In the past, the refractory materials industry was often regarded as a high-pollution, low-value-added sector. However, with the development and application of digital technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence, the traditional refractory materials industry is rejuvenating. It is gradually evolving towards automated solutions, including smart warehousing, automatic batching equipment, integrated forming equipment, and automatic packaging machinery. With the in-depth application of computer software systems, the refractory materials industry is entering the Industrial 3.0 era. The green, smart, and digital transformation of refractory enterprises is imperative.
However, the path to intelligent upgrading for refractory enterprises is by no means a quick and easy process. As we all know, refractory materials are non-metallic materials that withstand high temperatures and are widely used in high-temperature fields such as steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, and chemicals. They are indispensable foundational materials for various high-temperature industrial kilns and equipment. The construction of intelligent vertical warehouses must fully consider the production processes and storage requirements of refractory materials.
Yufeng Intelligent & Refractory materials industry
In the face of core pain points such as low storage space utilization, insufficient logistics efficiency, and weak production coordination in the intelligent transformation of the refractory materials industry, Yufeng Intelligent successfully developed a comprehensive intelligent warehousing and logistics solution for a leading enterprise in the sector. By innovatively applying a dual deep-level heavy-duty vertical warehouse and an intelligent transfer system, Yufeng Intelligent has supported a national high-tech enterprise in achieving the intelligent upgrade of its project that produces 250,000 tons of environmentally friendly magnesia-based refractory products annually. This project has received multiple national honors, including the "Outstanding Scenario in Intelligent Manufacturing" from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, establishing a new benchmark for the construction of intelligent factories in the refractory materials industry.
PART ONE--Intelligent Storage and Transportation System Solution for Refractory Materials → Intelligent Production Line Project for 250,000 Tons of Eco-friendly Refractory Products Annually
As a subsidiary of a leading company in the refractory materials industry, this enterprise actively responds to the three-year action plan (2021-2023) for the "Four Reforms" initiative of national industrial enterprises. It comprehensively promotes technological upgrades, digital transformation, energy-saving renovations, and environmental improvements to drive industrial transformation and upgrading. In 2021, the company launched an intelligent production line project for the annual output of 250,000 tons of eco-friendly unburnt magnesium refractory products. This project is not only a highly automated production line with a large scale of single production of unburnt magnesium refractory products in China but also has been recognized as an "Outstanding Intelligent Manufacturing Scenario" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China.
As a benchmark project for both the group company and the refractory materials industry, this project integrates advanced technologies such as a 7600 storage location heavy-duty intelligent three-dimensional warehouse, an L-shaped heavy-duty RGV circular shuttle car transportation system, a Warehouse Management System (WMS), a Warehouse Control System (WCS), and an automation control system. During the production process of refractory materials, it realizes automated transportation of products and management of inbound and outbound logistics, significantly enhancing the storage space utilization rate for finished and semi-finished refractory materials, drastically reducing labor costs, and effectively improving logistics efficiency and the level of warehouse automation.
Project innovation point
Ⅰ Pioneering in the refractory materials industry: Heavy-duty L-shaped ring shuttle system leads the revolution of green and intelligent warehousing
In the refractory materials industry, the efficiency of logistics transfer directly impacts the smoothness of the production process. This project introduces two sets of industry-first heavy-duty L-shaped circular shuttle car systems, combined with YuFeng’s independently developed RGV scheduling system, enabling fast and precise transfer of semi-finished and finished products between various processes. This innovation not only enhances logistics efficiency but also reduces human operation errors, further promoting the development of green intelligent warehousing.
Ⅱ Pioneering in the refractory materials industry: Heavy-duty L-shaped ring shuttle system leads the revolution of green and intelligent warehousing
In response to the demands for storage space and load capacity in the refractory materials industry, Yufeng Intelligent has designed and implemented a double deep heavy-duty automated storage system with 7,600 storage locations. Each single storage location can hold up to 2 tons, and the maximum height reaches 24 meters, allowing for a storage capacity of 15,000 tons within a limited space. With the advanced Warehouse Management System (WMS), every storage location can be accurately managed, ensuring efficient material access and real-time inventory monitoring.
