Month: September 2019

Safety and assistance systems developer and supplier Elokon has not just one but two of its products shortlisted for this year’s BITA Design4Safety Awards, which take place during the IMHX show. The Elokon entries that impressed the judges are both designed to ensure the highest possible levels of safety and accident prevention in the warehouse when industrial vehicles such as forklifts, AGVs and cobots are working closely together and in proximity to the human workforce.

ELOshield, a finalist in the Technology Category, is a radio-based proximity identification system that automatically detects when a person enters the danger area surrounding a forklift. ELOshield creates warning and protection zones which can be configured according to a customer’s exact requirements. It can also be used to prevent collisions between forklift trucks or, with the stationary version, for monitoring danger areas such as busy intersections with high levels of internal traffic.

The VNA vehicle-pedestrian safety system ELOprotect has been nominated in the Industrial Vehicles & Ancillary Category. This self-actuating laser scanner safety system ensures maximum safety for personnel when trucks are working in very narrow aisles. It also offers anti-collision protection to enable the operation of multiple VNA trucks in one aisle at the same time, ensuring not only maximum safety but also high levels of productivity.

Both products will of course be on display at IMHX on Stand 6E214 along with other smart solutions for safer intralogistics, which will include an app-based fleet management system and new developments in the field of wearables.

MD Alexander Glasmacher comments: “Warehouse safety is our business and we are delighted that the judges have recognised our contribution to this. We look forward to finding out if we are winners when the results are announced on September 26 during the Logistics Awards. ELOshield and ELOprotect have won numerous industry awards so it would be great to add one (or even two?) more!”

Cimcorp has almost doubled the building footprint at its Finnish headquarters in order to accommodate continued business growth, higher production capacity and investment in research and development.

With the group’s revenue more than doubling in the past four years, Cimcorp had outgrown its existing facilities. To respond to this sales growth and the rising number of employees, Cimcorp acquired the plot of land adjacent to its HQ in 2017 and construction of the new production and office facilities began in summer 2018. The expansion secures 5,700m2 of additional factory space and another 2,200m2 of offices over three floors, including additional capacity for research and development. With this extension, production capacity increases by more than 100%.

Growth strategy
Cimcorp’s CEO, Masatoshi Wakabayashi, commented, “This investment marks an important step in the execution of our growth strategy. The building expansion will provide us with the much-needed space to continue expanding our product lines and solutions – which are in high demand – to better serve our customers with their intralogistics challenges. Sales are continuing to rise; in fact, we received our largest ever order in the intralogistics market – worth over 120 million euros – from the Spanish grocery giant, Mercadona, this spring.”

In addition to the new building, Cimcorp is investing in the renovation and refurbishment of its existing facilities. “Our expansion is much more than simply a new building”, explained Wakabayashi. “The premises merely facilitate our growth. It is the people who work in the buildings that optimize their potential and make that growth a reality.”

Investing in research and development
One of the teams moving into the new building is Cimcorp’s research and development (R&D) department, which will benefit from the new meeting rooms for collaboration, as well as quiet areas for individual working – a combination designed to foster innovation. There is a constant need for new solutions in intralogistics automation, as well as to enhance existing products to meet the demands of the rapidly changing business environment in which Cimcorp’s customers work. “Our strategic goal is to listen, to learn and to improve,” said Wakabayashi. “All our prototypes and developments are made with our customers, and the challenges they are facing, in mind. In order to succeed in this, we recognize that our employees are our most valuable asset.”

VanRiet Material Handling Systems, specialist in automatic transport and sorting solutions, is to present its flagship HC Sorter at this year’s IMHX in Birmingham. The company, well known for its high capacity shoe sorting technology, is putting focus on the UK market. From its facilities in Tamworth, fully equipped for local production, maintenance and service, the intralogistics specialist is ready to automate warehouses needing to become futureproof today.

The Dutch company now operates under the wings of industry leader MHS since its purchase last year. In recent years, more than 200 shoe sorting systems were installed across the globe in a variety of set-ups. Warehousing and distribution operations in the United Kingdom can adopt and implement this proven solution with ease.

Thanks to a very smooth sorting process, the HC Sorter can easily handle fragile products. Product are sorted at a speed up to 3m per second. The HC Sorter can not only sort very small and thin products, such as mobile phones or polybags, but also very large packages weighing up to 50 kilograms. An important improvement is the electric divert switch. ‘Every year we invest heavily in our HC Sorter, to make sure that it remains the industry leading shoe sorter, with the lowest noise level and the highest speeds.’, says Sales & Marketing Director Kai Ramadhin. ‘We explore the possibilities and listen to our customers about how we can help them better. ‘

At the stand on IMHX, the HC Sorter, the fastest closed-deck shoe sorter on the market, will demonstrate what shoe sorter technology can mean for industries in which high throughputs and late cut-off times are standard. The HC Sorter has a fully closed deck that ensures no dirt or pieces of cardboard get stuck inside the sorter. The deck also results in low noise and promotes safe working conditions for warehouse staff.

Come and see the High Capacity Shoe Sorter live in action on stand 20F40 in Hall 20 from Tuesday September 24^th till Friday September 27^th and learn how it could help solving your intralogistics challenges.