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Month: July 2021

Delamode secures new fashion clients

Posted on by David Priestman

Xpediator, a leading provider of freight and logistics management services across the UK and Central and Eastern Europe, has announced that its fashion & lifestyle division, Delamode International Logistics, has secured two new clients in the luxury and boutique sectors of the fashion market.

The clients are independent fashion retailer Kymina, a UK-based manufacturer of sustainable and environment-friendly swimwear and luxury brand Moose Knuckles Canada, known for its stylish take on functional outerwear, sportswear and accessories, whose products are sold in Selfridges, Flannels and Harrods.

Delamode is well positioned to fulfil the clients’ logistical needs with a dedicated fashion facility in London. For Kymina, Delamode is responsible for the storage of the clients’ swimwear range, picking and packing of orders and distribution of deliveries throughout the UK and globally. Similarly, upon arrival at Delamode’s fashion facility, Moose Knuckles’ garments are processed and prepared for dispatch to wholesalers, retailers and individual clients. In addition, as Moose Knuckles is a Canadian-based business, Delamode Anglia (freight forwarding division) is also supporting the business with regard to sea container import services and customs clearance formalities.

Earlier in the year, Xpediator announced that the UK logistics division – Delamode Plc (Logistics Division – Braintree, Essex), EMT Logistics (London) and Import Services Limited (Southampton) – was being integrated and rebranded to operate as Delamode International Logistics. As a result of the successful integration, the London fashion facility has been awarded bonded status as an extension of the certification granted to the Southampton warehousing facility. Bonded warehouses have the ability to defer import tariffs on clients’ goods until the items or distributed or sold, providing more financial headroom and time to choose when and where their products should be distributed.

Luke Croome, COO of the Fashion & Retail Division at Xpediator, said: “We are very excited to be working with these two significant fashion labels, who are both situated in the luxury end of the market which we are shifting our focus towards. The Group’s move towards integrating the division under one brand is already showing clear benefits, with the bonded status of our Beckton warehouse providing exciting opportunities for existing and potential clients as a true one stop fashion facility for all warehousing and logistical services.”

 

DHL to manage Lotus Cars supply chain

Posted on by Keith McKinley

DHL Supply Chain has been appointed by Lotus Cars to manage the iconic car maker’s inbound-to-manufacturing warehousing and transport operations for the next five years.

Commencing operations in August 2021, DHL is responsible for planning all logistics movements, worldwide collection and tracking of parts, inventory management, picking, kitting and sequencing of products, and shunting from the DHL warehouse to the Lotus Advanced Performance Centre and headquarters in Hethel. This will support production of the newly revealed Emira sports car, in the all-new Lotus manufacturing facilities.

DHL’s expertise in designing Auto-Mobility supply chains and optimising ongoing operations were capabilities key to the award.

Mike Bristow, Managing Director, Manufacturing Logistics UKI at DHL Supply Chain (pictured with Lotus Cars MD Mike Bristow at the world debut of the Lotus Emira last week at Goodwood), added: “Lotus Cars is an iconic British brand with a strong heritage and an exciting future ahead. We’re proud to be working in close partnership to develop an agile and resilient supply chain, delivered by a passionate team who are committed to its long-term success.”

Davies Turner enjoys Anglo-Dutch freight success

Posted on by David Priestman

Davies Turner’s business in the Benelux region has gone from strength-to-strength since starting a daily trailer service with Mainfreight in the trade between the Netherlands and the UK in June last year.

One year on, head of European network at Davies Turner, Danny Southby (pictured), says that the exclusive cooperation agreement with the Dutch subsidiary of global forwarder Mainfreight has been a great success since day one.

Southby notes: “Despite the difficult trading and operating conditions caused by the pandemic and Brexit, the daily service between Mainfreight’s 110,000 sq m (1.2 million sq ft) hub in ’s-Heerenberg and our regional distribution hubs at Dartford and Coleshill, has been maintained.”

