Industrial Storage Bins in Pune: Alkon Bins, Shelving and Line-Side Storage for Chakan, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ranjangaon and Hinjewadi
Pune is one of the places in India where the phrase small-parts logistics is a daily working concern and not a textbook topic. The belts of industrial land around the city, Chakan to the north, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhosari in the middle, Ranjangaon and Talegaon on the east and west sides, and the technology campuses at Hinjewadi and Hadapsar, hold a dense mix of automotive assemblers, component suppliers, machine builders, packaging plants, pharmaceutical units and electronics makers. Each runs hundreds or thousands of small part numbers through stores, line-side racks and kitting areas, and each has the same recurring problem: bins that were bought one batch at a time and no longer add up to a system. Shreeram Metafusion Engineers Pvt. Ltd. supplies the ALKON range of industrial plastic bins, Panda shelving, Koala pick bins, Roo tilt bins, component organisers, ESD safe products and trolleys from Shop-1, Gagangiri CHS, Sector 17, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and has been an authorised stockist of ALKON Plastics Pvt. Ltd. for over thirty years. This page is written for the stores, production, purchase and maintenance people of Pune plants, and explains how the range maps to the kinds of work they do.
Why Pune's plants outgrow their bins
Plants in the Pune region tend to grow in steps. A company opens a unit in Chakan with a single line, adds a second line two years later, brings in a new product from a parent company and then opens a satellite unit in Ranjangaon to take overflow. At each step, the stores or the line-side racks are extended by whoever has the problem at that moment, with the bins that are available that month. After a few years the result is a stores department with eight bin types from four suppliers, three label formats and no one who can say what was bought when.
The cost is rarely visible on a single invoice. It shows up as spare parts that do not match, as bins that will not stack with the ones next to them, as labels that fall off because the bin has no holder and as operators who walk to the stores because the line-side rack is cluttered. When a plant is audited by a customer, the untidiness is what the auditor sees first, and in the automotive supply chain, where the audit culture is strong, it is what costs points.
The remedy is not a single heroic purchase but a standard. A plant picks a small family of bins, a small set of sizes within it and one way of mounting and labelling them, and buys to that standard from then on. The ALKON range is built for that approach: nine families of bin, published dimensions for every size, shared accessories across the families and a catalogue that stays available over the years. This page explains how to apply it in the kinds of plants that Pune is known for.
The Pune industrial map, and what each belt needs
Pune's manufacturing is spread over several areas, and each has its own character.
Chakan, to the north along the Pune-Nashik corridor, is a major automotive and engineering cluster. Plants there run assembly lines, welding and machining operations and large numbers of component suppliers. The demand is for line-side bins in volume, totes for carrying batches, trolleys for kits and shelving for the stores that feed them.
Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhosari, in the middle of the industrial belt, hold older, established engineering companies, tool rooms, fabricators and component makers. The demand tends to be for stores organisation, tool cribs, maintenance spares and the replacement of ageing racks and mismatched bins.
Ranjangaon, to the east on the Pune-Ahmednagar road, hosts consumer goods, automotive and electronics manufacturers in larger plants. The demand includes warehouse storage, line-side supply and electronics handling.
Talegaon and the western side add engineering and automotive units. Hinjewadi and Hadapsar, with their technology and business parks, bring offices, labs, hardware test rooms and small manufacturing units that need organised small-parts storage in a smaller space.
The pharmaceutical and packaging industries sit across several of these areas and add their own needs: clean, washable bins, accurate counting, tidy stores and careful labelling.
Automotive plants: line-side bins and kitting
The automotive supply chain has done more than any other sector to shape how small parts are handled, and plants in Chakan and Pimpri-Chinchwad will recognise the vocabulary: point-of-use storage, kanban, kitting, milk run, supermarket, 5S. The ALKON range supports each.
At the line, small fasteners, clips, grommets, connectors and seals sit in Supra bins on louvre panels or stands, within reach of the operator. The Supra range runs from the SB 1, 125 x 100 x 60 mm outside, to the SB 8, 600 x 425 x 300 mm, and the smaller sizes hang from the rear lip on panels, stack when stored and carry identification card holders. For parts that need a different proportion, Hippo bins and Bull bins offer alternatives, and the Rhino Tuff range covers tougher duty.