In terms of software, customized services for the refractory materials industry facilitate integration with the client's MES system. Regarding information technology infrastructure, a long connection approach is used to achieve seamless information exchange between the lower-level perception system and the upper-level central system. This enables visualization of production processes, equipment, and resource management, helping enterprises improve work efficiency and reduce operational costs.
PART TWO--Refractory Materials Intelligent Storage Solution → Intelligent Rack Project for Zircon Products and White Corundum
Located in the Luoyang area, this subsidiary is a refractory materials enterprise that integrates research and development, product manufacturing, technology promotion, engineering design, and construction services. The coal-chemical functional refractory materials and metallurgy refining functional materials in which it operates account for over 50% and 30% of the market, respectively, ranking first and second in the industry.
Due to the existing ground storage systems of customers being unable to keep pace with the growth of current production capacity, Yufeng Intelligent has designed two intelligent storage systems for them: an intelligent rack system for zircon products and an intelligent rack system for white corundum. The systems include automated three-dimensional rack systems, stacker systems, conveyor systems, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Warehouse Control Systems (WCS), electrical control systems, and other related equipment.The main objective is to achieve automated intelligent operations for inbound, outbound, and shipping processes while providing automatic tracking and real-time updates. This solution alleviates the constraints of tight space, offering better storage costs, lean management of fully automated equipment, reducing errors and inefficiencies caused by manual operations, and achieving dual improvements in energy storage and efficiency.
Given that the customer's materials use a unique ton bag packaging form for refractory materials, Yufeng Intelligent has designed a system where mother pallets do not leave the warehouse. The pallet unpacking machine is located on the first floor at the inbound area; when raw materials are received, the system automatically retrieves a set of pallets and unpacks them for use with inbound goods.An unpacking pallet machine is set up in the inbound area, where the empty pallets generated after material preparation are stacked. Once the stacking is complete, the stacker automatically stores the pallets in the automated warehouse.
In terms of the software system, the WMS (Warehouse Management System) integrates with the customer's upper-level system to achieve lean management of goods information, order information, equipment information, and other related aspects.
Value empowerment
Ⅰ Substantial Increase in Storage Capacity: The two 21-meter high vertical warehouses are equipped with 5,760 and 4,680 storage locations respectively, allowing for the simultaneous storage of raw materials and finished products. This enables the intensive use of land resources within the same area. Compared to traditional single-layer ground stacking warehouses, the storage capacity has increased by at least 12 times.
Ⅱ The combined deployment of intelligent vertical warehouses and logistics systems liberates human labor from the tedious tasks of locating raw materials, placing finished products, and recording orders. This results in a significant increase in the synchronization of material inbound and outbound logistics.
Ⅲ The WMS system interfaces with the client's upper-level systems to enable precise management. This facilitates efficient synchronization of resources, equipment, and information within the plant, optimizes storage costs, reduces manual handling, and aims to achieve lean, low-carbon production along with integrated intensive management.
In this critical period of transformation towards greenness, intelligence, and digitization in the refractory materials industry, Yufeng Intelligent is driving profound industry changes through innovative technology. By developing core solutions such as heavy-duty intelligent storage warehouses, L-shaped circular shuttle systems, and dual-depth storage designs, it not only addresses the pain points of storage and logistics in the refractory materials sector but also achieves visualized and lean management of the entire production process through customized software services (seamless integration of WMS/WCS/MES). This supports customers in breaking through capacity bottlenecks, reducing operating costs, and enhancing market competitiveness.
The successful implementation of two benchmark projects not only proves Yufeng Intelligent's technological strength but also marks a leap in the development of the refractory materials industry from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. In the future, Yufeng Intelligent will continue to deeply cultivate industry needs, driving refractory material companies towards the Industrial 4.0 era with more efficient intelligent equipment, more flexible system integration, and lower-carbon solutions, injecting new digital momentum into the high-quality development of the global high-temperature industry!
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