3 July, 2019

Toyota Honours Camso as Key Partner with Awards

Posted on 3 July, 201925 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Camso has recently been honoured by Toyota with the Core Value Award: Respect for People (Toyota Material Handling) and the Global Contribution Award (Toyota Industries Corporation).

Core Values Award: Respect for People

The Core Value Awards are part of Toyota’s most important awards and granted to suppliers who are recognized as living Toyota’s values and who act as industry role models through their actions and results. Among the five categories (Respect for People, Customer Focused, Embrace and Drive Change, Teamwork and Family Spirit, and Professional Excellence), Camso won the Respect for People award.

“It is with much pride that our team accepted this Core Values Award,” says Gregory Lewandowski, OEM Sales Director, Material Handling, North America at Camso. “This recognition is proof that our values of Empowerment, Integrity, Teamwork, and Commitment resonate with our cutomers and are clearly visible and beneficial when interacting with us.”

Toyota defines this award as a recognition for partners that treat their associates [employees] as their most valued asset. Camso’s extensive training activities, onboarding and employee training programs combined with its active presence in communities around the world, are evidence of the company’s dedication to its people.

Receiving the Global Contribution Award a second year in a row

The Global Contribution Award is the most prestigious award presented to suppliers by Toyota Industries Corp. and recognizes companies who successfully meet Toyota’s requirements in providing premium performance products and outstanding service.

“For our team, this award represents the recognition of an increasingly strong partnership with Toyota Industries Corporation, and the important level of mutual trust between our organizations,” says Emmanuel Marchat, Representative Director – Japan at Camso.

Both awards reflect the strong partnership between the two companies on a worldwide scale and their commitment to improving standards in the material handling industry.

New Loadhog Branding Aims to Highlight Sustainability Focus

Posted on 3 July, 2019 by Keith McKinley

Packaging maker Loadhog has unveiled new branding to “emphasise its constant determination to drive innovation in returnable packaging”.

The Sheffield-based employee-owned manufacturer is committed to designing, developing and manufacturing new sustainable packaging and supply chain solutions which save companies valuable time, money and labour.

The new branding not only includes a new logo but also the Hogmark™ which gives Loadhog its own symbolic reference to industry standard and innovation in packaging. Like a hallmark is stamped on articles of gold, silver & platinum to certify its purity, the Hogmark™ will be stamped on Loadhog products to symbolise quality, innovation & environmentally friendly packaging.

Jake Charlton, Loadhog’s marketing manager, said: “Loadhog has come a long way since its birth in 2003 and has now reached a point when the company feels its original branding no longer fully reflects what the business is about.

“We are firmly committed to reducing logistics and packaging waste and known for genuine innovation in manufacturing products which provide benefits throughout the supply chain. The new branding is clean, modern and befits the quality embedded within the packaging we design.”

Alongside the brand launch Loadhog has also made various key website developments and digital marketing improvements to ensure efﬁcient communication to an ever-growing international market.

Industry View: Why Warehouses Need Durable Rugged Barcode Labels

Posted on 3 July, 201929 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Phil Deller, Business Development Manager at GSM Graphic Arts discusses the importance of rugged barcode labels within the warehousing and logistics industry, placing particular focus on how continued investment within the technology could see companies around the world reap the benefits for years to come.

What is a Rugged Barcode Label?
In simple terms, a rugged barcode label is used as an extremely durable way of uniquely identifying an item for recording and traceability purposes. This type of barcode works in exactly the same way that a standard barcode does but boasts a vastly improved level of durability. Where a standard barcode may be perfectly suitable for most types of packaging, there are some cases when a more robust form of barcode is required, especially when transporting goods which may come into contact with particularly harsh environments or transporting goods over long distances.

Investment in Rugged Barcode Labels
There has been a heavy emphasis from companies around the globe on ensuring that rugged barcode labels are used to the maximum potential in recent years. The industry as a whole has continually invested in labelling innovation, with frequent testing and experimentation taking place to ensure the final product is able to stand the test of day to day operational pressures within the warehousing and logistics sector.
Barcode technology is integral to modern warehousing, but while many warehouses utilise the technology, many could upgrade the quality of their labels to ensure that their product can still be read and included in their databases.

Benefits of Rugged Barcode Labels
There are a whole host of benefits that rugged barcode labels can bring to your business. In this section, we will discuss some of the most prominent.
Optimising your warehouse with durable barcodes is one of the easiest ways to save time by reducing any scanning issues, improving stock visibility in databases, and improving the tracking of items undergoing transportation. Gone are the days of your staff struggling to scan an item with a damaged barcode, wasting precious time.
Many products need labels that are built for rugged environments, which means creating the technology needed to produce sturdy, hard-wearing labels for a range of products. With such emphasis being placed on ensuring all barcodes maintain a high level of quality for a long period of time, the technology has been developed with longevity in mind.
A rugged barcode may be required to display two-dimensional data matrixes, interleaved codes, QR codes or universal product codes. Therefore, labels must be able to display a variety of information, which requires strong design work in the planning phases.