Batches that travel between stations go in totes. The AK-421 tote, 400 x 255 x 100 mm outside, and the AK-422 at 200 mm high, have large label holders, an anti-skid base and optional partitions. Our page on Alkon tote bins gives the details.
Kits and replenishment travel on trolleys. The Shop Floor Trolley SFT and the heavier Tuff trolley ATTB carry louvre panels and bins in fixed positions, so that a kit is readable at a glance and the empty bins are the signal to refill. Our article on line-side supply with trolleys works through the loop arithmetic, and our article on storage bins for automotive manufacturing discusses the broader picture.
Stores and spares: the Panda shelving answer
Behind every line is a stores, and behind every machine is a maintenance spares room. These are where the long tail of small parts lives, and they are the places where order is hardest to keep.
The ALKON Panda shelving system suits them. Roll post uprights carry shelves in depths of 300 to 600 mm, 900 mm wide, with permissible loads from 70 to 90 kg per shelf and bay loads of up to 1000 kg across the standard heights of 1275, 1875, 2175 and 2375 mm. Panda shelf bins, in sizes such as the 301 at 315 x 100 x 60 mm and the 305 at 315 x 300 x 135 mm, sit on the shelves in a regular grid, and the catalogue lists the standard units with their bin counts, such as the ASU 1 with 108 bins.
For items that arrive in their own packets, the pigeon hole variant with fixed partitions avoids decanting, and lockable doors protect valuable stock. Our page on Panda pigeon hole shelving and doors explains the options, and our article on organising a maintenance spares store gives the method.
Tool rooms, tool cribs and the engineering shops
Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhosari are home to many tool rooms and engineering shops, where the cost of a missing tool or gauge is immediate. The principles of a tidy tool crib, zoning, shadow boards, trays and issue control, are set out in our article on tool room and tool crib organisation, and the ALKON products that serve them are straightforward.
Louvre panels carry shadow boards, tool trays and bins for consumables. Drawer containers in six sizes, 150 x 150, 150 x 75 and 75 x 75 mm, in heights of 45 and 75 mm, fit tool cabinet drawers and create defined compartments. Poly bins on rails give a compact wall set for fasteners at a bench. Trolleys carry a set of tools to a machine.
A crib set up this way can be counted quickly, audited easily and kept in order by a single attendant, which is what a busy tool room needs.
Electronics and technology users
Around Hinjewadi, Hadapsar and the electronics units in Ranjangaon and Chakan, the storage need is different. Components are small, numerous and often sensitive to static. Boards move between stations in carriers, repairs are done at benches and a hardware lab may hold thousands of part numbers in a small room.
The ALKON ESD range provides conductive Supra bins, a conductive component organiser with 25 drawers, adjustable and fixed PCB carriers and ESD workstations with mat, grounding cord, lighting and louvre panel. Our article on setting up an ESD workbench walks through the layout and the routines.
For dense storage in a small room, the Roo tilt bin sliding units and rotary stands put hundreds of components within reach in a small footprint, and component organisers provide drawers for the smallest parts. Our article on choosing between sliding, rotary and fixed storage explains which suits which job.
Pharmaceutical and packaging users
Pharmaceutical and packaging plants in the Pune region care about cleanliness, accuracy and traceability. Bins in these environments must be easy to wipe, free from rust and shedding, and clearly labelled. ALKON bins are moulded from polypropylene copolymer, which does not rust, resists most industrial solvents and can be washed, and the totes have a smooth internal wall that wipes clean.
Stores for spares and consumables benefit from labelled, fixed locations and regular counting. Our article on cycle counting with storage bins sets out a routine that suits the audited environment. For pharmacy-style picking, such as in a dispensary or a clinical supplies room, the transparent Panda shelf bins and the pharmacy arrangements on our Panda bins for pharmacy page are relevant.
For warehouses and finished goods areas, rack protection matters too, and our page on Visipro pallet rack protectors covers the guards and deflectors for racking that is exposed to forklift traffic.
