Month: April 2019

Hubtex has updated its modular development platform for electric multidirectional sideloaders – the largest in the industry – with its new PhoeniX range. The PhoeniX series will gradually replace all vehicles based on the ESTL platform. The first two models, with a load carrying capacity between three and five tonnes, will be demonstrated at Ligna Hannover (27-31 May 2019). Trade fair visitors can head to booth N65, west of Pavilion 33, to see the benefits of the new PhoeniX for themselves. The vehicles feature a highly ergonomic cabin and also offer optimal manoeuvrability and improved all-round visibility. The multi-way trucks are also Industry 4.0 compatible thanks to the new control system, giving the PhoeniX all the tools it needs to meet future requirements.

As with MaxX vehicles, drivers benefit from an optimally designed cabin in terms of ergonomics. Generous space and a lot of legroom mean maximum comfort for drivers. The new cabin also offers improved all-round visibility, especially past the right fork. The HIT3 operating terminal is equipped with a colour display that gives drivers a clear picture of all important settings and operating data. Additional functions were added to the HIT3 terminal for the new vehicle series. During development of the new PhoeniX series, the transverse cabin and all other cabin variants will be implemented over the course of 2019.

New platform with additional equipment
The PhoeniX development platform is the first to feature purely electric power steering for an entire platform. This means that steering noises are kept to a minimum, while also significantly reducing energy consumption. Users can achieve major efficiency gains by combining this steering system with inductive wire guidance. Equipped with the patented HX steering system as an optional extra, the forklift offers perfect manoeuvrability in all directions. Furthermore, Hubtex has further enhanced the smooth operation of the lifting mast, minimising vibrations and ensuring precise load handling. In this field of application and if required, the new electric multidirectional sideloader also features a weight and overload display independent of the lift height.

All set to meet future requirements
Even the standard version of the PhoeniX is already designed for gradual automation. A new generation of vehicle control system, pre-planned paths for cabling, positions for sensors and additional features underline the development platforms future-oriented design. If required, numerous assistance systems can also be integrated, such as laser-guided navigation, which will be available in the PhoeniX series for the first time. This new system ensures extremely precise vehicle positioning. “At Hubtex, decades of experience go into redesigning and further developing our tried-and-tested electric multidirectional sideloaders,” explains Hubtex Managing Director Hans-Joachim Finger. “We’re doing the right thing at the right time to ensure we are in the best possible position to meet the growing requirements in the Industry 4.0 era.” By developing the new PhoeniX platform, Hubtex is strengthening its portfolio of electric multidirectional sideloaders. Together with the MaxX and BasiX platforms, the company can now offer the right solution for any application in the handling of long goods.

All information on Hubtex’ appearance at the 2019 Ligna trade fair can be found at https://messen.hubtex.com/en/homepage/

Greif, a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, has recently invested in another state-of-the-art blow molding machine to double its in house production capacity for IBCs at its facility in Ede, Netherlands.

Also located in a cleanroom environment, the new blow molder machine operates with food safe hydraulic oil, active carbon filtered air and bacteria free cooling water, and will allow Greif to meet its growing demand for food grade IBCs.

The investment adds to the existing machine installed last year, boosting the output capacity of Greif’s Ede facility to over 1,500 per day.

“Demand for IBCs continues to grow in the food sector where product integrity and shelf life storage are becoming increasingly important,” said Luca Bettoni, Greif EMEA IBC and plastic product manager. “This additional investment boosts our in-house capacity and offers customers the reassurance of product protection against contamination.”

“Furthermore, the Ede facility recently achieved the FSSC 22000 certification for food safety, clearly demonstrating our commitment to providing the best level of service and quality of product to our customers.”

Greif’s multi-million euro facility in Ede has been designed to offer customers the very latest IBC technologies available to the market, with a specific focus on the food industry offering the highest standards in the IBC market.

It’s an age-old question in materials handling: how do operations increase productivity while driving down costs? For many logistics applications, the introduction of robotics offers a worthy return on investment. Yale’s Ron Farr explains.

“Industry 4.0 is evolving quickly, and so too is the technology to support it. Yale robotic materials handling equipment can operate without any added infrastructure and is unrestricted by fixed routes, offering great strides forward in terms of flexibility, ease of use and productivity”, says Ron Farr, Warehouse Solutions Manager for Yale.

As the competitive landscape continues to intensify, businesses cannot afford an investment that does not pay off, so translating these benefits from theoretical to tangible reality is key.

Increased uptime and productivity
Supply chain operations are under increasing pressure to get more done in less time with fewer resources. SKU proliferation and the desire for faster delivery times have defined a new “normal”, with services that were once considered perks, such as free two-day shipping, now an expectation for every order.