The service offers a rapid collection and delivery system combined with full in-house Import and Export Customs solutions provided by dedicated Customs specialists.

While Mainfreight is present in a range of markets worldwide, prior to the agreement to work with the company in the Netherlands, Davies Turner already had a successful working relationship with the company in Belgium and France.

Southby explains: “The alliance is a sign of Davies Turner’s commitment to short haul markets such as the Netherlands and Belgium despite fierce competition, as well as maintaining a leading range of daily services to and from markets across Europe.

“For the Netherlands, we have daily services into our hubs in both Dartford and Birmingham, along with regular services to Manchester and Bristol.

“The arrangement has proved more than capable of coping with the effects of Brexit, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenges we faced were met head on, and together we found solutions to reduce the possible impacts. While there inevitably were some bottlenecks, as with all European markets, these have since been resolved.

“All our hubs that are involved in this operation are customs bonded for on-site clearance upon arrival, which helps smooth the customs clearance process.”

The Belgian market has also prospered under the partnership. The Belgian import service into the UK now offers direct departures from both Ghent and Genk – respectively, to the west and east of Brussels – offering excellent coverage of the country’s industrial heartland.

In regards to its operations with Mainfreight in France, Davies Turner operates a daily trailer service between Dartford and Mitry Mory (Paris). Southby says that via the Mitry Mory hub, Mainfreight’s good network and comprehensive distribution services throughout France, facilitates comprehensive coverage of the market, particularly for palletised freight.

 

Konecranes delivers order to Athens terminal

Posted on by Keith McKinley

In October 2020, Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), a subsidiary of COSCO, ordered two empty container handlers and one forklift from Konecranes to boost their fleet capacity at the Port of Piraeus, the main sea port of Athens, and the largest port in Greece. The lift trucks arrived in March 2021, when the three new machines joined four additional Konecranes empty container handlers already operating at the terminal.

China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is a world-leading shipping company headquartered in Shanghai. It is one of the largest container ship companies in the world, and has been present at the Port of Piraeus since 2009, where it owns and operates PCT. The terminal’s main activities are the loading and unloading of vessels and storage services for containers handled by the port. The geographical location makes the port a logistics hub for Europe, Asia and Africa, offering proximity to the Suez Canal, feeder connections to Mediterranean, Black Sea and Adriatic destinations, and multimodal access to the Balkans and Central Europe. These advantages ensure that there is a continuous flow of container traffic through the terminal. With a steadily growing volume, PCT ordered three more lift trucks for the terminal.

“We bought our first two Konecranes empty container handlers in 2017, and they’ve performed very well,” says Mr. Dimitrios Megalooikonomou Deputy Technical Manager of PCT. Mr. Dimitrios Avgeris Operations manager of PCT commented “Because of an increase in demand for our storage facilities, we ordered two more of the same in 2019, and we needed two more again this year. This time, we also decided to add a forklift truck for more flexibility in our container handling. Konecranes lift trucks have lived up to their reputation for outstanding reliability and productivity, and our drivers appreciate the ergonomic design especially suited for our hot climate.”

“Repeat orders from PCT demonstrate that they’ve been very pleased with the high quality we consistently deliver to all our customers in both products and services,” says Tobias Nilsson, Sales Director, Konecranes Lift Trucks. “Local agent Craneports helped us to quickly build a strong, trusting relationship from the very start, and have provided excellent spare parts and local support as well. We look forward to continuing our work with PCT for many years to come.”

Of the three new lift trucks that arrived at PCT in March, two were Konecranes SMV 7/8 ECC 90 empty container handlers, used for stacking empty containers up to 8 high, and featuring a high rear-mounted cabin to improve visibility. The third was one 20-ton SMV 20-1200 C forklift for general repair and cargo support around the terminal, with a lifting height increased to 7,000 mm, a customization for better access to the tall container stacks. In all three vehicles, an electronic warning system prevents overload, and the air-conditioning in the cabin as well as a hydraulic oil cooler and a turbo II filter make them particularly suited to operating in high outdoor temperatures. Their Stage V diesel engines follow the strict environmental guidelines for non-road mobile machinery in Europe while maintaining full power and load capacity. Fitted with a wide range of accessories and options, at their core is a set of quality components that provide stability, safe handling, and long-lasting performance through continuous operation in three shifts a day, for a total of more than 5,000 hours per year.