Warehousing and logistics around Pune
The roads around Pune carry a great deal of logistics, and the warehouses along the expressway corridors, near Chakan and Talegaon and on the Mumbai side, hold everything from automotive parts to consumer goods. Small-parts picking in these warehouses benefits from the same disciplines as in a plant: fixed locations, labelled bins, a sensible slotting plan and protection for the racking.
Our page on warehouse storage bins in India sets out the principles, from slotting and golden zones to rack-mounted bins and cycle counting. Mammoth bins, at 820 x 315 x 300 mm outside, suit bulky items and reserve stock on pallet racking, and the Tote bins carry orders through the pick.
Choosing a standard for your Pune plant
For a plant that wants to put its storage in order, a short procedure works.
Our guide to choosing the right storage bin size and our article on 5S storage bins on the shop floor give more detail. The result is a plant whose storage is a system that any new storekeeper can learn in an afternoon.
- Walk the plant and photograph every storage area, noting the bin types, sizes and labels in use.
- List the parts, and measure the representative sizes in each family.
- Choose a bin family for each job: Supra for line-side and general hardware, Panda shelf bins for shelved stores, totes for carrying, Mammoth for reserve and bulk, component organisers and conductive bins for electronics.
- Choose three or four sizes within each family, using the inside dimensions.
- Choose the mounting: louvre panels, rails and stands for walls and benches, trolleys for mobile work, Panda shelving for the stores.
- Write the label format and the location code, and put them on a single page.
- Trial one area, review after a month and extend.
Climate and the Pune plant floor
Pune's climate is moderate compared with other industrial centres, with hot summers, a monsoon with high humidity and mild winters. For storage, the practical points are modest. ALKON bins carry a stated service range of -10 degrees Celsius to +70 degrees Celsius, which covers the roof-space heat of a tin-sheeted shed in summer, and the polypropylene does not rust in the monsoon. Steel components, such as louvre panels, stands and shelving, are powder coated in light grey RAL 7035, which resists corrosion in normal indoor conditions.
In dusty areas, such as plants with grinding or cutting operations, open-front bins collect dust, and a periodic wipe keeps them clean. Where dust is a problem for the contents, doors on Panda shelving or enclosed units such as the sliding units keep it off.
How we work with Pune customers
Shreeram Metafusion supplies from Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and the process is straightforward. A customer sends an enquiry through the contact page or by phone, with a parts list, a bin size list or simply a description of the problem. We suggest a configuration from the catalogue, confirm quantities and terms, and arrange dispatch to the plant.
For a first project, we recommend a trial: a small set of bins, a panel or a trolley, set up on the real parts and run for a few weeks. The experience shows what works, and the second order is usually larger and better judged. Because the ALKON catalogue is stable and the dimensions are published, the same bins can be reordered years later, which is the point of a standard.
Our team can help with the sizing, the layout and the labelling scheme, and the product pages on this website list the dimensions, packing and accessories for every item. For plants in Pune and its industrial belts, we aim to be the one supplier who knows the whole range and can put it together for the job.
What an audit sees in your stores
Pune's automotive suppliers work under customer audits and quality management systems such as IATF 16949, and plants in other sectors work under ISO 9001 or the good practice requirements of their industry. An auditor walking the shop floor does not usually read the clause numbers aloud, but the questions are consistent: is every material identified, is it stored where it should be, is it protected from damage and mix-up, can its quantity be verified and is the first-in, first-out order respected?
Storage bins answer many of these questions without any extra effort, provided they are set up properly. Identification is handled by the label holder on each bin and the location code on the shelf. Protection from damage and mix-up is handled by one-part-per-bin and by partitions where several parts share a bin. Quantity verification is handled by standard fills and by regular counts. And first-in, first-out is handled by the way bins are replenished: a new carton goes into a clean bin only when the old bin is empty, not on top of the old stock.
A plant that can show an auditor a clean row of labelled bins, a location list, a count log and a short procedure is in a much stronger position than one that explains that parts are usually found where they are put. Our article on cycle counting with storage bins describes the count routine and the log, and our article on bin labelling and colour coding describes the label formats.
