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Day: 26 May 2025

Customer Experience Matters in Packaging

Posted on by David Priestman

Ecommerce, fulfilment, automation and sustainability trends have pushed the packaging machinery sector into the limelight and forefront of handling and logistics. David Priestman spoke to Coesia’s Fabrizio Sasdelli to learn about the wide range of products and solutions now available.

Coesia, head-quartered in Bologna, are perhaps a well-kept secret in the ecommerce and logistics sector, being a much bigger company than perhaps people realise, with 8000 staff, 20 companies, 87 manufacturing plants and a turnover of €2 billion. What readers will be interested in is what the company does in terms of wrapping, palletizing, robotics, carton boxing and end-of-line, fulfilment products. I asked Fabrizio Sasdelli, E-Commerce Business Line Director, about the different brands and divisions.

Fabrizio Sasdelli, Coesia

Fabrizio Sasdelli: As you mentioned, Coesia includes more than 20 companies, grouped into three main divisions. The Regulated Markets Solutions (RMS) division covers areas like packaging systems. The Consumer Market Solutions (CMS) division focuses on products typically found in a supermarket, such as powders, liquids and solids. The Industrial Market Solutions (IMS) division handles automation and includes companies brought together for strategic synergies.

Our aim is to combine expertise across industrial automation, software and process engineering. We have a strong engineering core and a central division that supports all group companies in accelerating solution development, including tools like digital twins for project evaluation. What sets Coesia apart is our ability to integrate specialised know-how across the group. The collaboration between companies acts as a shared platform, enabling the creation of customised and scalable solutions.

We provide packaging systems within fulfilment workflows, while also developing finished products. Our technologies support right-size packaging and efficient shipment composition, which help reduce environmental impact. The result is a smoother process, faster response times and high operational reliability. With our global footprint, we ensure continuous support to customers around the world.

Logistics Business (LB): What are the key product developments?

Sasdelli: We have two big groups: packaging-on-demand, and automation. When required we can also integrate the two. In terms of solutions, this includes carton packaging, box resizing, digital printing on demand, and printing in the box. Then we have all the robotics: palletising, robot picking, and AMRs, plus conveying systems, where we are very strong, and vertical sorters. Right-size boxing means that we do not have standard boxes, but we can customise size, based on random products, creating the right parcel.

LB: I want to go in detail about the Emmeci business and the fit-to-size carton machines.

Sasdelli: Yes, Emmeci offers a range of fit-to-size machines. For example, we can produce custom-sized American boxes that adapt to different product dimensions, from small items up to larger parcels. Each box can be individually adjusted, using data from the warehouse management system (WMS). The system supports both automatic and manual box definition, and the packaging process begins as soon as the product arrives.

The E-BFS is ideal for single or multi-item orders. It creates right-sized clamshell boxes, integrating box making, filling, sealing and labelling. It also supports personalisation, including printed invoices or marketing inserts, based on customer data. Return handling can be built into the design as well. The E-SWL produces right-sized paper bags in various formats. It includes an automated carton erector for minimal manual intervention and precise adjustment of box height. We also offer the Autobagger, a compact modular machine for shipping bags. It fits easily into existing operations and can run up to 1,200 boxes per minute, or less, depending on requirements.

We also provide a vertical bagger and a wide portfolio to cover diverse packaging needs. Few competitors can match this breadth. Our systems are highly customisable and scalable, with options for both automated and semi-automated setups. We tailor our solutions to match different warehouse configurations and customer workflows.

LB: You mentioned a few other products which we can talk about, such as Flexlink’s conveyors, palletizers, robotics, sorters, AMRs as well?

Sasdelli: Flexlink manages all the automation, which affects everything. It is very strong and is used to working with other group companies, connecting different machines and providing direction.

LB: Palletising, particularly robotic palletising, is very much in vogue now, isn’t it? A lot of companies are partnering and automating that part of the outbound process. What palletizer machines do you have? What is it that Coesia manufactures? Everything including the robotic arm? Or are you buying that from a supplier?

