Symrise optimize the storage of fragrance components in the Manhattan Lab with VLMs
Case Summary
Symrise, a fragrance and flavor manufacturer, was operating on two floors in a Manhattan office building with high real-estate costs. It needed to consolidate space to reduce overhead, but still store and use about 40,000 bottles of chemical and fragrance components. By installing two Modula vertical lift modules in the new, smaller space, they were able to reduce required storage space, better protect their components, and retrieve and store them more efficiently than previously.
The Problem
Storing and retrieving thousands of fragrance components bottles in a small New York laboratory
Symrise creates fragrances for perfume companies worldwide, operating from a laboratory on Park Avenue. To reduce real-estate costs, the company planned to consolidate its operations on two separate floors to one floor. They also wanted to separate the administrative area from the lab space.
Symrise’s perfumers and chemists also faced difficulties in managing the 40,000 separate bottles of fragrance and chemical components, used to create their products. Not only was it difficult to track and retrieve them, securing the bottles and protecting them from fluctuating office temperatures and humidity was challenging. “Space is usually an issue for us, and our work is non-stop every day,” says Fragrance Lab Manager Nina Tumminelli. “We have to have access to everything very readily.” That wasn’t always easy as the components were moved from one place to another as they were used, making it hard to trace their location quickly.
By installing two Modula vertical lift modules in the new, smaller space, they were able to reduce required storage space, better protect their components, and retrieve and store them more efficiently than previously.
The Solution
Installing 2 Modula VLMs to store fragrance components, save space and enhance workflow
Symrise was able to meet all of its requirements by installing two Modula Sintes 1.7 VLMs, freeing storage space for other purposes, and enhancing productivity. With connectivity to the VLMs from employee desktops, the lab personnel can find the location of any of the 40,000 bottles of fragrance and chemical, stored in the Modula units easily and quickly.
the VLMs save time for the employees, thanks to the laser pointers quickly showing the location of a bottle in the tray, as it’s retrieved. And because the trays are at an ergonomically correct height, they eliminate excessive bending and stooping. The Sintes units are also connected to independent HVAC systems to prevent pollutants from reaching the valuable contents or letting scents waft into other parts of the lab, which would disrupt the employees’ work. The constant temperature and humidity also helped preserve the bottles’ contents. One unusual requirement: Because the storage units exceed standard weight-bearing requirements for office-building floors, the installation team added steel beams below them to support the extra weight.
The Symrise team is happy with the results. “The Modula system allowed us to take a very small space and make the most efficient production out of it that we could,” lab manager Tumminelli says.