Walk your own stores as an auditor would. Pick ten parts at random from the stock list, and find each one. Count a bin and compare with the record. Look for unlabelled containers, mixed bins and parts on the floor. The result is a short, honest list of what to fix, and fixing it usually means better bins and labels, not more rules.
A worked example: a Chakan supplier's assembly line
The following example is invented, with round numbers, to show how the pieces fit together. A tier-two supplier in the Chakan area assembles a wiring and bracket sub-assembly for a vehicle platform, on a line of six stations running at about forty units an hour. About ninety small part numbers are used on the line, of which thirty are common to every unit.
Before the project, parts sit in cardboard cartons on the benches and on a slotted angle rack at the end of the line. Operators leave their stations to fetch parts several times a shift, cartons are opened in the wrong order and the stores in-charge cannot say how many of any part are on the line at a given time.
The supplier decides on a standard. The thirty common parts go in Supra bins of SB 1, SB 2 and SB 3, sizes chosen from the inside dimensions of the parts, hung on two LP 2 louvre panels at each station, with a second identical bin behind each as the reserve. The variant parts go in AK-421 totes, one per build order, delivered on a Shop Floor Trolley from the stores. The trolley carries panels with the replenishment bins for two stations and a flat top for the kit totes.
A replenisher walks a loop of about thirty minutes, exchanging empty bins for full ones and delivering the kit totes. Each bin is labelled with the part code and the position on the panel. The stores hold the reserve on Panda shelving with shelf bins, labelled to the same location code, and a short count is done each morning for a few locations.
Within a month, the operators stay at their stations, the cartons are gone from the benches and the stores in-charge can see at a glance what is on the line. When the customer's auditor visits, the line is shown as an example of good practice. The numbers are invented, but the pattern, standard bins, fixed positions, a timed loop and a simple count, is one that works in plants of every size.
Moving to a standard without stopping production
Few plants can shut a line to rebuild its storage, and the change has to happen around production. A staged approach works best.
Start with the stores, which are not tied to the line's takt time. Move the stock into a standard set of bins and shelves, label it and begin counting. The stores are the source of everything else, and a tidy store makes the rest easier.
Next, do one station or one cell at the line, during a planned break or a weekend. Replace the cartons with bins on panels, add the labels, and run the cell with the new arrangement for a week. Watch the operators, ask what they find awkward and adjust.
Then extend, cell by cell, using what was learned. Keep the old arrangement in place where the new one is not yet ready, so that production is never without parts.
Run the old and new bins side by side for a short time, if needed, but set a date to retire the old ones. A plant that keeps both for a year has twice the complexity and half the benefit.
Document the standard as you go. A one-page sheet with the bin families, the sizes, the label format and the mounting, kept in the stores and at the line, lets the next person extend the system without starting over.
Ranges and what they carry: a quick map for Pune buyers
For a buyer who wants a quick orientation, the main ALKON families map to jobs as follows.
Each family has a page on this website with its sizes and accessories, and the product catalogue lists every item with dimensions and packing.
- Supra bins: small and medium parts at the line, in the stores and in the workshop, on louvre panels, rails, stands, trolleys or shelves. Sizes from SB 1 to SB 8.
- Hippo bins: small parts in a compact, rounded design, with channels and stands for dense storage. Sizes from the tiny 612/T to the jumbo 612/J.
- Bull bins: general-purpose bins in sizes from the Bull Bin 5 to the Bull Bin 55, with partitions.
- Rhino Tuff bins: heavier-duty bins in sizes from ARTB-05 to ARTB-70.
- Mammoth bins: large bins, 820 x 315 x 300 mm outside, in mesh and solid versions, for bulky items and reserve stock on racking.
- Tote bins: AK-421 and AK-422 carriers with optional partitions.
- Koala pick bins: nesting pick bins from the AKP-01 to the AKP-64, for picking and for saving freight.
- Panda shelf bins and shelving: bins and roll post shelving for the stores, with pigeon hole and door options.
- Roo tilt bins: tilted bins on panels, units, sliding units and rotary stands.
- Component organisers: cabinets of small drawers for the smallest parts.
