In 1997, Alstef Group commissioned the first AGV system (with Fork over legs AGVs type – GL) on the production site of Pfizer in Amboise. Since, the company became a pioneer in automating workflow.

17 years later, the factory, henceforth into the hands of Fareva Group (international contractor in the Industrial & Appliances, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals industries), renewed its trust in Alstef Group to upgrade its logistics facility and acquire the latest technological developments.

Fareva Amboise is specialized in the manufacturing and packaging of drugs for human and animal health. Each year, more than 66 million units are packaged under 1700 references.

HIGH VALUE-ADDED INNOVATIVE AGVS

Alstef Group deployed a fleet of fork over legs AGVs type – GL10.1. The GL 10.1 is a compact and all-electric AGV, with an asynchronous motor which guarantees performance and reduced maintenance costs. Some assets that allow the AGVs to operate in narrow areas and corridors.

Equipped with powerful safety systems, AGVs coexist safely with operators – a critical issue in the development of customer specifications.

The GL10.1 fleet manages the supply of production units in packaging items (components, manuals, packaging…) and active ingredients from the high-bay warehouse of the logistics unit. It also provides the returns to the staker cranes of stock lots from the production unit. Between those two units, the AGVs interface with nearly 200 pick-up and drop-off points.

AGVs are controlled through the supervision software, OPAL Fleet, developed by Alstef Group. All the system intelligence is supported by this software, which, with its real-time knowledge of the AGVs position, assigns them appropriate missions, while integrating the processes logistical constraints.

The AGV system offers to Fareva great operating flexibility: the time to prepare the orders is reduced, which allows the modulation of the production orders and rearrange them at the last minute if needed. To meet a need for a strong traceability, AGVs are equipped with embedded bar code readers. These new generation of AGVs also requires very little maintenance.