April 2021

Universal Robots develops cobot interface for Siemens

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by David Priestman

Universal Robots has formed a new partnership with Siemens’ TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) that will allow the integration of Universal Robots cobots into complex machine and manufacturing environments.

This new interface will facilitate a seamless integration process for machine builders and system integrators. Universal Robots’ cobots will become part of the Simatic Robot Library within Siemens’ TIA environment through an interpreter interface planned to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2021.

Mark Gray, Country Manager UK&I said, “Machinery and plant engineers as well as manufacturers with large production facilities will benefit from our cobots‘ TIA integration. Thanks to this new interface, they will soon be able to apply our cobots’ functional diversity, precision and repeatability within complex production lines, benefitting from all aspects of digitalised automation – from digital planning and integrated engineering to transparent operations.”

The holistic TIA Portal engineering framework supports users in planning extensive manufacturing automation projects. In November 2020, Siemens presented the Simatic Robot Library as an addition to this application: The comprehensive ‘robot library’ allows users to program their cobots directly within the TIA Portal via a unified user interface and to include them in their planning, which will now also include UR’s collaborative robots, greatly extending the range of companies benefitting from the cobot technology: Across industries, users will now encounter the UR cobots in the context of complete plant engineering solutions.

“We are welcoming Universal Robots as a new partner just in time for the start of the new Simatic Robot Library’s piloting,” says Tobias Fengel, Marketing Manager at Siemens Digital Industries. “We are delighted that we will soon be able to offer our clients a forward-looking solution together with the cobot market leader.”

Thanks to the TIA portal’s integrated design, users can now independently implement the UR cobots within major production lines and teach them functions such as jog mode or path point creation. The new comprehensive library allows users to download programming examples and use them to control the UR cobots.

“Our cobots have always been characterised by their intuitive handling,” Mark Gray explains. “Their integration into the TIA portal via the Simatic Robot Library now accelerates their integration and implementation into complex production lines. It also makes it easier to combine the UR cobots with technologies like Edge data analyses or cloud services and include them in the monitoring of plant conditions.”

Universal Robots develops cobot interface for Siemens

Posted on 8 April, 202125 July, 2025 by David Priestman

40 million sq. ft. of new UK warehouse space in 2021

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

The latest research from Knight Frank shows that 40 million sq. ft. of new warehouse space in developments larger than 50,000 sq. ft. is scheduled for completion in the UK during 2021.

This compares to the 20 million sq. ft. completed last year, as long-term strategic planning of retailers in response to ecommerce growth has led to a rise in development activity. Much of this new space is already committed, with retailers and distribution companies opting to satisfy their requirements through build-to-suit solutions.

Vacant warehousing remains tight across the UK, with 46 m sq. ft. of space currently available, which represents 10 months’ worth of supply at current take up levels. However, most of that space is in secondhand units that either do not have the right specification or in the right location. Due to robust levels of take up, the level of availability, particularly of high-quality space, has diminished over the course of 2020 and this is driving development.

In 2020 online sales accounted for 27.9% of total retail sales, and with non-essential shops closed ecommerce penetration rates reached a record 36.3% in January 2021. Retailers and distribution firms have responded by rapidly upscaling their operations by expanding delivery services, and this saw warehouse take up exceed 50 million sq. ft. in 2020, compared to 34 million sq. ft. in 2019.

Even as shoppers return to the high street, the internet will play a larger role in the retail market than it did before the pandemic. Retailers need to embrace omni channel retail to remain competitive. Knight Frank analysis shows that every billion pounds of online sales requires approximately 1.36 million sq. ft. of warehouse space. Online sales rose £34 billion YoY in 2020 and is expected to grow a further £41 billion over the next four years and this growth is driving additional requirements for warehouse space.

