Month: June 2019

Alternative power solutions are a rapidly growing aspect of the materials handling industry as customers become increasingly guided by the environmental impact of their choices. Yale Europe Materials Handling talks about the benefits of lithium-ion.

Over the last decade, innovative energy solutions have proved to be a positive disruption to a wide range of industries, including the materials handling sector. When used in the right application, electric powered equipment can provide efficiency and savings for customers – but it’s not for everyone. Yale Europe Materials Handling has invested in a diverse range of solutions, its industry experts guiding customers to the most appropriate options to meet their specific needs.

The importance of understanding the customer’s application before determining the best power solution was something discussed by Veronica Grasso (above), Product Manager at Yale®, at a recent conference.

“Understanding the application is key and operations should take into consideration whether lithium-ion is the best solution for them. In many applications lead-acid batteries work extremely well and remain the best choice, while our efficient diesel and LPG machines remain the preferred choice where continuous operation or availability is necessary and trucks are stored outdoors or used in very hot or cold conditions,” said Veronica.

“However, it is important to note that customers are becoming increasingly guided by the environmental impact of their choices, as well as the total cost of ownership. As the capability of electric trucks increases with the introductions of new technology, customers are considering them in many more applications,” added Veronica.

Identifying the best solution
Yale offers a wide range of power solutions for its products, from internal combustion engines to fully electric power. One of the most popular of these solutions among customers is proving to be lithium-ion batteries, which can ensure greater productivity and improved total costs when deployed in the right application.

“Use of lithium-ion batteries has seen rapid growth over recent years, with more and more customers finding this battery technology commercially viable, from food and pharmaceutical applications, benefitting from the reduced risk of chemical spillage, to automotive, retail and logistics applications, reaping the rewards of utilising a single battery for a multi-shift operation,” said Veronica.

For a technology that is now considered mature and widely used, there still appears to be some uncertainty in the eyes of logistics operators: can lithium-ion batteries provide an effective and significant advantage over traditional lead-acid batteries? And is the higher initial cost adequately offset by a significant reduction in annual operating costs?

The reality is this is not a simple comparison between solutions and data – customers’ needs do not always correspond perfectly with the use of lithium-ion batteries. Yale provides support and guidance to its customers during the decision-making process, using its knowledge and understanding of challenges and pain points to advise on the best solution for individual applications.

For this reason the Yale approach is based on data collection related to the warehouse, and the use of the customer’s current fleet in order to perform an objective analysis based on their needs. Yale can create warehouse simulations that enable Yale industry experts to guide the customer to the most suitable energy solution.

The benefits of lithium-ion
The lithium-ion solutions help customers optimise their utilisation in multi-shift applications by eliminating the need for replacement batteries and battery change-overs. Space previously used for battery charging can now be used for more productive purposes, such as storage space or production.

“Fast charging times and opportunity charging capabilities allow Yale trucks to be charged during shift breaks, with no adverse effect on the battery life. This extends the operating range of the single lithium-ion battery to cover tasks traditionally accomplished with multiple lead-acid batteries, or with LPG and diesel trucks,” added Veronica.

Cost savings are significant compared to fuel-powered trucks and the efficiency of the lithium-ion battery is considerably higher than lead-acid. When coupled with time savings for battery exchange and maintenance, lithium-ion can give lower overall operating costs in more intensive applications.

“Lithium-ion batteries are virtually maintenance-free, require no periodic top-up of the water level as with lead-acid battery and have an increased number of charging cycles possible – as much as 3750 at 50% discharge vs 1200 with a lead-acid battery,” said Veronica.

Due to the speed of innovation, it is important that companies in the materials handling industry monitor trends in power solutions to determine what may be viable options for customers in the near future.

“We recognise power solutions for materials handling equipment are constantly evolving, that’s why we are always continuing to develop our power options and invest in new technologies to anticipate future customer requirements,” concluded Veronica.

For further information on the range of materials handling equipment from Yale visit www.yale.com.

Interroll has been awarded a new project from a South Korean e-commerce company. The order comprises the delivery of Interroll’s Modular Conveyor Platform (MCP) which is designed for highly efficient and flexible material flow processes. The contract amounts to a lower double-digit million Swiss francs range.

Based on the customer specifications, Interroll will deliver and install a complete conveyor platform that includes Interroll MultiControls as well as MCP modules. The solution covers a total length of 11.8 km at one of the customer’s distribution centres in South Korea.

The new order comes after Interroll received an order of similar size from the same customer in 2018 and delivered 12 km of its MCP as well as a previous first and smaller order in 2017.

“We are happy to once again be the preferred partner of our South Korean customer. The decision underlines the quality of our proven solutions for a best-in-class material flow that is adding value to the business of our customers,” says Dr. Ben Xia, Interroll Executive Vice President and Head of Operations Asia.

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.