April 2021

Geest Line acquired

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Seatrade Group and Jamaica Producers Group Limited have created a joint venture to acquire Geest Line Limited, the operator of one of the leading shipping lines in Europe serving the Caribbean and Latin America markets for over 65 years.

Geest Line sees this acquisition as a positive development as both JP and Seatrade have strong track records in the trade and the regions served by the company and know the trade well. Geest Line will continue to operate independently in serving its existing customers and markets whilst looking for further opportunities to extend its trade.

Seatrade, headquartered in Curacao, is a worldwide leader in reefer vessel shipping services.

JP, headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, is a publicly listed company with global interests in Caribbean logistics services, port terminal operations, specialty food and drink production and agribusiness.

Yntze Buitenwerf, President of Seatrade, and Jeffrey Hall, CEO of JP, noted in a joint statement: “Geest Line is a company with a rich history of delivering excellent service to its customers on both sides of the Atlantic over the last 65 years. We look forward to working alongside Capt. Peter Dixon, Geest Line Managing Director, and his highly professional team in the UK as we continue this legacy and support Geest’s next stage of growth.”

Geest Line acquired

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by David Priestman

Seatrade, headquartered in Curacao, is a worldwide leader in reefer vessel shipping services.

Smart Pallet Mover provides performance boost

Posted on 19 April, 202125 July, 2025 by David Priestman

With the new Smart Pallet Mover (SPM), Interroll has launched a solution that can be adapted as a flexible and modular pallet management system to meet a wide range of application requirements in industrial manufacturing.

The customer and user benefits of the Smart Pallet Mover are impressive: Those who use it can now finally automate work processes in front of the machine production to avoid manual activities in safety-critical areas and manage the pallet work flow by buffering, sorting, sequencing and carrying at the right time to deliver significant improvement of the machine down time optimising the return on investment (ROI) of the machine production cells.

This not only eliminates costly production interruptions for material supply to machines, but also the risk of accidents during operation. In this way, productivity increases of up to 30% are possible compared to manual operation.

The Smart Pallet Mover is a pallet management solution for automating pallet transport in the vicinity of manufacturing machines and for production-related picking and sequencing processes, which can also be used in Industry 4.0 environments. The SPM is designed to transport, sort and buffer boxes or pallets weighing up to 1,000kg. It represents a mobile and autonomously acting material flow system that can be used, for example, as a cost-efficient supplement or substitute for forklifts or automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

The Smart Pallet Mover solution consists of various modules. The centre of the solution is a mobile unit (SM1000 Mover) that runs underneath non-driven conveyor sections and moves pallets lying on them. A transfer car (SM2000 Transfer Car) which moves on a rail can transport pallets between parallel conveyor sections.

“With this platform solution, which is unparalleled on the world market, we are tapping into the great productivity potential offered by production-related pallet management automation for our customers and users. A user-friendly 3D online tool, the SPM Layout Configurator & Pallet Flow Simulator, makes it possible to configure a system quickly and easily as well as simulate planned operation on the computer,” explains Jens Strüwing, Executive Vice President Products & Technology at Interroll.

The flexibility of this innovative solution, the use of proven technologies and a very short payback period ensure that users can significantly strengthen their competitiveness. As with all Interroll products, the Smart Pallet Mover is extremely easy to install, operate and maintain. The modular plug-and-play solution can therefore be put into operation without lengthy interruptions to production, even during modernisation projects.

Networking capabilities based on global data standards such as REST API and JSON ensure maximum compatibility and ease of use. The conveyor modules can be reconfigured very easily if required, and height-adjustable supports allow the system to be installed even on uneven floors.

Before the official market launch, the new solution had already won two internationally renowned awards. The Smart Pallet Mover won the Red Dot Award, Product Design 2021, for its exceptional design quality and degree of innovation. At the same time, the solution was chosen by the independent experts of the “International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year Award (IFOY AWARD)” in March 2021 as a finalist of this globally renowned intralogistics award.

With this new offering, Interroll is taking into account the fact that production managers are increasingly focusing on material handling, as shown, for example, by the survey “Production Logistics in Medium-Sized Businesses,” which Interroll published last year: The average degree of automation of internal material transport at the companies surveyed was only 53%. Almost every tenth company (9%) had a degree of automation of less than 25%.

Smart Pallet Mover provides performance boost

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by David Priestman

Mike Burke elected president of AMHSA

Posted on 19 April, 202125 July, 2025 by David Priestman

At its recent AGM, members of the Automated Material Handling Systems Association (AMHSA) voted to appoint Mike Burke as the organisation’s President.

Having spent over 40 years in the material handling industry, Burke has wide experience and has served as AMHSA’s Vice President since 2019. During this time, he has worked alongside outgoing President, Scott Chambers, in successfully raising the association’s profile and increasing its membership.

“I’m delighted to take over the reins as AMHSA President at an exciting time for the automated handling sector,” commented Mike Burke. “I’m proud of what AMHSA members have achieved over the past year, with automation helping to keep supply chains operating during the pandemic. With huge demand for intralogistics automation in the post-Covid and post-Brexit economy, AMHSA has a key role to play in enhancing recruitment, training and standards in order to meet this demand.”

A Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Mike Burke is passionate about improving professional recognition for colleagues in the automated handling industry. “This will be a key area of focus during my two-year term of office as AMHSA President,” said Mike. “I believe that we need to improve recognition for the engineers in our industry and that AMHSA can be instrumental in building partnerships with other professional bodies to achieve this.”

Mike began his career with racing car gearbox manufacturer, Hewland Engineering, where he started an HNC in Mechanical Engineering. He then moved to Cable Belt, bulk conveyor specialist for the mining industry, where he completed both the HNC and a degree in Mechanical Engineering alongside his role as a Project Manager. Mike has spent the past 35 years at E&K Automation Ltd (previously Indumat) as Project Manager, then Managing Director for seven years and now in the role of Operations Director.

Outside of business Mike enjoys spending time with his wife, children and three granddaughters, as well as cycling and DIY projects around his Edwardian home.

Mike Burke elected president of AMHSA

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by David Priestman

At its recent AGM, members of the Automated Material Handling Systems Association (AMHSA) voted to appoint Mike Burke as the organisation’s President.

Outside of business Mike enjoys spending time with his wife, children and three granddaughters, as well as cycling and DIY projects around his Edwardian home.

Beumer further invests in Codept start-up

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by David Priestman

The logistic platform of the start-up company Codept simplifies the data interchange between e-commerce and fulfillment service providers. Right from the beginning, the young company was supported by the Berlin-based company builder Beam, a spin-off of Beumer Group.

Now, the system provider has further invested in Codept, acquiring the majority of shares.

Codept is a cloud-based logistic platform for e-commerce, which offers flexible warehouse management and fulfillment throughout Europe. Suppliers gain easy access to a wide range of different logistics service providers with just one IT interface. The start-up company was founded with the support from the Berlin-based, autonomous company builder Beam, a spin-off of Beumer Group. The system provider has now again invested in the start-up company via the Company Builder and has acquired the majority of shares.

“Thus, we strengthen our strategic partnership,” reports Beam Managing Director Robert Bach. “We support Codept even more intensively in establishing the logistics platform powerfully and sustainably on the market, scaling it faster and expanding it with additional features.”

Today, companies from a wide range of industries across Europe already rely on Codept’s expertise. This particularly applies in case of high volumes and demanding goods such as bulky, hazardous goods or organic food. The integrative platform immediately makes a decisive contribution enabling users in logistics to reduce costs. In the future, data and sequences will be optimised by artificial intelligence.

“We are happy to seal a long-term partnership with Beumer Group,” says Codept Managing Director Felix Ostwald. “During the past two years we have cooperated successfully and are therefore glad to intensify this cooperation.”

He and his partner Jonas Grunwald will continue to pursue together their vision of a technology-driven, scalable logistics platform, using the new capital to enhance the team and thus, advance their technology and accelerate their Europe-wide expansion.

Beumer further invests in Codept start-up

Posted on 19 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Now, the system provider has further invested in Codept, acquiring the majority of shares.

GEODIS invests in Icheon multi-user facility

Posted on 16 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

GEODIS has opened a new multi-user logistics facility in Icheon, South Korea.

Responding to the recent surge in demand for supply chain services in South Korea brought about by dynamic changes in consumer buying habits through ecommerce channels, the new facility will provide additional warehousing and value-added contract logistics resources.

Located just 25km from central Seoul and a 90-minute drive from both Incheon International Airport and Port of Incheon, the new multi-user warehousing facility is strategically located in Icheon.

Completed in March 2021, the new premises provide a variable ambient environment with temperatures ranging from 5°C to 34°C. It will be maintaining a maximum humidity of 87% with ventilation system support and is compliant with the Korea Fire Safety Standards. This additional location brings GEODIS logistics footprint in South Korea to 65,000 sq m.

Sub-Regional Managing Director, North Asia, Chris Cahill, said: “In line with our vision of being the growth partner of our customers, this investment in additional warehousing resource is just another step in GEODIS’ commitment to support our Korean customers’ development ambitions and our own expansion into strategic markets.

“From inventory management of raw materials to finished goods, valued-added services and end-to-end solutions, our across-the-board provision logistics platforms facilitates faster speed to market for our customers’ products by being perfectly located to serve their target markets.”

Managing Director for GEODIS in South Korea, Benoit Brule, comments: “Our Icheon amenity is built to state-of-the-art specifications of a Grade A standard at a strategic location. The warehouse is open to all new business offering customers an all-in-one service, increased efficiency, full visibility and total control. Above all, we have a truly professional team of supply chain experts ready to support our clients in all their Contract Logistics requirements.”

GEODIS invests in Icheon multi-user facility

Posted on 16 April, 2021 by David Priestman

GEODIS has opened a new multi-user logistics facility in Icheon, South Korea.

Located just 25km from central Seoul and a 90-minute drive from both Incheon International Airport and Port of Incheon, the new multi-user warehousing facility is strategically located in Icheon.

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