Sasdelli: We recognise the growing demand for robotic palletising. At Coesia, our company FlexLink offers smart, space-saving and easy-to-integrate solutions for both inbound and outbound operations. One of our key offerings is the RC12 collaborative palletiser, now in its third generation. It is ideal for end-of-line processes where space is limited, as it uses more than 50 percent less floor space compared to standard industrial robots. It is also very user-friendly. Operators can create pallet patterns without needing any programming skills, thanks to the intuitive software.

The RC12 can handle up to 14 boxes per minute using a double gripper. It meets international safety standards for collaborative robots and works safely without cages or barriers. For larger and faster operations, we also offer the RI20 industrial palletiser. This solution is designed for continuous use and delivers high throughput with great precision.

We also focus on software and system intelligence. Our in-house algorithms manage different box sizes efficiently. For example, we can use scanners to detect incoming boxes, buffer them, and then optimise pallet building. The system ensures fast operation, stable pallet formation and maximum volume use, even when box sizes vary by just a few millimetres. We are flexible when it comes to robotic arms. The RC12 integrates an Omron arm, but we can work with whichever brand the customer prefers. What matters most is providing a reliable and efficient palletising system that fits the customer’s needs.

LB: In terms of right size packaging, not wasting or shipping air has been a trend in recent years. We see this with companies that we report on in the sector like Spark and CMC. Bottom line, what kind of savings have you been able to make customers in recent years with e-commerce in terms of the right size packaging and reducing the amount of packaging waste, space and void in the final package?

Sasdelli: It depends on the application. There are cases where we used to have a standard size, where we have seen a lot of cases where they put inside 1:10 and 1:00. Just one book and 99% of the volume is fully empty! Like this we can save packaging by using the right size that can help in this way. When you are used to having a standard box and you have volumes that can change a lot, I think that you can really save a huge amount.

LB: Sustainability and automation. What would you say would be another big issue that you’re focusing on with customers?

Sasdelli: Sustainability is a major focus for us. We’re investing significant resources into programmes that directly influence the design and efficiency of our machines. We help customers reduce energy and material consumption, and our solutions often include tailored automation that meets specific sustainability goals.

Another key strength is our engineering capability. The Coesia group has built deep synergies across its companies, which allows us to offer flexible and highly customised solutions. We also have a strong environmental certification department that supports customers with compliance and optimisation. Ultimately, our aim is to design systems that reduce waste, minimise packaging volume and lower the overall environmental impact.

LB: I was talking to Jo Bradley at Spark Technologies about a year ago and I asked what’s your biggest competition? Expecting her to name other companies, she said actually, it’s the unavailability of manual labour. Lots of customers are buying automated packaging machines because they simply cannot get the staff to do the manual process. So most of their wins are actually replacing manual operations, rather than directly going head-to-head with another automation supplier. Do you find the same in most of your markets now?

Sasdelli: Yes, we see that trend in many markets, especially in Germany. Finding skilled labour is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly during peak periods or when companies scale quickly. Automation becomes the only practical solution to maintain efficiency and reliability. It’s not just about reducing manual effort, but also about ensuring consistent performance where labour simply isn’t available.

LB: Are there any typical packaging products that you don’t manufacture yourselves? I’m thinking of stretch wrap or shrink-wrapping machines, do you do you provide those as well or do you buy those in?

Sasdelli: In most cases, we can provide what the customer needs. When specific packaging products like stretch or shrink-wrapping machines are not part of our standard portfolio, we collaborate with trusted suppliers. We are always open to integration partnerships to deliver a complete solution. FlexLink, part of the Coesia group, has over 40 years of experience as a systems integrator. They are experts in designing complex automation setups and often work alongside both internal companies and external partners, including market companions. This flexibility allows us to choose the best technology for each project and ensure it fits the customer’s requirements perfectly.

