in a two-shift system for small-scale order picking and Web shop orders. "We are delighted. The trolleys move very smoothly to protect our fragile goods and we have not needed any major repairs for almost two years", explains Christoph Lehner, Area Manager at the Schneegattern plant of Riedel Glass Works.

A single trolley can hold up to 16 orders on its four strong wooden levels in line with the multi-order picking system. "These are called MOP trolleys, short for Multi-Order Picking", says Christoph Lehner. Each level features an anti-slip guard and flexible, movable stainless steel dividers, which can be easily adjusted by hand to each order volume on the order picking list. The IT-based warehouse management system guides the order picker and his trolley along the optimum route through the new central warehouse, which covers some 10,000 square metres and boasts 10,000 pallet slots and around 2,500 items. “The trolleys’ capacity together with the optimised routes have massively speeded up the order picking process.” Each day, Riedel Glass Works sends around 400 packages across Europe from the small-scale order picking area and for the web shop. Orders received by midday are dispatched on the same day.

“Thanks to the Wanzl trolleys, the order picking process runs swiftly and efficiently.”
CHRISTOPH LEHNER, Bereichsleiter Riedel Glass Works, Werk Schneegattern

A true passion for glassware

Riedel is a pioneer in glassware. Founded more than 250 years ago in Bohemia, the Riedel name continues to be synonymous with exquisite glassmaking craftsmanship. The current head, Maximilian Riedel, represents the 11th generation of the Riedel family to lead the company. Riedel discovered the interplay between the shape of the cup and the taste and aroma of the wine. As the world's first glass designer, in the 1970s Claus J. Riedel prioritised the shape of a wine glass over its aesthetics in line with the principle of "form follows function", and showcased the hand-blown, hand-crafted Sommeliers range as the world's very first gourmet glass range. Nowadays this range forms the basis for each and every grape variety-specific wine glass and has been added to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2004, Riedel Glass Works acquired 100% ownership of the German glassware company Nachtmann and its subsidiary Spiegelau. Ever since then, the Riedel, Nachtmann and Spiegelau brands have been operating under the umbrella name of Riedel Glass Works – one of Europe's largest high-quality glass manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Kufstein in Austria and it operates branches in the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.

A true passion for glassware