The new K trucks from Linde offer lifting heights of up to 18 meters and added performance and safety. Photo: Linde Material Handling

The new MX-X (man-up) narrow-aisle forklift trucks with a load capacity of up to 1500 kilograms and "a driving speed that is unique on the market" of up to 14 km/h are high-turnover warehouse helpers in narrow-aisle warehouses in the paper and steel industry, in mechanical engineering, trade, logistics and retail. The cabin has grown by 50 millimetres, the residual load capacity has increased further and the picking distance has been reduced by 40 millimetres.

Strong line-up: The QuickPick Remote device fleet from Crown. Photo: Crown

"Lithium-ion technology as well as fully and semi-automated trucks will remain the focus of innovation for Jungheinrich in 2018," says Benedikt Nufer, trade press spokesman for Jungheinrich AG.

"Our activities are driven by the needs and specific requests of our customers," says Ken Dufford, Vice President Europe at Crown, who answers the first two questions together with his comments. "We are constantly working on expanding Crown's product range and further developing proven products. At the same time, we are looking at new technologies. We will continue along this path. Our claim is consistent customer orientation. We want to help our customers to become more competitive and are therefore concentrating primarily on the potential for increasing productivity without compromising on safety and ergonomics".

An overview of Jungheinrich's automated trucks. Photo: Jungheinrich

"The use of automation technologies is undoubtedly a key topic for the future of our industry. However, automation is not necessarily a panacea, as many people believe. We are interested in systems that can be implemented in practice and work flawlessly. Our successfully implemented automation solutions such as QuickPick Remote technology and the RFID-controlled Auto Positioning System for narrow-aisle forklift trucks are proof of this.

LogiMAT or CeMAT? Stuttgart wins

The answers to the question "Will you focus your trade fair presence and exhibits on LogiMAT or CeMAT or will you give equal weighting to both trade fairs?" show different preferences, but a clear trend.

"Our customers are equally keen to make contact with Still at both LogiMAT and CeMAT," emphasizes Thomas A. Fischer. "Our CeMAT stand also offers a larger exhibition area on the open-air site, which we use for further product innovations in the interests of our customers." "The focus is on LogiMAT, Linde will not be represented at CeMAT. Instead, we are once again focusing on our own trade fair, the World of Material Handling," explains Zierhut. "This very successful form of event has proven to be more suitable for presenting and explaining our wide range of products and services and their benefits. "Both trade fairs are equally important to us," emphasizes Jungheinrich spokesperson Nufer. "We adapt our exhibition content to the respective focal points of the trade fair. At CeMAT, we take advantage of the stand space available to us to showcase our entire product portfolio.

"As in previous years, Crown will be exhibiting at LogiMAT in 2018," says Dufford, "we will not be represented at CeMAT. And Mitsubishi's manager Schock emphasizes that "our focus is clearly on LogiMAT".

Not all applications and processes can be subjected to an efficient automation process. The productivity, throughput and flexibility of an automated forklift truck can often be significantly lower than that of a manually controlled forklift truck. We therefore follow a well thought-out automation of very specific warehouse tasks with the help of special forklift trucks for dual operation, which allow ad hoc switching from manual to automated mode and vice versa.

The second important keyword is "networking". Logistics managers need more and more information on the basis of which they can make important operational decisions, whether for fleet dimensioning, process optimization, improving safety, reducing costs or achieving productivity increases. One solution is the Crown Insite productivity suite, which combines the InfoLink fleet management system with the FleetSTATS fleet cost management system and provides valuable and scalable management information that quickly leads to significant cost reductions and productivity increases.

"The future of material handling machines is clearly electric."

Andreas Schock, Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks

We will continue to pursue and intensify this path. The forklift truck is increasingly becoming a data hub, and the possibilities offered by rapidly developing technologies still offer enormous potential.

"The future of material handling machines is electric," emphasizes Andreas Schock, Area Sales Manager at Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks. "We will therefore not only be renewing and improving some warehouse technology models such as the low-lift order pickers and trucks with driver's platform, but also our 48-volt three- and four-wheel forklifts. There will also be a significant expansion of the portfolio in the AGV sector, as automated guided vehicles are clearly part of Logistics 4.0."

