Day: 11 June 2019

In March 2019, Ports de Lille ordered four SMV 4545 TCX4 BH barge handlers, as their operations have been growing in the north of France. Two reach stackers will go to Port de Santes and two will be at Port de Béthune-Beuvry.

Lille is the third-largest inland waterway port in France, behind only Paris and Strasbourg. In 2018, it handled over 7.9 million tons of freight. As it continues to manage such large volumes, it must periodically upgrade its container handling equipment to ensure a continuous, efficient flow of traffic through such an important European transport hub.

Lille already had a SMV 4527 CB5 reach stacker. So when the need arose to start a new traffic line, intended to link Santes to Béthune, Konecranes was the obvious choice. The two barge handlers at the Santes terminal will help load departing ships, while the other two will stay at the Béthune facility to unload vessels upon arrival.

Barge handlers are reach stackers that have been specially adapted for loading and unloading the floating barges used on inland waterways. Scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019, all four of the barge handlers going to Lille have a first- and second-row capacity of 45 tons. With a wheelbase of 9,000 mm, they provide excellent stability and reach, and can lift up to 28 tons on the fourth row across a barge, which in terminal mode goes up to 34 tons.
TRUCONNECT Remote Services will provide both maintenance support and safety features like height warning alarms and speed limits.

“We’re excited to be working with the Port of Lille,” says Tobias Åkesson, Area Sales Manager, Konecranes Lift Trucks. “These reach stackers will help them to keep their operations smooth and efficient as they expand into additional working areas.”

Space-saving footprint like a desktop printer due to downsized dimensions, but powerful as an industrial printer – TSC’s new ML240P series covers exactly the niche of high demand in the market. Both versatile top-class all-rounders impress with their strong connectivity features and excellent printing quality while being extremely economical and flexible. The two models are equipped with a clear colour display ensuring a high operating comfort.

The thermal transfer printers ML240P and ML340P will be available on the EMEA market from June 2019. In comparison to the already very compact TSC models in this sector the dimensions of this new generation of high-performance industrial label printers have been reduced again significantly.

The intelligent combination of solid metal housing including media spindle, modularized base and modern printing technology enables a permanently steady, low-noise and at the same time highly effi-cient operation even with demanding applications. The adjustable longlife thermal printhead and self-diagnostic TPH Care mecha-nism ensure optimal print quality with various label materials. Bad dot detection offers the user peace of mind by alerting them to any pins in the head which might have blown – which otherwise would repeatedly produce unreadable barcodes without any way of notic-ing before it came to scanning.

The ML240P is available in 203 dpi printing resolution, the ML340P is available in strong 300 dpi printing resolution. Besides compre-hensive sensors and modern interfaces, both models in particular also provide the user with a high definition 2.3” colour display with intuitive, customizable operator guidance and six menue buttons as prominent standard features.

Material changes can be realized quickly because the cover can be lifted up entirely. Due to the sophisticated printing mechanism the replacement of printhead and platen roller is possible without the need of tools, saving time and reducing cost of ownership.

With their small footprint of just 818 cm² the new reliable printers can also be used in restricted working environments where space is a premium. The range of applications is not limited for the ML models: The spectrum ranges from use in warehousing and logis-tics including goods in and despatch to manufacturing as well as to product- and shelf-labelling in retail and labelling of sample tubes and patient wristbands in the health sector.

The UK’s top forklift truck drivers are invited to put their skills to the test by taking part in a live Forklift Operator Challenge, which is taking place throughout IMHX 2019 (NEC, Birmingham, September 24-27, 2019).

Organised by Talent in Logistics in partnership with UniCarriers, the Forklift Operator Challenge will see lift truck operators undertake a series of tests designed to show their skills, knowledge and understanding of the need for safe forklift operation.

Ruth Edwards, Business Manager at Talent in Logistics, says: “Forklift operators don’t tend to get highly recognised for their hard work, which is why we want to celebrate these individuals and encourage them to continue their efforts.
“The Forklift Operator Challenge will also demonstrate the importance of skilled, safe and efficient forklift operators to the productivity and profitability of any company.”

Chris Bates, Sales Director at UniCarriers UK, comments: “The operators taking part will use the award-winning Unicarriers TX3 electric counterbalance truck and UniCarriers will provide each entrant with a truck familiarisation session before they compete to ensure that they enjoy the truck’s new technology and extra features.”

Any qualified counterbalance lift truck operator can register to take part in the Forklift Operator Challenge by visiting stand 6B190 at any time during IMHX 2019 or by contacting Talent in Logistics in advance by email at talentinlogistics@capitb.co.uk.

Over 400 companies from around the world will be presenting the latest developments in intralogistics and supply chain technology at IMHX 2019, making the show the largest international logistics solutions exhibition the UK has ever seen.
Visitors can pre-register to receive a free IMHX 2019 visitor pass at www.imhx.net

Freeway Fleet Systems has launched a smartphone app which enables fleet managers to deal with important management issues while out of the office. The app provides instant access to key management data held on Freeway’s fleet management system.

The app has already been introduced among a number of Freeway users and is proving to be particularly useful in financial control where management intervention is required to authorise expenditure. Freeway’s all-in-one system handles everything to do with vehicle maintenance and compliance, including the management of labour, stock and purchasing.

Parts and equipment order requests raised by stores and engineering often require management authorisation. Freeway’s software automatically sends sign-off requests to the appropriate manager based on the order value and this can be approved or rejected by the manager using a smartphone.

“For managers, this is a brilliant addition to Freeway,” says Eddie Street of London Bus operator Tower Transit. “I don’t need to be at my desk logged onto my PC to deal with things such as PO authorisations. I can basically keep my finger on the pulse wherever I happen to be and know that I am not holding up any work.”

The app also allows those managing workshop activity to use their phones to assign work and deal with defects.