In this article, we explore how and why outdoor vertical lift modules SILO² have become a strategic asset in the workwear industry.
Companies operating in the workwear and professional clothing sector face increasingly complex logistics challenges.
A growing number of product references, the demand for faster deliveries, and the need to maintain order and traceability put traditional warehouses under pressure.
Many businesses share the same problem: indoor space is no longer enough, while storage demand keeps increasing year after year.
The question is inevitable: how can warehouse capacity be increased without expanding the building?
The answer lies in outdoor automated vertical lift modules — a solution that frees up indoor areas, leverages vertical development, and ensures seamless, continuous operations.
The case of Mario De Cecco S.p.A., a historic Italian manufacturer, perfectly illustrates how this choice can transform warehouse logistics.
De Cecco: Italian excellence in workwear and protective clothing
Founded over 60 years ago in Sambuceto (Chieti, Italy), De Cecco is a well-established leader in workwear, promotional apparel, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Its extensive range includes:
- Technical clothing designed to ensure worker safety across production environments
- Customized promotional garments such as T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, and caps, used by companies as branding tools
- The “Total Safety” line, combining garments and protective devices to provide full safety for every worker
Over the years, continuous growth and a broader product catalogue have placed significant pressure on the company’s traditional storage system — making it necessary to completely rethink its logistics strategy.
The challenge: a saturated warehouse and manual operations
The finished-goods warehouse, organized with static racking, showed several inefficiencies:
- Fully saturated shelving space
- Long search and picking times
- Higher risk of manual errors
- Inefficient use of indoor space
For a company like De Cecco — serving clients across Italy and abroad — these inefficiencies risked causing delivery delays and reduced competitiveness.
A new system was required to free up space, increase speed, and ensure consistent accuracy.
The solution: two SILO² outdoor vertical lift modules
After a detailed analysis of its needs, De Cecco chose ICAM as its logistics innovation partner. The adopted solution was the installation of two multi-column SILO² outdoor automated vertical lift modules.
This choice made it possible to:
- Completely free up indoor warehouse space, repurposing it for higher-value operations
- Leverage vertical storage up to 12 meters high, on a footprint of only 20 m² per unit
- Ensure full workflow continuity through a wall opening connecting the indoor area to the picking/refilling stations of the outdoor modules
Each SILO² outdoor VLM includes three storage columns and two adjacent picking/refilling stations, both accessible directly from inside the facility.
The modules are clad with insulated panels to protect materials from weather exposure, ensuring durability and safety even in outdoor installations.
Key Project Figures
- 2 SILO² outdoor VLMs
- 12 meters height per unit
- Only 20 m² footprint each
- Total storage capacity: 170 m³
- Over 1,200 boxes = 20,000 workwear items managed per unit
- Each tray holds up to 6 boxes, ensuring compact, organized storage
Technology that drives precision
The system is powered by ICON, ICAM’s intelligent control software, which drives each SILO² VLM during tray handling between the picking/refilling stations.
Operators follow on-screen instructions at the onboard PC and use RF readers to identify every item, ensuring complete traceability.
This smart integration has made warehouse operations faster, safer, and more reliable, delivering clear benefits:
- Real-time stock traceability
- Drastically reduced picking errors
- Faster, more accurate refilling and retrieval
- Improved ergonomics — operators always work at a comfortable height
Tangible Results for De Cecco
Thanks to ICAM’s SILO² outdoor VLMs, De Cecco achieved measurable improvements:
- Optimized space utilization, multiplying capacity without expanding the building
- Higher productivity, with faster, more efficient order handling
- Greater precision and control, with every movement digitally tracked
- Enhanced safety and ergonomics for warehouse staff
- Indoor space fully recovered and repurposed for new production activities
A replicable model for the workwear industry and beyond
The De Cecco case demonstrates how outdoor automated vertical lift modules can be the ideal solution for companies with limited indoor space and growing storage needs.
In the workwear and fashion industries, where product variety and volume are high, having a compact, organized, and traceable storage system provides a decisive competitive edge.
This experience shows that warehouse logistics is no longer a background operation but a strategic business asset that drives efficiency, scalability, and long-term growth.
Discover all the features of the SILO² multi-column vertical lift modules here >>