Project Partners

University of Pisa (UNIPI) (team leader) is a public institution boasting twenty departments and research Centres. The Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI) was involved in several national and international projects, both as beneficiary and as coordinator. Prof. Walter Salvatore, full professor of DICI, is member of the Technical Group Steel 8 "Steel products and application for building, construction and industry" of RFCS. He is also member of Italian Committee for the arrangement of new Standard on Structural Design of Ministry of Infrastructures, member of the CEN/TC250/SC8/WG2 for the development of new seismic design rules on steel structures and Italian delegate in ECISS/TC103 on qualification of structural steels. He participated as coordinator/partner in several RFCS projects (OPUS, PRECASTEEL, STEELRETRO, FADLESS, DETAILS, NEWREBAR, PROINDUSTRY, PRECIOUS, STEEL-EARTH, DISTEEL, RUSTEEL, INNO-HYCO, ADBLAST, LASTEICON, INNOSEIS).

Prof. Gianni Bartoli is Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Florence (UNIFI) (Italy). His main research activities are both in the field of wind engineering and about the structural analysis of historic buildings. He is chair of the Degree Programmes Council on Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering at the University of Florence, vice-President of ANIV (Italian Association for Wind Engineering) and Director of CRIACIV (Interuniversity Research Centre in Building Aerodynamics and Wind Engineering). CRIACIV is a research centre among 8 different Italian Universities; it was established in 1991 between the University of Florence and “Sapienza” University of Rome. Nowadays it gathers together eight Universities (Chieti-Pescara, Reggio Calabria, IUAV, Padua, Perugia and Trieste besides the first two); on the whole, more than 30 researchers (Professors, Assistant Professors, PhD students) are involved. For all administrative duties, the Centre is managed by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Florence.

Research activities in the field of wind engineering are mainly carried out in the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel located at the Prato campus of the University of Florence; the large infrastructure can be conveniently equipped to reproduce mean wind profiles and turbulence characteristics of various environments then allowing flow measurements and visualisations (in complex terrain and urban areas) as well as pressure, force, and acceleration measurements on scaled models. A large expertise has been achieved by CRIACIV in determining wind induced actions on several relevant buildings and structures all over the world, from high buildings to large roofing systems, from industrial plants to bridges. Among the others following projects can be listed: Unicredit Tower in Milan, Juventus FC stadium in Turin, “G. Karaiskaki” Stadium Pireus (Greece), Music Bridge in Rome, Rio Higuamo Bridge (Dominican Republic), Calatrava’s High Speed Train station in Reggio Emilia, Fuksas’ New congress centre in Rome.

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), will participate through its Institute of Steel Structures which is the leading steel research laboratory in Greece with about 30 staff members. It belongs

to the School of Civil Engineering of NTUA which, according to QS World University Rankings, is 8th in Europe and 29th in the World. The Institute has been involved in several RFCS projects, including SEISRACKS 2, INERD, FUSEIS and MATCH, as well as in other EU projects like PROHITECH. Its Director Prof. Ioannis Vayas has an experience in engineering design of steel structures for over 30 years that includes seismic design of racking systems.

With 260 institutes, RWTH Aachen University is one of Europe's premier educational and research institutions. The Institute of Steel Structures is one of the major institutes within the faculty of structural engineering of the RWTH Aachen. Three professors and 25 research engineers participate in research projects in the fields of structural engineering including steel and composite structures, structural glazing, wind engineering, seismic performance and other exceptional actions. The Institute operates a testing laboratory with state of the art equipment and cooperates interdisciplinary within the Laboratory for Metallic Applications (ZMB). The Institute successfully participated in a large number of national and international research projects in the field of structural engineering and related disciplines. Currently ten RFCS-Projects are ongoing, several of them including experimental investigations (MEAKADO, RUOSTE, ROBUSTIMPACT, S+G, SEISRACKS2). Prof. Benno Hoffmeister and his group has a long experience in participation in and coordination international research projects. Prof. Hoffmeister is member of the National DIN Committee for seismic and exceptional actions and of the ECCS TC13, he acts as evaluator for of European research proposals and provides expertise for international construction companies.

Hasselt University, the youngest Belgian university, is an independent innovative institution officially founded as University in 2005, regionally anchored and with a pronounced international orientation. Hasselt University research policy is directed at top research in spearhead fields in a number of domains (electronic materials, ICT, life sciences, clean tech, biostatistics, traffic safety and mobility, construction engineering, open innovation, small businesses). The Construction Engineering Research Group (CERG) of UHasselt, under the supervision of Prof. Hervé Degee is a very recent and fast-growing research group focusing essentially on the consequences of specific requirements such as thermal and acoustic performances, exceptional loading or dismantling on the structural design and on the construction techniques. In the context of his current and former affiliations, H. Degee has been for a long time active at European level in the field of Steel Structures and Earthquake Engineering (numerous RFCS or other research projects). He is also member of the Belgian mirror committees for Eurocodes 3, 4 and 8. The modelling tasks will also be supervised by Prof. Bram Vandoren, specialist in numerical methods.