 

Euro lifting bodies collaborate for higher standards

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) and Erkende Keurbedrijven Hijs & Hefmiddelen (EKH ) have reached an agreement to ensure that the two organisations will work together more closely in the future, combining their high standards and extensive expertise to support each other’s membership.

LEEA is the global trade association representing over 1,200 members in more than 70 countries. EKH is an umbrella organisation for lifting equipment inspection companies, with 65 members based in the Netherlands. Sharing similar values, the combination of lifting experts will produce a synergy to deliver their visions and drive the industry forward.

Ross Moloney, CEO of LEEA said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with EKH, an organisation that is highly regarded and equipped with the forward vision necessary to help support the global Lifting Industry. In addition to being beneficial for our members, this move is about putting together a network of partners who together can make the argument for enhanced standards worldwide, which is a crucial aspect of LEEA’s international approach.”

Maarten van der Velden, Chair and Treasurer of EKH, said: “We are excited to be supporting EKH members through LEEA’s globally renowned gold standard offering. EKH sets itself the goal of raising the bar when it comes to the safety of lifts and hoists, and through working in partnership with LEEA we will enhance our cooperation to achieve the highest standards across a worldwide Lifting Industry.”

Kroger expands Great Lakes DC

Posted on by David Priestman

The Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer, is working with KNAPP to expand the capacity and enhance the capabilities of its Great Lakes Distribution Centre in Delaware, Ohio.

In order to supply stores in the region efficiently and quickly with fresh food, the Great Lakes DC is currently being renovated to add state-of-the-art technology – including KNAPP’s OSR Shuttle Evo and RUNPICK systems – and is expected to be complete this summer.

Improved efficiency for store replenishment

The Great Lakes facility – which opened in 2003 and currently services 115 stores in central and northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan and the Ohio River Valley region – will be expanded by 130,000 sq ft during the renovation.

Tony Lucchino, Kroger’s Vice President of Supply Chain and Network Strategy, said of the agreement, “Kroger’s investment in KNAPP’s latest technology allows the Great Lakes Distribution Centre to improve efficiency in replenishing our stores, enabling us to quickly deliver fresh food to our customers. The expansion of the facility is part of the ongoing transformation of our supply chain network, and this project will more than double our capacity while delivering innovation and scalability that can grow with demand. This collaborative project will allow us to better serve customers in the region.”

Innovative combination of technologies

The site will feature a unique combination of two KNAPP technologies: the OSR Shuttle Evo storage and picking system and the Robotic Universal Picker (known as RUNPICK). The OSR Shuttle Evo store delivers groceries in an exact sequence to the RUNPICK picking and palletizing robot, which uses an intelligent algorithm to build mixed loads of full cases, packs and trays fully automatically. Specially designed for the food retail sector, the RUNPICK system relies on KNAPP’s KiSoft Pack Master software to ensure load stability, shop-friendly delivery sequencing and optimum packing density on the load carrier.

Within a single cycle of movement, the robot moves and deposits several items at the same time, thereby increasing performance. Together, the OSR Shuttle Evo and RUNPICK technologies will deliver next-generation efficiency and performance increases for Kroger’s supply chain network.

According to the CEO of KNAPP Inc., Josef Mentzer: “The technology investment in the Great Lakes Distribution Centre has been designed to add a new level of flexibility to the Kroger supply chain network and deliver a resilient approach to investments in automation.”

CLICK HERE to see the RUNPICK solution in action.