This demand has triggered a radical shift in logistics applications, with shorter delivery times becoming a driving factor for warehouse overhaul. In this environment, businesses have zero tolerance for downtime, and even minor interruptions can have a severe financial impact.

“Automation is a reliable solution to minimise the risk of downtime and unexpected delays. A robotic truck works relentlessly 24/7, only stopping for battery charging. Robotic trucks can be fitted with Lithium Titanate Oxide batteries, which can be opportunity charged very quickly and one charger can serve up to five trucks.

“Yale robotic solutions follow speed limits and respond to unexpected obstructions quickly and easily, reducing the potential for downtime resulting from impacts or interruptions and ultimately improving equipment longevity,” adds Ron.

Efficient route planning and adjustment
Automated materials handling equipment in warehouses has historically been bespoke, complex and inevitably expensive to both purchase and install, resulting in an inflexible solution that is unable to adapt to expansion or reconfiguration. Industry-leading Balyo geoguidance navigation technology is at the heart of the Yale solution, setting Yale robotic trucks apart from traditional automated guided vehicles on offer. With no dedicated infrastructure required, the trucks can operate autonomously without the need for any wires, magnets or reflectors. The Yale solution is fully connected to the customer environment and can be integrated into current processes quickly and easily.

“After consulting with our clients, we recognised that a major hurdle to introducing robotics in warehouses and production lines is the installation of dedicated infrastructure. Deploying Yale robotic solutions starts with walking the truck through the warehouse to build a map and learn the main routes, locate storage aisles and other characteristics. Yale robotic trucks, driven by Balyo geoguidance technology, use these existing structural features, such as walls or racks, to build a map of the facility, enabling them to self-locate and navigate in real-time without the need for any physical infrastructure.

“This innovative technology allows the equipment to find the most efficient routes, and adapt to changing inventories and workflows while virtually eliminating the ongoing structural maintenance associated with wires, reflectors and magnets. Even if the facility layout changes slightly and some of the reference points are moved or removed, the robotic equipment can continue to navigate using the remaining features, which gives operations a lot more flexibility,” explains Ron.

Reduced turnover and training time
High turnover rates for warehouse workers and the cost of filling newly vacant positions places operations under pressure. And while training periods for new employees vary, one thing remains constant – training inexperienced or unskilled employees is costly.

Implementing robotic equipment does not take high-value jobs away from operators. Instead, using automated solutions can help managers address the labour shortage and help curb turnover by freeing up employees to advance to more engaging, meaningful positions.

“Robotic trucks allow logistics operations to perform repetitive tasks, such as moving pallets and loading and unloading, in a more cost-effective way – saving valuable time and money. For example, the Yale robotic low level order picker identifies and delivers the correct pallet to the appropriate location using its barcode reader, allowing employees to focus on picking and packing orders as quickly as possible.

“This interconnectivity expands to the wider warehouse infrastructure too – sensors on conveyor belts can detect pallets at the end of the line and call for the robotic solution to collect the pallet and transport it to its next location,” adds Ron.

Real-time truck management
Whether used to plan labour, optimise fleet usage and maintenance or create ideal inventory flow, data can lead the way to cost savings and tremendous competitive advantages. Combined with telematics systems, such as Yale Vision, robotic materials handling equipment offers unparalleled visibility into overall processes and individual units, enabling adjustment and ongoing optimisation based on usage, congestion, maintenance and other data.

Yale robotic trucks fully integrate with existing Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, connecting data points and allowing real-time adjustments to be made. It’s possible to control traffic, assign orders to individual trucks and interface with equipment, such as automatic doors and conveyors. All Yale robotic trucks also have dual mode capability, meaning they can be switched to manual mode at the touch of a button, allowing operators to complete non-automated tasks without the need for separate equipment.

Yale robotics range opens doors for customers
Based on existing manual equipment Yale offers two other robotic models in addition to the MO25 low level order picker. The Yale robotic MO50-70T tow tractor and MC10-15 counterbalance stacker are suitable for a wide range of applications, while offering the familiarity, reliability and durability of the Yale brand.

“Our industry experts have carefully studied how to make robotics as cost-effective and productive as possible for materials handling operations. The Yale robotics solution is completely scalable from a single truck to a large fleet and as the Industry 4.0 trend continues, Yale robotics can open the door to automation to many who were unable to consider it in other iterations,” concludes Ron.

