25 June 2025, Company News
Family-owned Metzger Autoteile, based in southern Germany, commissioned Kardex Mlog as general contractor to build an automated, five-aisle high-bay warehouse with approximately 6,000 pallet storage spaces and an AutoStore plant with some 80,000 bins. The large-scale project also includes extensive conveying technology for pallets and bins, several picking stations, and complete control of the overall plant via the Kardex Control Center warehouse management system. At the request of the customer, the software will not only manage the new plant sections but will fully replace the existing control system. Kardex Mlog worked together with Metzger Autoteile to come up with the concept for the new logistics center. With some 200 employees, the company is one of the largest employers in Filderstadt. The extension, which is to be carried out on a site of approximately 10,000 square meters, will provide Metzger Autoteile with additional capacity for further growth. The new logistics center in the Filder-Airport Areal in Filderstadt is scheduled for completion by September 2026.
Werner Metzger GmbH has been operating a logistics center in Filderstadt for about six years. The center consists of a manual shelving-rack plant, a manual pallet storage facility, and an AutoStore plant with approximately 30,000 bins that was installed by a third-party provider.
The scope of supply of the Kardex Mlog project includes five automatic stacker cranes of type Kardex MSingle A-1000/15-ZT and an inhouse-designed racking structure for approximately 5,860 Euro pallets. Kardex will also construct a further AutoStore plant for Werner Metzger GmbH. The grid with a capacity of 77,000 bins will be served by 30 AutoStore robots of type Redline R5. Also new is the automated bin-conveying technology with a total length of 160 meters. Kardex Mlog will also construct an automated pallet-conveying system with 200 drives, two pallet vertical conveyors, and six feeder and discharge points. The scope of supply is completed by a pallet picking station to ensure replenishment of the AutoStore plant. The automated logistic systems are powered by a large-scale photovoltaic plant with an output of 500 kWp to be located on the roof of the new building.
In addition to the hardware, Kardex Mlog is also providing the entire software: The Kardex Control Center WMS enables management and two-dimensional visualization of the new pallet high-bay warehouse, the extended AutoStore plant, as well as several block storage facilities, wide-aisle warehouses, and shelving-rack facilities.
“With the new logistics center, we can now organize the storage and delivery of our products even more efficiently than before,” say Marion Metzger and Isabel Brockmann-Metzger, managing directors of Werner Metzger GmbH. “This is the foundation on which we can sustainably continue our growth and further strengthen our market position in the automotive aftermarket.“ In terms of energy efficiency and sustainability, the new logistics center also scores highly. More than 1,000 square meters of the roof area is to be landscaped and planted.
Werner Metzger GmbH is now managed by sisters Marion Metzger and Isabel Brockmann-Metzger, the second generation of the family to do so. As of 2021, the third generation, represented by Theresa Rudolph and Niklas Ibach, has also assumed leadership roles. For 45 years, the family-run company has supplied wholesale customers in over 55 countries with high-quality automotive parts, electronic components, and niche products – often as a pioneer in the independent aftermarket.
About Kardex Mlog
The company has more than 50 years of experience in the planning, implementation and maintenance of fully automated logistics solutions. The three business sectors - Greenfield installations, Refurbishment, and After‑sales service – draw upon its in-house manufacturing facility in Neuenstadt. Kardex Mlog is part of the Kardex Group and employs 375 people. Total revenues in 2024 were 104 million euros.
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