JV formed to develop UK’s largest logistics site

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Oxford Properties Group, a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, and Logistics Capital Partners, a best-in-class developer and asset manager of logistics real estate across Europe, have formed a new co investment joint venture, to acquire a 734-acre site near Birmingham which they will develop into a major new logistics hub with associated rail freight terminal known as West Midlands Interchange.

Oxford and LCP will jointly invest c.£1bn to bring forward the project over a number of years, with Oxford providing the majority of the capital and working alongside LCP’s highly experienced and professional team as development manager. West Midlands Interchange will be a technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable development which meets modern occupiers’ efficient operational and environmental requirements.

Planning consent has already been secured by the vendors, which allows for the delivery of around 8 million sq ft of prime logistics space and provides flexibility around the project timeline and scale of units. Infrastructure works are expected to commence in the first half of next year with the first buildings starting on site in 2022 ready for occupation in 2023.

The site can accommodate new warehouses ranging in size from 200,000 sq ft to over 1 million sq ft, with building heights up to 30m. This scale and flexibility will create space for some of the most efficient operations in the country, maximising cubic storage capacity and the possibility for occupiers to deploy the latest technology.

West Midlands Interchange is centrally located in the UK, northwest of Birmingham in the key West Midlands logistics corridor and will deliver significant economic benefit to the region through the creation of 8,500 jobs and a further 8,100 indirect jobs. It is also expected to generate around £430m of local economic activity each year, and, through the supply chain, create over £900m of economic activity each year nationally.

It benefits from excellent transport connectivity to the UK’s major cities, ports and airports, with immediate access to the M6 motorway allowing 88% of the population to be reached within a four-hour drive, well inside the HGV single trip limit. As part of wider infrastructure improvements, Oxford and LCP will build a new link road to connect the A5 and A449, enhancing the resilience of the local road network to improve access to the site and achieve additional public benefit.

In addition, the project will create a new Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, which will provide intermodal access for occupiers. This gives the site a significant competitive advantage, with rail transport a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable option while also reducing congestion on the roads. The West Coast Main Line is already one of the most important freight routes in the UK, used by 90% of all intermodal trains, and its capacity likely to be transformed by High Speed 2, the next phase of the UK’s high speed rail network linking London with the North, currently due to open between London and Birmingham in 2026.

Sustainability sits at the heart of the site’s masterplan, which includes the creation and maintenance of two new country parks of a combined 109 acres that will achieve a net biodiversity gain across the development, 36% of which will comprise green infrastructure. Warehouse roofs will be built to accommodate installation of photovoltaic panels, enabling the generation of renewable energy.

In 2020, Oxford announced its intention to deploy £3 billion of capital in the European logistics sector over the next five years in platforms, developments and portfolios of scale. The company made its first direct European investment in 2020, with the acquisition of a 15-acre site in Heathrow alongside LCP.

James Boadle, Head of Logistics and Residential, Europe at Oxford Properties, commented: “In recent years we have significantly increased our exposure to the logistics sector globally through several major transactions, including making our first direct investment into European logistics last year with LCP. Logistics remains one of our highest conviction calls globally, benefitting from substantial undersupply of prime new space while the growth of e-commerce and demand for expedited supply chains continues unabated, accelerated by the effects of Covid-19.

“The transaction represents a rare opportunity to gain significant exposure at attractive risk-adjusted returns in an increasingly competitive landscape. We are pleased to be again working alongside LCP’s highly experienced and professional team as we deliver a best-in-class logistics park with occupier demand, technological advancements and environmental, social and governance principles at its core.”

Pierre Leocadio, Head of Investment, Europe at Oxford Properties, added, “This transaction presents an exciting opportunity to develop a market leading, prime logistics hub, alongside our trusted partner, LCP. Oxford is renowned for its ability to deliver major large-scale projects, and this aligns with our strategy to deploy capital at scale into the logistics sector. The inclusion of a new rail terminal in the masterplan allows us to create a site that has strong appeal to potential occupiers, while also helping reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain by reducing lorry traffic. The project will also create economic impact to the region through the creation of a significant number of local jobs.”

