Würth Industrie Service GmbH & Co. KG, which handles C-parts logistics for more than 20,000 customers across Europe, and SSI SCHAEFER have entered a joint development partnership to advance robotic picking. SSI SCHAEFER announced the partnership on 2 October 2026; its starting point is the first SSI Piece Picking cell with Pick & Place functionality, commissioned at Würth’s logistics centre in Bad Mergentheim, Germany, in April 2026.
The cell was preassembled and tested at SSI SCHAEFER before delivery, allowing on-site installation to be completed within days. “By automating the consolidation of pre-picked items, we can increase system throughput without the need for extensive technical modifications,” said Frank Freudenberger, Head of Logistics at Würth Industrie Service.
Why Pick & Place rather than Pick & Drop
The compact gantry-style cell consolidates pre-picked items onto trays. It identifies items on the source tray in real time, calculates the best gripping position and guides the robot arm to place each item precisely, then returns empty trays quickly to the pre-picking process.
Standard Pick & Drop operation, in which items are dropped into a container, reaches 1,200 picks per hour, according to SSI SCHAEFER. Würth’s range, however, includes heavy products of up to five kilograms, so the cell works in Pick & Place mode, which takes additional time for controlled, secure placement. “Gently and precisely placing an item is the supreme discipline for robots,” said Markus Jammernegg, Head of Modules at SSI SCHAEFER.
WAMAS Vision and machine learning
The WAMAS Vision image recognition system uses integrated cameras to generate 3D position images of source and destination trays. These are used to determine gripping points, movement paths and placement positions for real-time robot control. Machine learning lets the system recognise product variations across Würth’s portfolio of more than 100,000 items without retraining.
The robot controller receives order data from Würth’s warehouse management system and monitors every Pick & Place operation, while a compact vacuum gripper transfers items from source to destination tray. Both partners are continuing to optimise the function and aim to use the experience to reduce adaptation effort in future projects.
Sources
- SSI SCHAEFER, “Würth Industrie Service and SSI SCHAEFER Jointly Advance Picking Robot Technology”, press release, 02.10.2026 – ssi-schaefer.com
- Image: SSI SCHAEFER