- ESD safe products: conductive bins, organisers, carriers and workstations for electronics.
- Visipro: rack protectors, deflectors and bollards for warehouses.
- Louvre panels, rails, stands and trolleys: the mounting and moving system.
Practical questions Pune buyers ask
Several questions come up regularly in enquiries from the region, and a short answer to each may save a round of emails.
How do I know whether a bin has a rear lip for a louvre panel? The product description says so. Most Supra, Hippo, Bull and Rhino Tuff bins have a rear lip, with a few exceptions among the largest sizes, such as the Supra SB 7, SB 7X and SB 8 and the Hippo 612/J, which are used on shelves or trolleys instead.
Can I mix bins of different families on the same panel? Yes, where the lips are compatible, and it is common to mix sizes. Keep the layout tidy by grouping bins of a family together, and check the load per lip against the chart.
What colours are available? Many bins come in red and blue, some in additional colours, and conductive bins are black. The product pages show the colour options for each item, and colour can be used to code part families, suppliers or priorities, as our article on labelling and colour coding explains.
How do I order the right number of labels? Count the bins and add a margin. Printed labels can be made in the plant, in a standard format, and slipped into the holder. Plan the format before ordering the bins.
How should I store spare bins? In a marked area in the stores, in stacks where the design allows, and labelled by size. A small stock of spares lets a damaged bin be replaced the same day.
What if my parts are an unusual size? Tell us the dimensions. The catalogue's range of sizes is wide, and for an unusual part a combination of a bin and a partition, or a tote with partitions, often fits. If it does not, we will tell you plainly.
Seasons, monsoon and the plant floor
Pune's year has a rhythm that affects storage in small ways. Summer brings heat, and the roof-space temperature in a shed can exceed what the people below feel. Polypropylene bins tolerate that heat within their stated range, but it is sensible to keep heat-sensitive contents, such as adhesives and some seals, away from the hottest zones and out of direct sun.
The monsoon brings humidity, and with it a risk of rust on bare steel and of condensation on cold items brought into warm, damp air. Powder-coated panels and shelving are protected, but cut edges, bolts and tools can rust, and a light wipe with a dry cloth at the end of the season helps. Keep parts that rust, such as bare steel fasteners and bearings, in clean, dry bins and in their protective packaging until needed.
Winter is mild, and has few effects, apart from drier air that increases static in electronics areas. Our ESD workbench guide covers humidity and its effect on static control.
Plan stock for the seasons too. Some plants see a seasonal peak in demand, and the storage should be able to expand by adding bins, shelves or a trolley without a rebuild. The modular design of the ALKON range makes this straightforward.
Why Pune plants choose a standard supplier
The reasons that Pune plants give for standardising on one supplier are consistent. They want to be able to reorder the same bin years later and find it unchanged. They want accessories that fit the whole range, so that a panel, a partition or a label holder bought for one bin works with the next. They want published dimensions, so that a layout can be drawn before anything is ordered. And they want a supplier who can advise, not only sell.
ALKON's range, with its nine families and its stable catalogue, meets the first three, and Shreeram Metafusion's thirty years as an authorised stockist meets the fourth. For a purchase manager choosing a supplier for the next decade, those are the reasons to prefer a system to a collection of odd lots.
Small workshops and growing units in the Pune region
Not every customer in Pune is a large plant. The region has a great many small workshops, job shops, fabricators, service centres and start-up manufacturers, particularly in Bhosari, Chakan and the older estates, and their needs are modest but real. A ten-person unit with a few hundred part numbers does not need a supermarket or a milk run. It needs a wall of labelled bins by the bench, a shelf for spares and a trolley for the job in hand.
For such a unit, a simple kit works well: two or three louvre panels on a wall or a freestanding FSS/C stand, a handful of Supra and Hippo bins in three sizes, a few drawer containers for the tool cabinet, a tool tray for the bench and a Panda shelving unit for the spares. The cost is small, the setup takes a day and the effect is immediate. A person who used to hunt for parts through cartons finds them at a glance.
