Day: 14 July 2020

Drive system and motor specialist Bonfiglioli Group is to move its UK team to a new HQ.

Established in UK for almost 40 years, Bonfiglioli Group decided to merge the two facilities located in Warrington and Redditch and move into a brand new 26,000 Sqf (2,416 Sq.) facility located in Calver Quay Warrington.

Therefore, with the aim to increase synergies and give a better support to our customers, the Mobility & Wind Industries Business Unit focusing on the wind, construction, agriculture, electro mobility and marine machinery and the Discrete Manufacturing & Process Industries Business Unit focusing on light and heavy-duty industrial applications, have been brought together.

This new home for Bonfiglioli UK gathered all the assembly operations & storage of the products allowing more efficient processes to better serve the market. The Sales & Service department are also integrated to this new facility. The total number of employees is 23 which includes external, internal sales, accounts, assembly and warehouse personal. 2019 sales revenue were £34m.

This move will provide the company with increased space, improved logistics, up grading of its IT system with improved security and improved customer service. Better serve our customers thanks to complete and integrated solutions are always our number one objective.

Combilift is celebrating victory in the Warehouse Truck Lowlifter Category of the IFOY Awards with its innovative Combi-CS pedestrian counterbalance stacker.

The Combi-CS is the only pedestrian counterbalance stacker that will operate in a conventional reach truck aisle for space saving and productive storage and handling. It features Combilift’s unique, internationally patented and award winning multi-position tiller arm which can be turned to the left or right of the unit to position the rear drive wheel, allowing the operator to remain in the safest position – at the side of the machine rather than at the rear as is the case with other pedestrian stackers. This ensures optimum visibility of the load and surroundings as well as guaranteeing maximum safety in areas where other personnel or members of the public may be present.

Due to the current circumstances, the hundreds of people that normally attend the IFOY ceremony could not get together personally, so the organisers rolled out the virtual red carpet for the winners on the Internet on July 13^th 2020 at www.ifoy.org. IFOY founder and Executive Chairperson of the IFOY Jury Anita Würmser said: “Special times require special solutions and this year’s IFOY Awards were dedicated to the best innovations in intralogistics and moreover to the people who make intralogistics happen.”

Finalists’ products underwent stringent IFOY audit and innovation checks by industry experts and journalists from leading logistics media from 19 countries also tested and evaluated the equipment for qualities such as technology, design, ergonomics, safety, marketability, customer benefit and sustainability. Some of the jury’s comments on the Combi-CS were as follows: “The Combi-CS is a really compact smart pedestrian operated truck and a nice hands-on solution. It offers significant added value in terms of narrow aisle operation and safety in confined environments. It is a customer-focussed solution with a very high level of market relevance.”

Combilift CEO and Co-founder Martin McVicar said: “On behalf of the whole Combilift team I am delighted to receive the IFOY 2020 Award and proud that this innovative product has been recognised as valuable solution for the intralogistics sector. We extend our thanks to the IFOY jury for selecting us for this important award.”

For the first time, the winners of this year’s IFOY Award (International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year) were announced online via video due to the ongoing corona crisis. In the ‘Counter Balanced Truck up to 3.5 t category the coveted award once again went to STILL, in the form of its RX 60-25/35 electric forklift.

“With the high-performance version of the RX 60-25 STILL sets the benchmark for electric trucks in this segment. Never before has an electric forklift truck been so productive. Add to this the advantages of low noise, flexibility, lower costs for electricity compared to diesel or gas, easy operation, less maintenance and very predictable handling. All the criteria for a combustion engine killer are thus combined,” concluded the international jury. With this new electric truck in the 2.5 to 3.5 t weight class STILL offers a serious alternative to trucks with combustion engines. The jurors were particularly impressed by the lifting speed which is generated by the 25 kW pump motor of the RX 60. The test team measured a speed without load of more than 66 cm/s and judged: “A record in this class”.

However, the STILL RX 60-25/35 also set new standards in the tested combination of acceleration, driving and lifting. In this test it achieved a productivity of 363 pallets in eight hours. “The measured productivity has never been so high in an IFOY test,” was the jury’s conclusion.

Henry Puhl, Chairman of the STILL Management Board, sees the award as confirmation of his company’s consistently high innovative performance: “We have put a lot of development work and know-how into the RX 60-25/35. The result is a truck that stands up to any international comparison and, with its enormous performance spectrum has the potential to outperform trucks with combustion engines. I am delighted that the jury of international forklift truck experts has honoured our work by presenting us with the IFOY Award 2020.”