Charles Binks, Partner and Head of Industrial & Logistics at Knight Frank, said: “The robust forecast for online retail and increased competition for high-specification and well-located assets is driving development activity. Take-up over the past year has reduced the level of availability and Covid-19 has hampered construction, slowing the delivery of new stock to the market. Supply, particularly of high-quality space, has diminished. The level of occupier enquiries remains strong and many of the requirements logged last year have not been met. However, the availability of land or suitable sites remains a key constraint.”

Claire Williams, Research Associate at Knight Frank, said: “High levels of take up in developments larger than 50,000 sq. ft., and the chronic shortage of quality space, is encouraging both build to suit and speculative development. This is because many of the units currently available don’t offer the right space or the right locations to support the growth of online sales and B2C deliveries. There is a need for more urban warehouse space, located close to the customer, in order to replenish stock in the required timeframes.”

Competition for space will continue to drive rental growth over the next five years, as well as longer average lease lengths. The strongest annual rental growth is expected in London (3.2%), followed by the South East (2.7%) and Eastern (2.7%) regions. Returns for UK industrial and logistics over the next five years are expected to average 7% per annum, outpacing those on offer in other real estate sectors.

40 million sq. ft. of new UK warehouse space in 2021

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by David Priestman

The latest research from Knight Frank shows that 40 million sq. ft. of new warehouse space in developments larger than 50,000 sq. ft. is scheduled for completion in the UK during 2021.

SML launches high-performance RFID inlay

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

SML RFID has today announced the latest addition to its range of high-performance RFID inlays, one of the market’s first UCode9 ARC certified inlay – GB3U9. Designed to support retailers with a wide spectrum of inventory management and customer experience use cases, the GB3U9 is equipped with the latest RFID chip from NXP, UCODE 9, enabling industry best read sensitivity, resulting in high quality and rapid inventory counting in dense RFID tag populations.

Available immediately, the SML GB3U9 provides a high-quality RF performance improvement for any given sector. The GB3 inlay offers a unique solution for the retail apparel, footwear, cosmetics, and electronic industries. Featuring a 3D orientation design, the inlay can be used for item management across various materials, including denim, poly bags, apparel tags, and boxed items, and its broadband design offers outstanding performance across worldwide regulations to support retailers as they manage items along the supply chain from source to store.

The inlay, like any of the SML inlays, can be converted into an adhesive label, integrated price ticket or a sew-in tag form factor to support every merchandizing strategy. SML has a family of U9 based inlays that will also be certified in the next few months, establishing the benchmark in inlay performance for the retail industry.

The GB3U9 inlay meets a number of ARC categories, including Spec N, Spec Q, Spec M, Spec G, Spec F, Spec L, Spec W1, Spec W2, Spec W3, Spec W4, Spec W5, Spec W6, Spec I, and Spec K. Set by Auburn University, the ARC categories are a set of industry-wide performance requirements needed to ensure that the RFID technology meets or exceeds a performance level that benefits both retailers and suppliers.

Dean Frew, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of RFID solutions at SML Group, said: “As adoption of Item-Level RFID in retailers of all types continues to see dramatic growth, technology innovation like this tag is one of the elements fuelling that adoption. Our tests in retail store environments show that our U9 family of tags can reduce handheld stock count time while achieving >98% inventory accuracy, greatly enhancing in-store and BOPIS inventory availability. The tag will also improve accuracy in numerous retailers’ supply chain scenarios such as reading high density packed cases of product in-tunnels and dock door use cases.”

Dr. Jeremy Liu, Vice President of RFID Technology, SML Group, commented: “SML global innovation centres fully brought out the capabilities of UCODE 9 chip. The advanced antenna design of GB3U9 showed a great balance between forward and reversed sensitivity. It enables the inlay to provide an exceptional solution to the modern retailer’s inventory management requirements. The compact antenna design, along with global frequency operation and omni-directional radiation capabilities, has created a versatile inlay that perfectly caters to the demands of today’s supply chain and in-store operations.”