Growing units should buy in a way that lets them grow. Choose the family and sizes now, and add to them over time. Because the ALKON accessories fit across the range, a unit that begins with a single panel can later add stands, trolleys and shelving without replacing anything.
Small buyers sometimes worry that they will be treated as an afterthought. Shreeram Metafusion deals with units of every size, and a first enquiry for a few bins is as welcome as one for a plant. Tell us what you have and what you need, and we will suggest a sensible start.
Planning a first order for a Pune plant
A first order should test the system, not commit to it, and a well-planned one is small and informative. Choose one area, perhaps the busiest line-side station, a single stores bay or one tool crib. List the parts in that area, measure them and choose bins from the published inside dimensions. Order enough bins for the area plus a margin of ten to twenty per cent, together with the panels, stands or shelving to hold them and the labels.
Set the area up carefully, with every bin labelled and every position coded. Run it for two to four weeks, and collect simple evidence: the time to find a part, the number of times an operator left the station, the number of shortages and the state of the area at the end of each shift. Photographs before and after are useful for explaining the result to colleagues.
Then review. Which sizes were right, which too big or small? Which parts were awkward? Did the labels hold up? Adjust, and write the standard. The second order, for the rest of the plant, is then based on evidence and is usually larger, better specified and quicker to deliver value. We are glad to review the trial with you and to suggest improvements from what we have seen in other plants.
A checklist for a Pune storage project
A plant that follows this path ends up with storage that is tidy, countable and easy to extend, and its people spend their time on the work, not on looking for parts.
- List your areas: line-side, stores, tool crib, maintenance, electronics, warehouse.
- Photograph and count what you have, and note the mismatches.
- Choose a bin family for each job, and a small set of sizes.
- Check loads on panels, shelves and trolleys against the published limits.
- Plan labels and location codes before the bins arrive.
- Order a trial set, and test it on the real parts.
- Review, adjust and extend, buying to the standard from then on.
Frequently asked questions
Do you supply storage bins to Pune from Vashi, Navi Mumbai?
Yes. Shreeram Metafusion supplies the ALKON catalogue from Vashi to customers across India, including plants in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chakan, Ranjangaon and Hinjewadi. Send your parts list or the bin sizes you need through the contact page, and we will confirm the products, quantities and terms for dispatch to your plant.
Which ALKON bins suit automotive line-side storage?
For small fasteners, clips and fittings at the line, the Supra range from SB 1 to SB 6 on louvre panels, stands and trolleys is the usual choice, with Bull and Hippo bins for other proportions. For batches carried between stations, the AK-421 and AK-422 totes are the carriers. For variant parts and kits, a trolley with fixed bin positions keeps each job together. Our guide to line-side supply with trolleys describes how to design the loop.
Can I get Panda shelving for a spares store in Pune?
Yes. The Panda roll post shelving takes Panda shelf bins in a series of sizes that match the shelf depths of 300 to 600 mm, and the standard units are listed in the catalogue with their bin counts. Add-on bays let a store grow, and lockable doors are available for the 1275 and 1875 mm units. Send us the room dimensions and part list and we will suggest a layout.
Are conductive bins available for electronics plants in the Pune area?
Yes. The ALKON ESD range includes conductive Supra bins, a conductive component organiser, PCB carriers in conductive and non-conductive forms, ESD workstations and a conductive modular system. These suit the electronics assembly and repair work found around Hinjewadi, Chakan and Ranjangaon. See our ESD safe storage products page for the full list.
How do I choose the right bin size for my parts?
Measure the part, decide the quantity you want to hold between refills, and match against the inside dimensions of the bin, not the outside. Every ALKON bin has its inside and outside dimensions published, for example the Supra SB 2 at 157 x 80 x 75 mm inside. Our guide to choosing the right storage bin size sets out the method, and our team can check a size list for you.
Do you supply to dealers and contractors as well as plants?
Yes. Plants, fabricators, contractors and dealers can all enquire. Tell us the quantities and the end use, and we will advise on the range and the terms.
Can I see samples before ordering a full set?
A trial is the sensible way to start, and we encourage customers to order a small set of bins, a panel or a trolley first and test them on the real parts. Ask our team about sample quantities when you enquire.
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