John Pagdin, Head of UK Logistics Capital Partners, commented: “We have been tracking this particular site for some time and are delighted to have secured the park alongside Oxford Properties. West Midlands Interchange is a fantastic opportunity to build out a uniquely positioned development scheme, allowing us to offer occupiers every possible size, scale, configuration and specification of unit with none of the usual planning delays or uncertainties often associated with schemes of this nature. We look forward to progressing first stage preparatory works and welcoming occupiers to this exciting project.”

The site was acquired from the shareholders of Four Ashes Ltd, a three way partnership including Kilbride Holdings and Grosvenor Group’s Indirect Investment business (Grosvenor).

Peter Frost, Director of Kilbride Holdings on behalf of Four Ashes commented: “Having successfully guided the development from its inception and earliest stages to development consent, we are pleased that partners Oxford Properties and LCP will bring funding and specialist expertise to enable the project to now fulfil its huge potential.”

Hörmann launches fastest-opening warehouse door

Posted on by David Priestman

Hörmann UK has launched a new high-speed industrial sectional door, the Series 60, which has been designed and developed to provide the Hörmann guarantee of quality construction, high security, and easy installation. When fitted with the new WA 500 FU operator, the Series 60 can achieve an impressive door opening speed of up to 1 m/s making it the fastest sectional door on the market.

Not only does the Series 60 door offer an exceptional opening speed, but optimised track radii and enlarged rollers result in up to 5 dB(A) quieter door operation together with improved stability, leading to low wear and smoother door travel. Easy fitting and maintenance are aided by reduced components and the provision of press-fitted screws, whilst transition sleeves provide a precise fitting of the track and radius. The door is delivered factory set to the optimum speed but can be easily adjusted and the speed varied to suit individual operational requirements.

For added security anti-lift kits are fitted on both sides of the bottom section of the door as standard, and optional RC 2 security measures are available according to DIN/TS 18194. Operator safety is enhanced by the inclusion of an in-line light grill which automatically stops the door if an obstruction occurs whilst the door is closing.

The new WA 500 FU operator features soft-start and soft-stop for gentle, smooth door travel, and constant travel speed for both high-lift and vertical track applications.

The set-up and commissioning of the Series 60 door is fast and simple with the provision of an innovative Bluetooth app. Accessible using either a mobile phone or tablet, the app provides users with friendly, easy to follow step-by-step instructions and also provides straightforward fault finding and diagnostic data.

As part of their strategy to improve and optimise warehouse operations, Hörmann UK is installing four Series 60 doors and WA 500 FU operators at their Coalville headquarters. The doors, which will each measure 5m wide x 4.5m high, incorporate a 42mm insulated panel and triple glazed vision panels providing excellent thermal properties.

Kerry Seager, Operations Manager at Hörmann UK comments: “The past nine months have seen an increased level of vehicle movements in and out of our Coalville facility as our levels of business continue to grow. When it came to replacing our existing sectional doors in our four loading bays the Series 60 was the obviously choice. Not only will they provide us with the opportunity to speed up and streamline our operations, but they will also help to lower ventilation heat loss.

“Speed and ease of installation is also a crucial factor as we are limited to amount of downtime available for each loading bay, with around 200 vehicle movements in and out the facility on a daily basis there is no room for delay.”

STILL secures 10th IFOY Award

Posted on by David Priestman

Numerous IFOY awards in the past are proof that STILL offers particularly efficient and robust industrial trucks and intralogistics solutions. This year, the Hamburg-based manufacturer once again impressed as a system provider in the international competition.

For the implementation of the new production warehouse of Danfoss Power Electronics in Tinglev, Denmark, the logistics provider received the coveted IFOY award in the category “Integrated Warehouse Solution”. This is the 10th time that STILL has won the title in different categories.