LB: What would be the largest scale e-commerce projects that you’ve worked on recently, in terms of the implementation, number of machines or facilities?

Sasdelli: In our largest e-commerce projects, we typically combine two or three core machines with a full automation setup. End-of-line palletizing is almost always included. One of our key strengths is delivering both the packaging systems and the automation that connects everything into a complete solution. Depending on the project, we might integrate labelling units, palletizers, and robotic or manual workstations. For larger operations, we have deployed up to ten robots. We also create a digital twin of the entire system, allowing us to fine-tune performance together with the customer and ensure the solution is exactly right.

LB: You’re using a lot of simulation while you’re consulting for projects?

Sasdelli: Yes, we have dedicated staff who support simulation activities and can assist in creating complete models for each project. It is not just about visualising the flow, dimensions or footprint, but also about accurately sizing the system’s capacity. This includes determining how many workstations are needed to handle different scenarios. We evaluate various possibilities, verify the most effective solution and design the integration accordingly.

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Small Items Sortation, Big Opportunities

Posted on by Paul Hamblin

Eurosort recently appointed Rens Gehling as its new Commercial Director, with a brief to chart and deliver an even brighter future for the Netherlands-based sorter supplier. Paul Hamblin meets him.

In the increasingly dizzying world of logistics integration and automation, it pays to be a specialist. If you’re known – and more importantly, admired and respected – for a core offering, it gives you two tasty bites of the cherry; as a go-to choice OEM supplier for the big integrator players, as well as a trusted resource for direct customer sales.

Fact: the Dutch are good at sorting. Many of the big players in the field are Netherlands-founded and based and they continue to lead the way in innovation and efficiency in a sector which, thanks to ecommerce, has enjoyed a strong growth path over the past decade and more.

A fine example of all of the above is Eurosort, which also operates under the Distrisort brand. Tell us the difference between the two, I ask Rens Gehling, the new Commercial Director, appointed in a key leadership role to the Amsterdam-based company in January this year.

“Eurosort and Distrisort are two brands, but one company, same location, same people,” he explains. “Eurosort is a sorter OEM, developing, building and selling high-quality sorters, usually to integrators. Technically, when we deliver to integrators, we control the system with our PLC/software. However, in general terms, the word ‘software’ is considered to refer to the WCS, which is always integrator-based. Projects are flexible – they can be turnkey, they can incorporate controls or they can be mechanical only, using separate controls and software preferred by the customer. The point is that the customer has control and we provide what they ask for.

“Distrisort sells sorters direct to end customers. Usually, these are turnkey solutions, mainly in the fashion, consumer goods, and postal spaces. Our speciality is in providing our customers with solutions for high-speed, high-capacity lightweight products with examples of systems sold capable of handling 100,000 items per hour, which have given us a dominant market position.”

The company grew exponentially during the ecommerce boom part-driven by the pandemic, but Eurosort is certainly not resting on its laurels. Gehling is at Eurosort to scale the company still further. “I’m here to establish how we scale, how we make our success repeatable and predictable, to push on our business development and market intelligence to pinpoint where we see ourselves in 10 years time,” he reflects.

It’s a task for which Gehling is well qualified. Steeped in sortation technology after a successful career at Bowe Intralogistics, he holds two master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics and brings expertise in ecommerce, as well as significant legal, organisational development, and R&D experience.

Future Customer Needs

He knows the company is already successful at finding and retaining a loyal customer base – one client alone has bought as many as 90 sorters – and sees the challenge to be about identifying future customer needs and being ready to meet them quickly and cost-effectively. “For instance, we are making great strides in combining traditional retail sorting processes with ecommerce sorting processes, and greatly increasing the potential number of exits,” he reveals.

Are ecommerce and retail not the same these days, I query? “Ecommerce generally comprises batch picking of a low number of SKUs per order, whereas retail sorting may comprise dozens of SKUs per single order,” he explains.

