ALSCO Berufskleidungs-Service GmbH

Hänel Lean-Lifts® for rental work wear and uniforms

In Germany alone, ALSCO launders and cleans about 60,000 linen items and up to 100,000 pieces of work clothing. The ALSCO site in Kaiserslautern is equipped with the latest machinery and advanced computer technology. To provide optimal work wear leasing services, ALSCO installed five Hänel automated storage systems. The Hänel Lean-Lifts® are six meters high and thus utilize most of the vertical height available in the main building, which covers an area of 3,000 m2.

The laundered items stored in the systems are neatly stacked on the system containers. A maximum of 18 stacks, each comprised of up to ten clothing items, are stored on each container. Frame attachments for each container make sure that the laundry stacks are stable and do not shift.

The five Hänel lift systems replaced two external storage areas – the capacity of these areas is now centrally consolidated in the automated systems. This reduces storage costs and increases the efficiency of employees. What's more, the required storage floor space has been reduced to a footprint of just 40 m2.

All laundry items are registered in the storage management system by means of barcodes.

When cleaned items are put in the Lean-Lifts®, sensors measure the various heights of the stacks so that everything is neatly stored on the containers at just the right height. This compact solution ensures that more than 30,000 clothing items can be stored and protected against dust and dirt in the space-saving Hänel systems.

The complete laundry inventory is managed with the ABEL storage control module. ABEL was specially developed for all ALSCO laundries worldwide. The MP100D central controller manages all of the storage compartments in all five Lean-Lifts® through an interface customized by Hänel experts.

Once the barcode on the order has been scanned, the storage management system sends the relevant data to the Lean-Lift®. The article number and the article designation are clearly displayed on the Lean-Lift® touch-screen terminals thanks to Hänel web server software. Employees can retrieve items quickly and put them on a laundry cart where they are prepared for delivery. The entire process is efficient and error-free. What's more, new employees learn how to operate the storage systems quickly thanks to the simple lift controller. A neat, clean and space-saving storage solution.