SML launches high-performance RFID inlay

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by David Priestman

12 Security Camera System Best Practices

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by David Priestman

Eagle Eye Networks, a leading cloud services security camera company, has published a White Paper authored by its CEO, Dean Drako.

Security camera systems are increasingly internet connected, driven in great part by customer demand for remote video access. The systems range from cloud-managed surveillance systems, traditional DVR/VMS/NVRs connected to the internet, and traditional systems connected to a local network which in turn is connected to the internet.

With cyber-attacks accelerating, physical security integrators and internal support staff must keep up-to-date on cyber security attack vectors which can impact the video management systems they sell and/or support. These systems require the same level of protection from cyber security vulnerabilities given to traditional IT systems.

The White Paper focuses on the best practices for internet-connected security camera systems. Many of these practices may be also applied to other physical security systems.

To download a PDF of the White Paper, please follow this link:

https://www.een.com/security-camera-system-cyber-best-practices/

12 Security Camera System Best Practices

Posted on 8 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Eagle Eye Networks, a leading cloud services security camera company, has published a White Paper authored by its CEO, Dean Drako.

The White Paper focuses on the best practices for internet-connected security camera systems. Many of these practices may be also applied to other physical security systems.

To download a PDF of the White Paper, please follow this link:

https://www.een.com/security-camera-system-cyber-best-practices/

Briggs acquires pair of Irish hire businesses

Posted on 7 April, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Briggs Equipment has completed the acquisition of Laois Hire Services Limited, one of the Republic of Ireland’s leading plant hire companies, and has also completed the purchase of the Dublin-based business Balloo Hire Limited, whose operation in the north of Ireland is already part of the Briggs Group.

These latest acquisitions further strengthen Briggs Equipment’s presence within the Irish market, and will help to diversify its product and service offering in the territory to now include the hire of plant, welfare units, pumps, generators, variable message signs and the provision of traffic management solutions.

From several sites across Ireland, Laois has developed a strong reputation over 20 years for delivering high quality plant hire services and establishing lasting relationships with a diverse customer group. Laois has also provided vital services to many of Ireland’s key infrastructure projects in recent years, including the development of Ireland’s motorway network and the construction of the International Terminal 2 building at Dublin Airport.

The acquisition of Balloo further advances the strategic diversification which began with the acquisition of its sister company Balloo Hire Centres Limited, based in Belfast in 2019. Since being acquired, the Northern Irish business has gone from strength to strength and by adding its sister operation, Briggs now hopes to replicate this success in Dublin.

Briggs says these acquisitions further demonstrate the Briggs Equipment Group’s long-term commitment to ongoing business development and underlines its position as the UK & Ireland’s leading asset management and engineering services specialist.

Peter Jones, Briggs Equipment’s Group Managing Director, commented: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of both Laois Hire and Balloo Hire Limited. Both businesses have a strong track record of delivering value within the Irish plant hire market and we’re confident that with the backing and support of the Briggs Equipment Group, the businesses will go from strength to strength.

“Over recent years, we have worked hard to build our presence within Ireland’s materials handling sector and we’ve had good success in this area. These acquisitions enable us to further diversify our offering and provide a comprehensive and cohesive proposition that now includes plant hire across the entire island of Ireland.

“Despite the challenges that the Coronavirus pandemic has presented over the past year, we are committed to pushing forward with our business development and acquisition strategy. This acquisition demonstrates the robustness of our business and our ongoing commitment to strengthening our market position.

“We look forward to working closely with the teams at both Laois Hire and Balloo Hire and supporting their future growth and product expansion as part of the Briggs Equipment Group.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Briggs, Laois and Balloo will continue trading under their own name and with all current operational contacts remaining in place.

Briggs acquires pair of Irish hire businesses

Posted on 7 April, 2021 by David Priestman

“We look forward to working closely with the teams at both Laois Hire and Balloo Hire and supporting their future growth and product expansion as part of the Briggs Equipment Group.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Briggs, Laois and Balloo will continue trading under their own name and with all current operational contacts remaining in place.

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