Favoured solutions are often those which enable the customer to make maximum economic and practical use of precious space. Eurosort examples include the Chute Pitch Reducer, a door sited to stop a product from sliding down the chute in its track. The benefit is the opportunity to increase the number of exits in the sorter loop.

A further exciting innovation due to come on stream later this year is the Prote-E (a Vertical Exit Multiplier Module). It massively increases the opportunity to boost the number of exits for products of many sizes and weights, allied to an automated put wall system that exploits space to increase storage and separation options. “We specialize in customised, engineered exits, whatever is relevant and appropriate for the customer’s operations,” he comments.

Eurosort’s not-so secret weapon is its patented split tray sorter (also known as a Bombay or flat sorter), a simple, but ingenious idea to increase capacities at a stroke. “Single loop, cross tray, push, cross – whatever sorter type you need, just use a dual split and you have twice the capacity at the same cost. You just can’t beat it,” he smiles. “Everything you would want to do on a loop sorting operation, deploy a split tray, because it will give you simply the best ROI ever.”

Sorter Types Defined

To new customers not versed in the language of sortation, the terminology can be confusing. He provides an easy summary of each sorter type.

“With split tray sorters, the product drops downwards when it is selected for a tote or other destination. Most of the time that’s fine, but of course not every SKU or package can be allowed to drop, usually due to size, weight or fragility restrictions. So, anything non-breakable we can’t allow to drop, we then move to push tray sorters, where we push out the product to a destination on the same level.

“A crossbelt sorter is designed to accept items of greater weight and size and offers tremendous speeds and throughputs. Crossbelt sorters are very effective for fast movement of bulkier items but the downside is that they are more expensive, can’t handle small items well and add maintenance complexity. That’s where our cross tray sorter comes into its own, which I’d describe as a mini crossbelt. It’s cheap to buy and run, designed for small to mid-sized, non-conveyable items that are enclosed in a tray. Because this is our specialty, we wanted to offer this option to our customers. In fact, it can often be a much better fit than many crossbelt sorters.”

One future opportunity for Eurosort is in supplying space-efficient secondary sorters focused on small items to supplement existing larger solutions in a DC. Separately, the company is starting to see projects in which customers with lower capacity requirements are looking to combine inbound, outbound, consolidation and returns into a cost-effective single, closed sortation system.

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From Heritage to High-Tech Forklifts

Posted on by Peter MacLeod

In an interview with Stefan Budweit, President and CEO of Clark Europe, Peter MacLeod detects the brand shifting strategically in a more high-tech direction.

As the global materials handling sector undergoes seismic shifts – driven primarily by sustainability mandates, technological innovation, and evolving customer demands – Clark Europe is on a mission not just to keep up but to leap ahead. At the helm of this ambitious transformation is Stefan Budweit, its President and CEO, whose three-decade career spans major names like Jungheinrich, Toyota, and now, Clark, having replaced Rolf Eiten on 1st January this year. In an exclusive interview with Logistics Business, Budweit discusses the brand’s growth strategy, product innovation, and how a century-old name is reinventing itself for the electric age.

Growth-Driven Challenger

Budweit’s career journey mirrors the evolution of the industry itself. Starting in parts sales with Jungheinrich before taking on international sales roles, and later leading global key accounts at Toyota, he’s no stranger to operating at scale. “The transition to Clark was a chance to build something new,” Budweit explains. “At Jungheinrich and Toyota, you’re maintaining a large ship. At Clark, we saw the opportunity to grow from a lower base with fresh thinking. We had nothing to lose – only ground to gain.”

Now, with his promotion to CEO, Budweit is tasked with steering the next chapter in Clark’s storied history. “Taking Clark from a global ranking of around 14 or 15 to a top-10 position, that’s a task that excites me.”

