Dongguan Shoe Factory Case Study: REEMAN Rhino Stacker Automates Cross-Floor Pallet Transport

Real Factory Case: How REEMAN Automated Cross-Floor Material Handling in a Dongguan Shoe Factory

Moving finished products between production floors and warehouses is a routine but labor-intensive task in multi-story footwear factories. At a manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China, REEMAN deployed a Rhino Stacker Autonomous Forklift to automate pallet transportation between the third-floor production line and fourth-floor warehouse.

The forklift transports approximately 600 kg of shoe products per load and handles 65–80 complete round-trip tasks daily. Each transport route covers approximately 500 meters and includes autonomous elevator operation, pallet pickup and warehouse delivery.

REEMAN Rhino Stacker operating inside the customer's footwear manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China.

The Customer's Challenge: Connecting Production and Warehouse Floors

The customer's production line is located on the third floor, while its warehouse is on the fourth floor. Finished shoe products must be collected from production and transported upstairs for storage.

Before introducing autonomous transportation, the same delivery process was estimated to require approximately 30 minutes with a manually operated forklift.

With 65–80 complete transport tasks required each day, this created a substantial recurring material handling workload. The factory needed a solution capable of operating between floors while adapting to its existing aisles, elevator and storage racks.

Real Deployment Video: Autonomous Elevator Transport in Action

This video documents the actual Rhino Stacker deployment, from receiving a remote transport request to collecting shoe products and delivering them to the fourth-floor warehouse.

Video: Watch the real factory deployment on YouTube

How REEMAN Implemented the Cross-Floor Transport Workflow

The deployment connects several operations into a single autonomous transport process.

Step 1: Remote Task Activation

The Rhino Stacker begins at the fourth-floor warehouse. An operator presses the One-Touch Remote Call button, sending a transport request to the forklift.

Once the request is received, the forklift autonomously navigates toward the elevator.

Step 2: Automatic Elevator Access

REEMAN integrated the forklift with the factory's elevator control system. This enables the robot to request elevator access and travel between designated floors without a driver operating the elevator.

The elevator measures approximately 3 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep. The video shows the forklift entering the elevator and traveling to the third floor.

Step 3: Autonomous Pallet Pickup

After reaching the third-floor production area, the forklift approaches its assigned pickup location and collects the palletized shoe products.

Each load weighs approximately 600 kg. The robot then begins its return route toward the fourth-floor warehouse.

Step 4: Warehouse Delivery

The forklift uses the elevator again, returns to the fourth floor and places the pallet at the designated warehouse location.

By connecting remote task activation, elevator control and autonomous pallet handling, the deployment reduces the need for repeated manual forklift journeys between production and storage floors.

Deployment Challenge: Double-Sided Pallet Handling in a 2.6 m Aisle

While elevator integration was essential, one of the most demanding engineering issues was the limited space available for pallet handling.

Most transport aisles in the factory measure approximately 4 meters wide. However, the narrowest double-sided pallet handling area is only 2.6 meters wide.

For this specific handling maneuver, the Rhino Stacker's standard recommended width is approximately 2.7 meters.

To accommodate the existing warehouse layout, REEMAN engineers adjusted the 3D obstacle detection sensitivity for the designated handling area.

The forklift is also equipped with a front safety bumper. However, adjustments to obstacle detection require appropriate speed restrictions, pedestrian protection measures and site-specific safety validation. A front safety bumper does not replace suitable non-contact safeguarding.

This experience shows why autonomous forklift deployment must account for actual aisle geometry, pallet dimensions, turning clearance and protective detection requirements rather than relying on load capacity alone.

Beyond Transportation: Second-Level Warehouse Rack Stacking

The customer's requirement extends beyond cross-floor pallet transportation. Some goods must also be placed on second-level warehouse racks at approximately 2 meters.

The Rhino Stacker offers a rated load capacity of 1,500 kg and a maximum lifting height of approximately 2.5 meters.

At this factory, the forklift transports approximately 600 kg per pallet and is also used for second-level warehouse storage. This allows the same autonomous handling platform to support both delivery and stacking operations.

Although elevated rack placement is part of the customer's actual operation, the published video focuses on elevator transportation and ground-level delivery rather than showing the lifting process.

Rack stacking applications must be evaluated according to load-center limits, pallet dimensions, rack clearance and the forklift's rated operating conditions.

Actual Deployment Results: 65–80 Complete Transport Tasks Daily

The forklift has been incorporated into the factory's regular production-to-warehouse transport workflow. The following figures summarize the customer's operating conditions.

With 65–80 complete round trips per day, the factory's 500-meter transport route represents approximately 32.5–40 kilometers of scheduled daily travel.

The site-configured travel speed is 0.8 m/s. Speed settings may be adjusted according to the forklift's permitted operating range and the safety requirements of the specific environment.

The customer estimates that manually completing the equivalent transport task takes approximately 30 minutes. A preliminary autonomous cycle estimate of around 10 minutes has also been reported, but it requires verification: traveling 500 meters at 0.8 m/s alone takes approximately 10.4 minutes, before elevator waiting and pallet handling.

For this reason, the daily task volume and established automated workflow are more reliable indicators of the current deployment than an unverified cycle-time comparison.

Evaluating the Potential Return on Investment

The REEMAN Rhino Stacker has a reference equipment price of USD 10,980. Elevator integration and remote calling accessories are configured and priced separately based on site requirements.

For overseas manufacturers considering a similar deployment, a simple financial comparison can be made using hypothetical U.S. labor costs.

The actual payback period depends on avoidable labor costs, system integration, installation, maintenance, charging requirements, operating shifts and utilization.

For the Dongguan factory, the case demonstrates an established autonomous transport application rather than a verified financial payback claim.

What Makes This Deployment Relevant to Other Manufacturers?

This project illustrates that automating pallet transportation in an existing factory requires more than selecting a forklift with sufficient load capacity.

At the Dongguan footwear factory, successful workflow integration involved three practical requirements:

For footwear manufacturers, electronics factories and other multi-story production facilities, these considerations can help determine whether autonomous forklift technology is suitable for existing material handling processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: A Practical Cross-Floor Automation Reference

The Dongguan footwear factory deployment provides a real example of autonomous material handling in a multi-story manufacturing environment.

By integrating elevator controls, remote calling and autonomous pallet handling, the REEMAN Rhino Stacker supports the factory's recurring transport requirements between production and warehouse floors.

The project also demonstrates the importance of evaluating actual site constraints, particularly narrow handling aisles and elevated rack storage, before implementing an autonomous forklift solution.