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Tag: narrow aisle

Scalable, Safe and Reliable Racking

Posted on by David Priestman

At LogiMAT 2024, which takes place at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre in Germany on 19-21 March 2024, global leader in warehouse storage solutions stow will be showcasing how it delivers a diverse range of scalable, safe and reliable racking systems that improve warehouse efficiency.

Ranking among the leading racking manufacturers in the world, stow specialises in the development, manufacturing and installation of top-quality racking and storage solutions. On Booth 3B67 in hall 3 at LogiMAT 2024, the company will be spotlighting its diverse range of storage solutions, from smart shelving units over mezzanine structures to various pallet storage solutions. These high-quality systems have been meticulously designed to meet the requirements of global and regional customers from all industries and to ensure swift and easy installation.

The company’s offering is a guarantee for performance and quality, which has been finely crafted over 40 years to provide a precise, robust and enduring foundation for all warehouse racking needs, as well as setting the stage for seamless warehouse integration. A network of nine factories and 20 sales companies worldwide accelerates supply times and offers close contact and localised support to customers, whether they are local or international organisations expanding globally, giving access to the same one-stop shop and an unmatched storage experience.

For the first time ever at LogiMAT, a live showcase of end-to-end material flow will demonstrate how stow integrates storage systems alongside the autonomous sub-systems of fellow stow Group company Movu Robotics, which is sharing the stand. From bin storage via precise piece picking, to efficient pallet transport and strategic pallet storage, the showcase will present the easy and accessible opportunities for racking customers to step into automation.

Experts from stow will be on hand to discuss how the company’s own growing international scope and its strong portfolio of successfully realized projects have improved efficiency for customers across the world, in a broad variety of sectors. These include logistics, automotive, e-commerce, grocery and retail, which will all be strongly represented at LogiMAT.

Whether you are local operation or a company expanding internationally and requiring support from its comprehensive global network, stow Racking stands out through its ability to serve your requirements to improve your company’s warehouse efficiency and boost continued growth in your business.

Philip Mylle, CSO of stow Group commented: “At LogiMAT 2024, we want to share all our racking expertise with our customers in a fruitful dialogue. In the fast evolving logistics environment, customers need to be able to rely on reliable and efficient suppliers, both in terms of cost-
effectiveness and supply chain. stow, as one of the world’s leading racking and storage companies, can be a valuable partner for national and international customers in realizing innovative and efficient racking solutions. Customers can rely on a broad product portfolio and global reference projects that we have successfully realized in all sectors over the last 40 years. We are looking forward to presenting all our expertise at this year’s LogiMAT, and to greeting all our valued customers on the booth.”

stow Group is one of the world leading suppliers of racking and automated storage solutions. The core activity is the development, manufacturing and installation of top-quality systems and solutions for warehouse operations. The company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. In 2023, the Group generated sales of almost €1 billion. It has an extensive pan-European manufacturing presence with nine production sites and a global distribution network. stow Group has two independent brands under its roof: stow and Movu Robotics, both headquartered in Belgium.

Narrow Aisle Announces Record Turnover

Posted on by David Priestman

Narrow Aisle Ltd, manufacturer of the Flexi Truck range of VNA articulated warehouse truck-based intralogistics solutions, has announced that in the financial year to December 2022, it recorded a global turnover of £31.6 million – the highest in the company’s history.

This is up from the £25.5 million achieved in 2019 – the year when the company was the subject of a buyout by members of its senior management team.

Narrow Aisle’s Chairman, Jim Porter, said: “Our employees have delivered another outstanding year of results. We are seeing the positive outcome of our long-term strategic focus on continually increasing our market share and growing key overseas markets such as India and the Americas.”

Jim Porter continued: “Our success in the United States, where we have signed distribution agreements with Dallas and Houston-based companies who are among the USA’s top independent material handling equipment suppliers and rental businesses, means that we can look ahead with confidence from a position of strength.”

He added: “Despite the global economic uncertainty created by events that nobody could have foreseen we have made excellent progress towards our various goals since 2019 by taking a long-term view and making strategic investments in our business while remaining agile and adaptable.”

The Flexi Truck’s iconic articulated design delivers safe and highly space- and throughput-efficient operation within narrow aisle storage units. Material handling costs can be reduced by up to 50 per cent thanks to the Flexi’s ability to load and unload delivery vehicles and transport pallets directly to and from their location within the storage unit. By eliminating this need for ‘double handling’ from the intralogistics process, Flexis allow users to reduce the number and type of lift trucks that they require.

With its headquarters, design and manufacturing facilities in the UK, Narrow Aisle Ltd manufactures each model in the Flexi Truck range to the globally recognised ISO and TPS quality standards using predominantly tier-one Europe-made components. In the region of 12,000 Flexi Truck machines have been supplied to distributors and users in over 80 countries worldwide since the articulated truck concept was pioneered by Narrow Aisle Ltd in 1990.

Narrow Aisle Announces Board Restructure

Posted on by David Priestman

Narrow Aisle Ltd, manufacturer of the FLEXI Truck range of very narrow aisle (VNA) intralogistics technology, ­­has announced a restructure of its board as it prepares to drive global development in 2023 and beyond.

With effect from 1 April 2023, Narrow Aisle’s current Group Finance Director, Donald Houston, will take up the position of Managing Director of all Narrow Aisle Group companies. He succeeds John Maguire, who will continue as an Executive Director of the business with responsibility for international development.