Fincon Consulting Italia (FINCON) is an engineering company specialized in structural steel design. The company takes its power from the wide experience of its founders in the field of civil and structural engineering research, development and design. Thanks to their excellent academic background, Fincon’s engineers can develop highly efficient solutions to complex problems and are pushing forward international engineering and design practice, being actively involved in the preparation and revisions of National and International design standards. Merging strong academic skills with practical experience Fincon provides cost-effective and innovative solutions by means of advanced analysis tools for complex problems. Fincon’s engineers are able to discover opportunities for new design methods, develop ground-breaking products and find alternatives to traditional systems improving their economy, efficiency and practicality. Prof. Carlo Castiglioni, Administrator and Technical Director of FINCON, participated as coordinator/partner in several RFCS projects (SEISRACKS1, SEISRACKS2, FUSEIS, INERD, STEELQUAKE, MEAKADO, ADBLAST, PROINDUSTRY).

SCL Ingegneria Strutturale (subcontractor of FINCON) is an engineering company specialized in racking structures, participating since 20 years to research and normative activities of FEM, ERF and CEN. Dr. Stefano Calzolari has been chairman of CEN/TC 344 “Steel Static Storage Systems” until 2012, and contributed in drafting various EN and FEM Norms for racks design; he is presently member of the board of CEN/TC344 and ERF. Dr. Stefano Sesana participated in drafting various EN and FEM Norms for racks design; he is the Convenor of the CEN/TC 344 WG5 “Seismic design” that produced EN 16681 for seismic design of racks, and Technical Secretary of the ERF Committee, preparing the revision of the Norm EN 15512.

Established in 1976, SYSTEM Logistics provides innovative intralogistics and material handling solutions for the optimization of warehouse supply chains, distribution centres and production centres all over the world. Specializing in the Food & Beverage industry, System Logistics develops tailor-made solutions for storage and automated picking, including stacker cranes, high-rotation warehouses, robots, shuttles, transport systems, AGV, software and services. The majority of the technologies used in the system solutions are entirely designed, engineered, produced and installed by System Logistics. This ensures complete control of the process. System Logistics is a subsidiary of System, the private group established in Fiorano Modenese (Modena, Italy) in 1970 which develops state-of-the-art solutions for industrial automation in a variety of industries all over the world. System has an international presence, with 35 subsidiaries in 26 countries, 1359 employees and a turnover of 285 million euros, 74% of which are represented by exports.

MODULBLOK S.p.A. has been operating in the sector of Steel Static Storage Systems since 1976. The experience gained on the Italian and foreign markets, with thousands of companies served, place it among the leaders in Warehouse Logistics. The manufacturing facilities in Pagnacco and Amaro (Udine - Italy) employ about 150 workers and have available a covered area of 18,000 square meters. MODULBLOK is strongly focused in research and innovation, thanks to its qualified technical staff and a structured internal laboratory provides its client with customized, safe and high-performance products according to the customer’s specific storage needs. MODULBLOK cooperates with prestigious Italian and International Universities in order to research and develop high-performance and safe storage systems. MODULBLOK is also member of the Italian Association of Racking Manufacturers (ACAI-UNICMI) by which is active company in the European Racking Federation ERF. MODULBLOK is currently producing more than 6 complete lines of products, in order to cover the whole range of customer's needs. There are static systems and compactable systems, and automatic systems (with stacker cranes).

SACMA is present in the logistic market since 1952, designing and producing any kind of rack, from the simplest steel shelves to silo automated warehouses. In the early 80’s Sacma delivered its first silo warehouse in Italy and during the following 30 years designed, produced and delivered many silo warehouses in Italy, Europe and Overseas, facing all types of racking systems (Pallet racking, Drive-in, shuttle systems etc). Because the whole Italian country is potentially exposed to earthquakes, particular skills were reached by Sacma designers in seismic engineering.

NEDCON is an independent company that has been part of the international steel group voestalpine since 2004. NEDCON is one of the leading suppliers of the storage system worldwide especially in Europe and North America. Nedcon has a broad experience in designing, manufacturing and installation of steel storage structures for different types of complex AS/RS as an automated high rise pallet racking, rack supported structures, shuttle systems for pallets and small goods, small part storage systems etc. NEDCON is also involved in the design standardization groups and participates in different research projects.

MECALUX is one of the leading companies in the storage systems market. It is specialised in the design, manufacturing, sale and services of metal racking, automated warehouses and other storage solutions. Mecalux is the leading storage company in Spain and ranks third in the world in its field, selling to more than 70 countries. The prime position of the company is based on its application of the most advanced technology in the industry, and on its extensive distribution. The group has eleven production centres: in Spain (Barcelona, Gijon and Palencia), Poland (Gliwice), USA (Chicago, Sumter and Pontiac), Mexico (Tijuana and Matamoros), Brazil (Sao Paulo) and Argentina (Buenos Aires). Mecalux Group's growth and development is based on: the opening of new branches, the expansion of its sales distribution networks, the investment in R+D, its automated warehouse division, and the logistics portal Logismarket. Since its foundation 50 years ago, this approach has guaranteed high quality products and an excellent client service.

NOEGASystems is a medium size company dedicated to the design, calculation, validation, inspection, supply and assembly of storage solutions specific to the customer, specially automated warehouses and textile storage solutions. Established in 2010 it has been in a constant grow path since, it has now more than 50 employees and an approximate turnover of 20m€ last year. Facilities include four offices around Spain and a testing laboratory.