Beckhoff Launches Warehouse Automation Project for US Headquarters Facility with OPEX

To deliver leading-edge automation products to customers in the shortest possible timeframes, Beckhoff USA is upgrading its distribution operations with the new Infinity™ Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) from OPEX® Corporation. Infinity™ is a next-generation Goods-to-Person (G2P) solution that features numerous Beckhoff technologies inside. This warehouse automation project at Beckhoff’s U.S. headquarters in Savage, Minnesota, will streamline operations and supply chain management to improve shipments and deliveries in the U.S.

“Beckhoff continues to grow rapidly across the U.S., particularly in intralogistics and other high-tech industries, so implementing the OPEX Infinity will allow us to scale our operations at an exceptional rate,” said Kevin Barker, President of Beckhoff Automation LLC. “With the Beckhoff-equipped Infinity solution, we will ramp up our own logistics automation and take full advantage of the vertical space in our bustling Minneapolis-area warehouse. This innovative AS/RS will help us not only meet our immediate warehousing needs — in terms of greater fulfillment speed and accuracy — but it will also support further expansions to best serve our customers over the coming years.”

OPEX Corporation — a global intralogistics leader based in Moorestown, New Jersey — officially unveiled Infinity at the MODEX 2022 trade show. This G2P system offers top-tier storage density, modularity and flexibility to empower companies to meet today’s pressing warehouse automation challenges. Using wireless Infinity iBOT® robotic vehicles, triple-deep tote storage and OPEX’s proprietary Cortex™ software platform, Infinity delivers the right SKU to the right operator or workstation exactly when it is needed. According to OPEX, this can increase storage capacity by 35% while making bot paths up to 65% more efficient, thereby boosting throughput, productivity and labor utilization.

“After years of research and development, we are excited to publicly launch Infinity at MODEX,” said Alex Stevens, President of OPEX Warehouse Automation. “Interest in the Infinity system has been unprecedented, and we are excited to have one of our key technology partners be an early adopter of our technology. It’s a true testament of the power of this system.”

This announcement is the latest development in the long-term collaboration between the two companies, noted Doug Schuchart, Global Intralogistics Industry Manager for Beckhoff. OPEX is a longstanding Beckhoff customer, and the Infinity AS/RS relies heavily on the EtherCAT industrial Ethernet system, including numerous I/O terminals, Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) for integrated functional safety and the EP7402 EtherCAT Box, a machine mountable controller for motor-driven roller (MDR) conveyors.

“We have worked with OPEX for many years on exciting new solutions using Beckhoff technology. Now, we chose OPEX to help modernize our own distribution operations with an AS/RS in large part because of the company’s inventive, skillful use of Beckhoff solutions,” Schuchart said. “Our U.S. headquarters already has a state-of-the-art automation showroom, but now we will have exciting opportunities to showcase New Automation Technology from Beckhoff as a real intralogistics application in our day-to-day warehouse operations. Most importantly, Beckhoff is excited to further improve customer experiences through this intralogistics collaboration with OPEX.”