Paragon has enhanced its fleXipod proof of delivery system with a map-based ‘track my driver’ service. This functionality enables logistics operations to provide customers with access to live status updates on the progress of their delivery. Logistics operations will benefit from improved first-time delivery success, increased customer confidence and reduced inbound calls volumes.

Logistics operators using Paragon’s proof of delivery software now have the option to upgrade the system to include a link to the new driver tracking functionality in both emails and SMS notifications. The interface can be branded and customised to provide a range of relevant information such as how many deliveries are left before an order arrives, providing customers with accurate information about arrival times or windows so they can plan their day accordingly.

Accurate communications ensure a higher proportion of customers are available at the time of delivery to accept an order, freeing up office-based resources by reducing the number of inbound WISMO-related calls. In addition, customer service staff can be provided with access to the same tool, making it easier to resolve any complaints or queries.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems commented: “Real-time tracking and highly accurate communications have become increasingly common consumer expectations. As a result delivery operations across most industries are now under pressure to provide this detailed delivery information. The introduction of Paragon’s track my driver functionality using HERE’s Open Location Platform means that any B2C or B2B delivery operation can achieve this level of service. This latest development enhances our fleXipod proof of delivery system which already offers transport operations an easy-to-use, flexible tool that streamlines the delivery process and improves customer service.”

Rulmeca has launched its renewed TM400 motorized pulley generation. Thanks to optimized components, the new 400 mm motorized pulleys are significantly more energy-efficient and service-friendly while offering even greater robustness and therefore plant uptime, according to the company. Designed for the transport of bulk materials, the new motorized pulleys suit applications across many sectors – from light-duty belt conveyor systems in recycling, such as conveyors passing under magnetic separators; to medium-duty conveyor belts for mobile and stationary crushers, screeners and conveyors in the asphalt, cement and concrete industries as well as salt, sand and gravel works; to bulk material conveyors for the transport of grain and fertilizers.

The energy efficiency of the new TM400 motorized pulley generation, rated at 2.2 to 15.0 kW, has been increased by an average of 4.5% under peak loads thanks to more efficient electric motors with higher performance. Depending on the operating conditions, the resulting energy savings range from an impressive 12% to as little as 1%. When using the 15.0 kW class and working in two shifts with 90% utilization of nominal power, the average operating cost savings add up to EUR 467 per year, based on a comparatively cheap kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate of EUR 0.20. The eco footprint also improves substantially as CO2 output is reduced by 1.2 tons when using a conventional power mix.

In order to make the already highly reliable continuous operation of the bulk material handling systems even more fail-safe, the housing for the transmission components was optimized again, which increased the already high mean time between failure (MTBF) of the new Rulmeca TM400 motorized pulleys even further.

Thanks to greater component standardization, the new Rulmeca TM400 motorized pulleys have also become more service-friendly. Local service providers can now replace defective motor windings themselves, which minimizes downtime while making the global service network even more powerful and responsive. Rulmeca provides the required technical documentation and repair manuals upon request.

Rulmeca has launched its renewed TM400 motorized pulley generation. Thanks to optimized components, the new 400 mm motorized pulleys are significantly more energy-efficient and service-friendly while offering even greater robustness and therefore plant uptime, according to the company. Designed for the transport of bulk materials, the new motorized pulleys suit applications across many sectors – from light-duty belt conveyor systems in recycling, such as conveyors passing under magnetic separators; to medium-duty conveyor belts for mobile and stationary crushers, screeners and conveyors in the asphalt, cement and concrete industries as well as salt, sand and gravel works; to bulk material conveyors for the transport of grain and fertilizers.

The energy efficiency of the new TM400 motorized pulley generation, rated at 2.2 to 15.0 kW, has been increased by an average of 4.5% under peak loads thanks to more efficient electric motors with higher performance. Depending on the operating conditions, the resulting energy savings range from an impressive 12% to as little as 1%. When using the 15.0 kW class and working in two shifts with 90% utilization of nominal power, the average operating cost savings add up to EUR 467 per year, based on a comparatively cheap kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate of EUR 0.20. The eco footprint also improves substantially as CO2 output is reduced by 1.2 tons when using a conventional power mix.

In order to make the already highly reliable continuous operation of the bulk material handling systems even more fail-safe, the housing for the transmission components was optimized again, which increased the already high mean time between failure (MTBF) of the new Rulmeca TM400 motorized pulleys even further.

Thanks to greater component standardization, the new Rulmeca TM400 motorized pulleys have also become more service-friendly. Local service providers can now replace defective motor windings themselves, which minimizes downtime while making the global service network even more powerful and responsive. Rulmeca provides the required technical documentation and repair manuals upon request.