Narrow Aisle’s Chairman, Jim Porter, said: “We are pleased to confirm Donald’s appointment. Donald joined Narrow Aisle in January
2019 as part of the management buyout team and has helped the Group’s growth and success over recent years. John Maguire has played a huge part in establishing Narrow Aisle as a market leader and is an integral part of the company’s future.”

As part of the re-organisation Mike Hawkins has joined Narrow Aisle as Group Sales and Marketing Director. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, Mike comes to the company from KION Group where he was Director, Intralogistics.

Jim Porter commented: “Mike has been in the industry for 38 years and has a wealth of knowledge and experience which we believe will help to develop our business both in the UK and globally, not just in the area of VNA but also by developing our capability to provide full Intralogistics solutions.”

He added: “We are committing further investment across the business to drive penetration in a number of overseas markets. For example, we recently announced a major financial commitment to the USA that will see production output from our facility in Houston, Texas, increase appreciably over the next three years.”

Manufactured to the globally recognised ISO and TPS quality standards using predominantly tier-one German-made components, over 12,000 Flexi Truck machines have been supplied to distributors and users in more than 70 different countries worldwide since the articulated truck concept was pioneered by Narrow Aisle Ltd in 1990.

The Flexi Truck’s iconic articulated design delivers safe and highly space and throughput efficient operation within narrow aisle storage units. Furthermore, because Flexi Trucks can be used to load and unload delivery vehicles and transport palletised loads directly to and from their pallet location, ‘double handling’ is eliminated and fewer types of forklift are required. As a result, materials handling costs can be reduced by up to 50 per cent.

 

25 Years of Materials Handling Innovation

Posted on by David Priestman

It’s going to be a busy few months on the exhibition circuit for Irish materials handling specialist Combilift. It will be using the ProMAT event in March to kickstart celebrations to mark the company’s 25th anniversary. Amongst the many and varied exhibits that are always a feature of Combilift’s trade fair appearances, the 75,000th truck to roll off the production lines will also be on show. This model, with its special livery, will take centre stage at the booth and will be formally handed over to the customer during the show. An evening of entertainment and dinner for guests is also planned at a location close by the McCormick Place show venue.

As testimony to Combilift’s tireless R&D department, five new products will be launched throughout the year at various European trade fairs and in-house at the global HQ and manufacturing facility in Monaghan. The first of these will be unveiled at LogiMAT in April in Stuttgart. These will all feature the groundbreaking technology and innovation that has been a hallmark of Combilift products since the first C4000 multidirectional model first appeared on the market in 1998. More information on these new developments will be released in due course.

Further exhibits will of course represent the dozens of solutions that Combilift now offers for the safe, space saving and productive handling of long products, pallets and oversized loads. These will include multidirectional forklifts, sideloaders, pedestrian stackers and Aisle Master narrow aisle articulated trucks, all of which will be able to be seen live in action.

“We are looking forward to marking this company milestone at events and in person with our customers, dealers, sales personnel, representatives from the international trade press and of course our workforce,” said Combilift CEO and co-founder Martin McVicar. “Their loyalty and support has been pivotal in enabling us to achieve the amazing level of growth and success that we have experienced during the last 25 years. We’re not going to rest on our laurels though – you can expect more innovation from us in the next few decades to come!”

ProMAT: Booth # N6936. LogiMAT: Hall 9. 9B45

Intralogistics Fleet adds more Flexibility

Posted on by David Priestman

The Yorkshire-based logistics specialist Expect Distribution has added further Flexi articulated lift trucks to the already extensive fleet of Flexi very narrow aisle machines that are in operation across its multi-user warehouse facilities in Halifax and Bradford. Expect provide storage and transport logistics for a diverse range of clients and the trucks are required to meet the increased demand from medical supplies companies that are experiencing an unexpected spike in throughput of certain line items as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The latest models from the Flexi ACiON range – which are designed and built by Narrow Aisle Ltd in Tipton, West Midlands – have been supplied. Flexi ACiON trucks feature digital electric motor technology that allows all independent drive, hydraulic and power-steering motor functions to be controlled digitally to ensure the most productive and energy-efficient performance throughout the working day. The onboard battery system’s range has been increased by over 15% compared to the previous models. The collaborative robotic – or ‘cobotic’ – control systems at the heart of the Flexi ACiON 1500 model deliver highly integrated performance and result in greater reliability and productivity as well as significantly reduced running and maintenance costs.

The Flexi ACiON’s advanced suite of ‘cobotic’ technology is, in effect, connected to the truck’s ‘nervous system’ and it allows features such as the operator’s vision camera, height selection system and aisle sensing technology to be integrated without the need for hard-wired relays, contactors and so on. This means that far less components are required and, as a result, truck uptime is optimised.

“Flexi articulated VNA warehouse trucks have played an essential role across Expect’s intralogistics processes for many years and we are delighted that the company has once again chosen proven and reliable Flexi technology as the ideal solution for its materials handling needs,” says Narrow Aisle’s managing director, John Maguire. “Flexis are popular among logistics service providers who need to maximise storage density and require safe and efficient throughput and Expect is one of many third party supply chain specialists who recognise the benefits that articulated VNA truck technology bring to their business.”

Expect’s new Flexis have been provided on an inclusive rental package that means all planned maintenance and service is included in one competitive fixed monthly rental charge. http://www.flexi.co.uk

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