How Do You Create A Rugged Barcode Label?
Creating the perfect rugged barcode requires the label to be created from a suitable base material, though this will change depending on the application so it is vital that there is good communication about product intent.
An anodised aluminium barcode is perfect for environments in which a scruff resistant barcode is required or where a rigid tag is preferable. Alternatively, a stainless-steel base may be recommended if the barcode needs to withstand high-temperature applications or for applications where harsh solvents, fuel or oils may be present.
There are also a variety of solutions for displaying the information on the label, which can be recommended dependent on the label’s anticipated environment. Etched stainless-steel rugged barcodes may greatly benefit your product’s longevity.
In many cases, under-surface digitally printed plastic labels will be more cost efficient and perfectly suitable for your intentions. Combined with a durable finish and a clear substrate, plastic barcodes can be very visually pleasing.
Finally, you will decide on the adhesive of the rugged barcode. For an aluminium or stainless-steel plate, holes for a mechanical fixing may be incorporated at the design phase. Alternatively, a high-quality self-adhesive tape may be enough.

GSM Graphic Arts is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of high-quality labelling products and manufactures a range of specialist labels, nameplates, graphic overlays and rugged barcode labels using many different processes and substrates, including most metals and plastics.

Lifting Specialist Offers Health and Safety Tips

Posted on 3 July, 2019 by Keith McKinley

Health and safety are an integral part of lifting specialist LIFTEUROP’s CSR approach. For many years, the company has had in place a series of measures for effectively managing workplace health and safety. A policy that improves not only employee working conditions, but also productivity and, above all, product quality.

“We want our staff to work safely. We are implementing measures such as appointing, as required by law, a safety officer. His or her mandate is to provide workplace health and safety information, conduct risk assessments and introduce the measures needed to eradicate potential sources of danger. On a regular basis, we hold various health-oriented training and information sessions (noise, backache, etc.) for our employees),” explained Michèle Detaille, ALIPA Group’s Managing Director.

The first step needed in order to guarantee operator safety in the workshops is to maintain order and cleanliness. “It is very important to us that our workshops are neat. Many of our clients take notice of this while visiting the company. We have also put floor markings in place in order to improve traffic flow, define storage areas, etc. This way, everything has its place and we avoid accidents,” explained Raphaël Bozet, Workshop Foreman.

Anti-wear mats have been placed at all workstations in order to improve working conditions for operators when they have to work for several hours in the same spot. Some machines have also been improved. “For instance our sandblaster! We just installed anti-noise chambers to improve auditory comfort for operators. Just like our TAGMAKER (the machine used to make ALITAG nameplates), whose walls we panelled to reduce noise nuisance,” added Raphaël Bozet.

LIFTEUROP has been “Sécher & Gesond mat System” certified since 2014, as a result of these provisions. This label has just been renewed in 2019. Issued by the Accident Insurance Association (AAA), this label undergoes partial reassessment every year and total reassessment every three years.

LIFTEUROP was founded in 2010 in Wiltz, where it manufactures lifting equipment and accessories in its own workshops, equipped with sophisticated machinery, under the STAS brand, renowned for quality and design for more than 65 years. Certified ISO 9001 and 14001 and CSR, LIFTEUROP is integrated in the lifting division of the ALIPA Group, a Luxembourg specialist in industrial packaging and lifting, which totals about 130 employees.

Four Separate IMHX Stands for Combilift and Aisle Master

Posted on 3 July, 201925 July, 2025 by David Priestman

With around 15 exhibits at this year’s IMHX, visitors to the four Combilift and Aisle Master stands will be spoilt for choice. Some of the company’s larger products such as the Combi-SC Straddle Carrier will be on show in the outdoor area, and the stands just inside the entrance to Hall 18 will feature a wide variety of customised, innovative handling solutions that are hallmarks of this Irish manufacturer. Two new products are making their UK show debuts at IMHX: the Combi-PPT powered pallet truck and the Combi-CSS Container Slip-Sheet.

The Combi-CSS was designed for quicker and easier mechanised loading of long products into containers. It is a 30,000 kg capacity low free-standing platform with a dual-directional motor-driven pulling mechanism, on which a steel sheet rests. A full load can be prepared on the sheet which is then guided into the container and a 20’ container can be loaded in just three minutes. When fully loaded, a hydraulic rear barrier gate swings across the container opening and is locked in place. This holds the material within the container while the metal sheet is slipped out from underneath it.

The Combi-PPT, which won the Safety Category of the FLTA Awards for Excellence 2019, is a high performance pedestrian operated powered pallet truck, with capacities from 3,000kg up to 16,000kg. It enables very large and bulky products to be manoeuvred with ease in confined spaces, ensuring maximum safety when working in areas where other personnel are present, in production plants for example. It features Combilift’s unique, patented multi-position tiller arm that is used in all the company’s pedestrian models. This incorporates tiller and operator offset position with the touch of a button, allowing for excellent visibility and reducing crush risk to the operator.
Exhibits will also include small pedestrian stacker trucks, variants of the original multidirectional C-Series, stand-on narrow aisle forklifts, the heavy duty XL range, Combi-CB counterbalance design 4-way models and Aisle Master articulated forklifts.

Managing Director and CEO Martin McVicar comments: “We have an even larger stand space than at the last event which allows us to showcase our ever growing range and we will be sticking to our very successful IMHX formula – a mix of new products, live demos and entertainment!”

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