Industry
Doors & windows
2 SILO² VLMs with Smart Vision for just-in-time supply to painting booths, zero errors on identical packages
- Doors & Windows
- SILO²
- Raw materials
An intelligent buffer between the warehouse and the painting line
DFV installed 2 SILO² multi-column Vertical Lift Modules with Smart Vision at its Surano facility, near Lecce, to automate just-in-time supply to the painting booths.
Smart Vision solves the issue of picking errors on visually identical packages at the source. The 340 m² of floor space recovered were converted into offices to support the company’s future development.
Product
SILO²
Key results
· +10% productivity
· picking errors eliminated
· 340 m² recovered
Key features
· Smart Vision with HD camera and QR code reading
· MES + ICON integration
DFV: a leader in wood-effect coating for aluminum
Founded in 1972 in Surano, near Lecce, by Pietro De Francesco, DFV is an international leader in third-party coating of aluminum extrusions and rolled aluminum products for industrial and architectural applications.
With 3 production sites in Italy, in Lecce, Venice and Agrigento, and 2 abroad, in Brazil and Australia, 350 employees and over 1,300 customers including window and door manufacturers, distributors and system houses, DFV is the Italian benchmark for wood-effect powder-on-powder finishes, with a 90% market share.
DFV’s competitive advantage is built on three pillars: breadth of range, with around 150 standard shades, delivery speed, with 80% of orders delivered within 5 working days, and certified quality, with a quality certificate issued for every production order and a 10-year coating warranty.
With 3 production sites in Italy, in Lecce, Venice and Agrigento, and 2 abroad, in Brazil and Australia, 350 employees and over 1,300 customers including window and door manufacturers, distributors and system houses, DFV is the Italian benchmark for wood-effect powder-on-powder finishes, with a 90% market share.
DFV’s competitive advantage is built on three pillars: breadth of range, with around 150 standard shades, delivery speed, with 80% of orders delivered within 5 working days, and certified quality, with a quality certificate issued for every production order and a 10-year coating warranty.
The logistical challenges
With around 300 production orders per day at each plant and a color change every 30 minutes, having the powder coatings available exactly when and where they are needed is critical to production continuity.
In a production process scheduled entirely in real time, any error or delay in coating supply affects the entire production plan.
The critical issues of the previous system were clear:
- Paint packages stored on pallet racking in an area far from the booths, occupying 340 m² of floor space.
- Manual evening preparation of coatings for the following morning shift, repeated every morning for the afternoon shift.
- Frequent picking errors caused by similar packaging across different shades.
- Supply delays resulting in rework and longer delivery times.
SILO² VLM with Smart Vision: just-in-time buffer and error-proof picking
DFV installed 2 opposite SILO² VLMs close to the painting booths: 13 meters high, with 3 storage columns and 1 automatic telescopic picking and refilling station. Together, they concentrate 226 m³ in just 46 m², storing around 3,540 packages of 20 to 25 kg each. A pneumatic vacuum manipulator eliminates physical effort during picking. Both SILO² VLMs are equipped with fire sprinklers and a REI 120 fire-rated perimeter.
The paint packages are visually identical: the human eye alone cannot reliably distinguish them. Smart Vision solves this with an HD camera that reads the QR code on each package and verifies correct picking, immediately flagging any anomaly. An electronic scale weighs partially used packages when they return to storage: for powder coatings, weight is quantity, and ICON updates stock with the actual value in grams.
The paint packages are visually identical: the human eye alone cannot reliably distinguish them. Smart Vision solves this with an HD camera that reads the QR code on each package and verifies correct picking, immediately flagging any anomaly. An electronic scale weighs partially used packages when they return to storage: for powder coatings, weight is quantity, and ICON updates stock with the actual value in grams.
MES integration: from production plan to automatic picking
The integration between SILO², ICON and the company MES has eliminated the need to plan coating supply far in advance. The MES processes the requirements for the batch in production and automatically generates picking missions to ICON: the coatings are delivered to the picking and refilling station just a few minutes before they are actually used.
Painters pick the raw material independently, in the exact quantity and at the exact time it is needed, without relying on manual planning or support from warehouse personnel.
Painters pick the raw material independently, in the exact quantity and at the exact time it is needed, without relying on manual planning or support from warehouse personnel.
Key results
More speed, zero errors, more space and a coating process that self-corrects
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+10% overall productivity
A direct result of the digital transformation of the entire facility
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Zero picking errors
Smart Vision verifies every operation through QR code reading: no wrong paint package enters or leaves the storage system
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340 m² recovered
Pallet racking removed and floor space converted into offices to support the company’s future development
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3,540 paint packages in 46 m²
Line-side storage in less than one seventh of the previous space, directly next to the painting line
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Just-in-time supply
Paint packages arrive at the picking and refilling station just a few minutes before use: no advance manual planning required.
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Stock updated to the gram
The electronic scale weighs partially used paint packages when they return to storage and updates stock with the actual weight, eliminating stockouts
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Safer handling
The pneumatic vacuum manipulator handles 20 to 25 kg paint packages with no physical effort, eliminating manual handling risks
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Automatic MES integration
The production plan generates picking missions directly in ICON: painters pick paint packages independently, without relying on warehouse personnel
Fast delivery is one of our strengths: we deliver around 80% of our production within 5 working days. This requires an organization built entirely around speed and efficiency
Discover the product chosen by DFV
SILO²: the Vertical Lift Module
With 2 to 7 storage columns, over 120 tray size configurations and specific tray load bearing capacity up to 1,000 kg/m², SILO² is ICAM’s answer for companies managing small and medium-sized items, even those with a very high specific weight.
Explore SILO²
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