Day: 23 July 2019

Narrow Aisle Ltd – the VNA materials handling solutions specialist – recently hosted a series of distributor open days at its UK Flexi manufacturing plant in Great Bridge, West Midlands. Attended by some 200 visitors, the open days gave guests the opportunity to see a live presentation of the latest additions to the Flexi range of articulated forklift trucks – the Flexi LiTHiON.

Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the Flexi LiTHiON features state-of-the-art digital electric motor technology to control all drive, hydraulic and power-steering functions and is described by Narrow Aisle Ltd as a ‘tour de force’ in articulated lift truck technology.

“The development of digital multiplex control systems for our battery powered trucks’ key functions delivers a more integrated performance and results in fantastic reliability and higher productivity, combined with significantly reduced operating and maintenance costs,” said Narrow Aisle Ltd’s managing director, John Maguire.

With all drive, hydraulic and power-steering functions digitally controlled and integrated with the truck battery’s advanced software systems, the Flexi LiTHiON is able to perform at full power throughout a typical shift with no drop off in performance levels. This ability to distribute consistent power levels means maximum efficiency is achieved even during the busiest multi-shift operation.

Furthermore, Flexi LiTHiON trucks require no battery maintenance – the truck monitors the battery function constantly and reports the battery status in real-time. And the combination of fully integrated digital motors and lithium-ion power is so effective when it comes to eliminating wasted power that truck availability is typically increased by 25 per cent every day.

During the open days, Narrow Aisle also demonstrated the grocery retail order picking capability of its FlexiPiCK layer picking system.

Customers in the USA and the UK have adopted the layer picking concept as an effective way of reducing manual handling fatigue and accuracy in high volume case picking facilities. Layer picking allows retail customers to distribute fully locked multiple layers of products safely and effectively on pallets. Layer case pick rates of over 1500 per hour can be achieved with the FlexiPiCK and, importantly, the unit requires no additional infrastructure investments to implement. Users have achieved payback for the system in fewer than nine months.

Guests were also given a tour of Narrow Aisle’s Flexi production facility. The current site in the ‘Black Country’, which Narrow Aisle has occupied since the mid-1980s, has recently benefited from a sizable investment that has increased production capacity to allow the sustained and growing demand for Flexi trucks – both from within the UK and worldwide – to be met.

John Maguire added: “As sales of trucks in the Flexi range continue to grow, we have to ensure that our production facilities are able to keep pace with demand. The recent and ongoing investment in our UK manufacturing site is a reflection of our confidence in our business, our products and our hugely skilled engineering teams.”

DP World PLC handled 35.8 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) across its global portfolio of container terminals in the first half of 2019, with gross container volumes growing by 0.5% year-on-year on a reported basis and 0.5% on a like-for-like basis.

Strong performance across Asia Pacific, Indian Subcontinent and Africa drove growth in 2Q 2019, but weaker volumes in the UAE and Australia offset this trend, it said.

At a consolidated level, terminals handled 19.5 million TEU during the first half of 2019. Consolidated volumes in 2Q2019 grew by 10.6% on a reported basis but down 0.6% on a like-for-like basis. The strong reported growth in Americas and Australia region is due to the consolidation of Australia and acquisition of Pulogsa which consists of two terminals in Chile.

DP World Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “In line with our expectations, we have delivered a broadly stable volume performance in the first half of 2019. Encouragingly, despite uncertainty from the trade war, we have seen robust volumes in Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent, while growth in Africa remains strong. In contrast, UAE and Australia volumes have been soft due to a loss of lower-margin cargo and challenging market conditions. However, we expect a more stable throughput performance in the UAE for the second half of the year.

“On our broader portfolio, we have made good progress in strengthening our product offering, allowing us to enable trade and connect directly with end customers to deliver a range of logistic solutions. Our near-term focus is on integrating our recent acquisitions, managing costs and disciplined investment to cement DP World’s position as the trade partner of choice.”

Pallite, an innovative UK-based paper pallet and shipping crate maker, which recently secured over £1,150,000 funding on Crowdcube, says it will use the funding to ramp up production to ensure supply should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 31st October. The company says its products can help combat a potentially severe pallet shortage in that scenario.

Because they are made from paper, Pallite products are exempt from ISPM-15 requirements which require heat treating or fumigation of wooden packaging to prevent disease transfer. The EU applies lower standards to members, allowing untreated pallets to move across borders but this benefit would be lost in a no deal scenario. It has been reported that only 1/3rd of existing UK pallets would be compliant should we leave with no deal.

If suitable pallets were unable to be sourced, millions of tonnes of goods carried between the UK and EU may not be allowed to be transported. According to The Guardian more than 3m pallets move between the UK and EU every month and this scenario “could potentially lead to food shortages”.

Pallite’s products reduce raw material use and carbon emissions to help businesses reduce their impact on the environment. Its pallets and pallet boxes are up to 83% lighter than traditional wooden and plastic alternatives – which can weigh over 60kg – and this reduces emissions in transit. If 30,000 pallets were air freighted from the UK to New York using Pallite® rather than wooden pallets you’d reduce CO2 emissions by 4,612 tonnes.

CEO Ian Hulmes (above) said: “Any business concerned about being able to move goods between the UK and EU should consider our sustainable and regulation-exempt pallets and boxes to ensure they can keep their supply chains moving.”

 

Curtis Instruments Inc. has announced the establishment of the Curtis UK Engineering Centre (UKEC). The UKEC is a new Research & Development Engineering facility that will be located in the Newcastle / Sunderland area of England, a region that is rapidly developing into a high-technology hub.

The UKEC aims to expand Curtis’ industry-leading position as an expert electrification partner to OEMs and EV system suppliers. The UKEC will also significantly strengthen Curtis’ ability to provide first-class systems engineering services to the major UK & European vehicle and mobile machinery manufacturers.

This new engineering facility will work closely with existing Curtis global engineering teams in California, New York, Switzerland, and China, deepening the company’s powertrain electrification competencies. Ties with local colleges and universities will provide opportunities at the vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The UKEC will be a business unit of Curtis Instruments UK Ltd. in Northampton, England. Founded in 1974, Curtis UK is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year and operates as the sales, technical support and logistics hub for Curtis in the UK and Ireland.

Curtis is now actively recruiting innovative and capable engineers with mobile electronics experience to join the UKEC team. Further information on the opportunities available can be found in the careers section on our website www.curtisinstruments.com