Clark’s strategy isn’t about chasing every trend or copying market leaders. Instead, it focuses on aligning its products with customer needs, especially those of its core base: small to mid-sized businesses with fleets of up to 20 units. These customers, often underserved by larger OEMs, are facing the same pressures to cut carbon emissions and improve efficiency as the major logistics players.

“The role of the forklift hasn’t fundamentally changed – it still moves pallets from A to B,” says Budweit. “But the environment in which it operates has. That’s where we see opportunity.”
One of Clark’s key growth initiatives lies in its newly-announced crossover models, electric trucks designed for outdoor use, previously a stronghold of internal combustion (IC) vehicles. These rugged, high-clearance trucks can handle conditions where diesel and gas once reigned supreme, such as mud, rain, and uneven ground.

“These crossover models meet customer needs for performance and sustainability,” Budweit notes. “And because many big players don’t yet offer a comparable product, we see a real chance to carve out market share.”

Sustainability with Substance

For Clark, sustainability is a sales imperative. Across Europe, emissions regulations are accelerating the decline of IC trucks. Meanwhile, companies of all sizes face growing pressure to report on their ESG metrics.

“Even smaller customers now need to reduce their carbon footprint and report it in their annual reviews,” Budweit says. “We’re helping by providing electric alternatives and also by offering transparency in our own production and logistics emissions. ESG is now a core part of our value proposition.”

This shift is most visible in Clark’s electrification strategy. While IC trucks remain important in less regulated markets like Africa and parts of the Middle East, in Europe, electric models dominate, particularly in warehousing where electric account for around 65% of the market.

To serve this demand, Clark offers both lithium-ion and lead-acid battery options across its electric range. “Flexibility is key,” Budweit says. “Many customers start with lead-acid and upgrade later. Our trucks are designed to accommodate both.”

Another sign of Clark’s transformation is in branding. Gone are the cryptic model names, and in come the bold new product lines Raider and Renegade introduced at LogiMAT.
“The names help us position products for specific markets,” Budweit explains. “Raider is the entry-level option, cost-effective and durable. Renegade is for more demanding applications, with advanced features and premium ergonomics.”

The differentiation also allows Clark to tailor offerings across regions. While Eastern Europe may favour budget-friendly models, Scandinavia expects high-end features and comfort. With centralised product groups now coordinating global development, Clark is better equipped than ever to deliver region-specific solutions.

Going Digital

As the forklift industry evolves beyond the mechanical into the digital, Clark is embracing the shift. Its new fleet management system – developed in-house rather than outsourced – is a response to changing customer profiles and the rise of larger fleet operators.

“In the past, our customers didn’t necessarily demand fleet management,” Budweit says. “But as our client base grows to include bigger operators, we’re providing smart solutions, factory-installed, and fully integrated.”

Looking ahead, Clark sees potential in leveraging AI for predictive maintenance and safety features, particularly in real-time hazard detection. “AI is already playing a role in fleet optimisation,” Budweit says. “We’re integrating these capabilities to meet the demands of a more sophisticated user base.”

The Brand Comes Home

Founded in 1917, Clark invented the modern forklift. Today, Budweit sees that legacy as both a differentiator and an asset. “In many countries, when people say ‘forklift,’ they still say ‘Clark,’” he notes. The company is tapping into that heritage with a symbolic move: on 10th April, it officially returned its global headquarters to Dallas, Texas. “Clark is coming home,” Budweit says with a smile. “We’re reopening our US manufacturing base and reconnecting with our American roots.”

From rugged electric crossover trucks to AI-enabled fleet solutions, Clark is reimagining itself for a future that demands sustainability, flexibility, and performance. And under Budweit’s leadership, the company is not just talking about transformation, it’s building it one truck and one customer at a time. “The sky is the limit,” he concludes. Clark has no pretences to become another Toyota or Jungheinrich – it’s cornering a healthy market where a heritage brand meets future-ready thinking.

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