Airbus Helicopters officially opened its new logistics hub at Albacete, Spain, on Tuesday (2nd July) which is equipped and operated by Daher as the lead logistics partner.
Located adjacent to the Airbus Helicopters production facility at Albacete, the 50,000 sq.m. warehouse will optimize operations and create several hundred new skilled jobs for the wider Castilla-La Mancha region. The inauguration was attended by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
To ensure delivery of the required service level, Daher equipped the new hub with a highly automated and robotized storage system - the first of its kind in the aeronautics industry - using cutting-edge technology from Exotec, a leading French warehouse automation systems specialist.
The hub’s ambitious and disruptive technologies reduce the total amount of storage space required, as well as delivering the specified levels of efficiency and responsiveness, while also significantly reducing the need for operators to move around the site. Every aspect of the design focuses on optimizing quality control, reducing human error, maximizing safety and improving operator working conditions.
Inter-site transportation - also provided by Daher - will utilize biofuel-powered trucks that reduce CO2 emissions by 90% when compared to diesel fuel.
The new facility will eventually employ more than 300 people - 85 percent of them operators recruited and trained by Daher in partnership with the Confederation of Employers of Albacete (FEDA) based on a strictly defined procedure to guarantee the long-term future of the jobs created.
“We’re proud to be putting our expertise and innovative capabilities to work for Airbus Helicopters, using technology that positions Daher firmly on the pathway toward Industry 4.0, and fully delivering on the goals of this project,” said Aymeric Daher, CEO of Daher’s Logistics division.