“The Danfoss project is an impressive example of how automated warehouses will be controlled, monitored and analysed in the future,” was the unanimous verdict of the international jury of experts. The implemented overall system contains known logistical components that are particularly forward-looking in their interaction – i.e., communication via interfaces for safety, function and optimisation using deep learning methods. The functionality of the real automated warehouse seems “exemplary” according to the jury’s verdict.

Cloud-based storage of real operational data

For the new Danfoss warehouse, STILL supplied a perfectly coordinated combination of three automated series industrial trucks (MX-X and EXV), including the installation of all system components. For end-to-end automation of the material flow, the series trucks are equipped with the iGo systems automation kit.

Identical components, controls and interfaces create powerful AGVs. These AGVs are controlled and monitored by a transport and traffic management system. Transport orders are generated by the WMS in the SAP host and transferred to the control system. This permanently generates vast amounts of valuable data, which is used to carry out a precise analysis of the automated warehouse in a cloud.

iGo insights

This data is evaluated with iGo insights – a tool that filters correlations from the wealth of process information in the cloud and provides specific recommendations for action. According to the IFOY jury, it is this analysis tool in particular that provides “further outstanding customer benefits”. In addition to technical problems with individual industrial trucks, it can also identify optimisation potential for the entire system, such as “bottlenecks”.

To do this, iGo insights uses the principle of machine learning. All data collected by the control system over a longer period of time is uploaded to the cloud for evaluation. The AI-supported software recognises structures in the data progression, calculates probabilities and thus enables proactive action.

Years of experience and research

Frank Müller, Senior Vice President Brand Management/Sales & Service Steering STILL EMEA, accepted the IFOY Award in Dortmund. According to him, the award is a well-deserved reward for the expertise in the field of automation that has been systematically built up over many years and for his company’s involvement in numerous international research projects.

Müller said: “Especially in the project that was now awarded the IFOY Award, we were able to bring in and apply the practical experience we gained from numerous automation projects realised in the past. This approach gives us a clear lead in know-how over our market competitors, which we pass on for the benefit of our customers.”

Benchmark project

The STILL iGo automated warehouse in Tinglev meanwhile has proven its worth. An initial analysis by the operator showed a cost saving of around 20%. In view of these figures, this warehouse is becoming a benchmark project: Danfoss is currently building a modern distribution centre in Rødekro using the same technology from STILL. It is designed for the automatic operation of 15 MX-X narrow-aisle trucks and 5 EXV high-lift pallet trucks.

Compact pallet truck added to Yale range

Posted on by David Priestman

Yale Europe Materials Handling has revealed a brand new compact pallet truck ideal for customers looking for efficient and dependable materials handling equipment. The Yale MPC15 compact pallet truck is the perfect upgrade from a hand pallet truck, offering an easy to use and low cost solution.

“We are pleased to add the Yale MPC15 lithium-ion compact pallet truck to our product range,” said Gianbattista Scaramuzza, Senior Product Strategy Manager – Warehouse Products at Yale. “The truck is efficient and reliable – ideal for continuous operations.”

Nurturing productivity

The lightweight truck boasts an ergonomic, multi-function handle with all controls within reach for the operator, reducing strain. To maximise the uptime of the truck, it is fitted with a LED display that gives a battery re-charge alert and provides on-board diagnostics.

“The powered travelling of the compact pallet truck can reduce operator fatigue, while the short battery exchange time helps to keep the truck on the go,” added Scaramuzza.

Affordable and robust

“Not only is the truck easy to use, but it is easy to maintain too,” said Scaramuzza. “Operators can place their trust in the high quality and robust components to complete the task at hand.”

The MPC15 compact pallet truck features maintenance-free components, such as a brushless drive motor and lithium-ion battery, helping to keep the cost of ownership down.

An Intelligent Remote Key offers easy selection of additional smart functions, such as operating the tiller in the upright position in confined areas and Turtle speed.

“All in all, the new Yale compact pallet truck would be a great asset to customers looking for something more than a hand pallet truck. It is designed to keep loads moving efficiently, helping to keep operations flowing smoothly,” concluded Scaramuzza.

 

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