The SENSiA reach truck offers six multi-directional drive levels and intuitive drive assistance. Photo: Mitsubishi forklift trucks

What trends do you see in the further development of your forklifts in terms of technology, equipment, drives, controls and autonomization? is the next question. "Efficient and fast warehouse processes are crucial for logistics companies," emphasizes Fischer. "Order picking is particularly important here, as it is the measure of customer satisfaction. The challenges to be mastered here are the increasing cost pressure due to the growing order volume in the booming online trade, the smaller number of items per order and an ever-increasing variety of product ranges and variants."

"We have therefore put our vehicle concepts in the area of order picking to the test in order to determine the extent to which further optimization potential can be leveraged, taking into account the customer's work processes, in order to optimally meet the constantly increasing process requirements," explains Fischer. "For us, the feel-good factor for people is the key factor here, as it plays a decisive role in determining the level of efficiency increases. The result is a veritable firework of new products for order picking".

In addition to the devices already mentioned, the new EK-X-10 vertical order picker is also briefly presented here. With a load capacity of up to 1000 kilograms and reach heights of up to 6350 millimeters, the truck, which can reach speeds of up to 10 km/h, can be used in a wide range of industries, including multi-shift applications. Thanks to the modular system and a wide range of equipment options, the truck can be adapted to different warehouse profiles.

"The 'intelligent' forklift truck, because it is networked and equipped with sensors, is gradually becoming a reality," emphasizes Zierhut. "In addition, a wide range of equipment features warn and protect drivers and warehouse employees against hazards with the aim of reducing accidents to zero. The enormous potential of lithium-ion battery technology in terms of the availability and efficiency of the equipment is undisputed, which has a positive impact on the cost calculation.

A further trend is towards customized concepts that cover the entire range of automated and manually controlled equipment. With a greatly expanded product range, Linde is developing into a solution provider for the entire internal material flow. This includes complete solutions with all hardware and software components as well as consulting and financial services.

"Comfort for forklift truck drivers and warehouse technology operators is playing an increasingly important role in all companies," says Andreas Schock. "Many companies are realizing that they can only work efficiently with comfortable equipment. This is why ergonomic aspects in particular are becoming increasingly important in the development of equipment. The further development of electric drives and research into better energy storage systems such as lithium-ion batteries and other systems is a huge field. An equally growing trend is autonomous working.

Order picking meets autonomization: High tech from Still. Photo: Still

Visitors to the two major logistics trade fairs can look forward to numerous innovations, as the answers to the following question show: Which devices, systems and services will take center stage at your trade fair appearances at LogiMAT 2018 and CeMAT 2018? Still will be presenting its new order picking fleet to trade visitors at LogiMAT. "The big topics at Linde Material Handling are lithium-ion battery technology, robotics/automation, fleet control and localization, products and services to prevent accidents (Vision Zero Accidents), intralogistics consulting services, new technologies/developments for more comfort, higher efficiency and lower costs, as well as an expansion of the product range to include additional models," explains Zierhut.

"Our order picking fleet is the newest on the market and offers numerous ergonomic improvements."

Thomas A. Fischer Still

"Linde will be taking a big look into the future and at upcoming market launches at the World of Material Handling 2018 in June next year."

"We will provide information about new products at our international trade press conference in Hamburg in January and at the LogiMAT and CeMAT trade fairs," says Nufer. "But this much can already be revealed: Jungheinrich will continue to live up to its claim of shaping the future of intralogistics in the coming year."

An overview of Jungheinrich's automated trucks. Photo: Jungheinrich

"In 2018, we will once again be presenting a new highlight from our extensive product range at LogiMAT," announces Ken Dufford, "more information on this at the trade fair. Crown traditionally presents its broad portfolio of products and solutions at LogiMAT and introduces innovations and further developments. For example, visitors will be able to experience new applications of the tried-and-tested QuickPick Remote picking technology live.

"The focus of innovation for Jungheinrich in 2018 will remain on lithium-ion technology and fully and semi-automated trucks and systems."

Benedikt Nufer Jungheinrich

"Our new low-lift order picker will be presented for the first time at LogiMAT," says Schock. "Our developments in electronically driven front loaders and warehouse technology will play a similarly significant role."

Reinhard Irrgang

Intra says: Pioneer

Anyone who lumps car manufacturers and industrial truck manufacturers together is comparing apples and oranges. And yet: the innovative strength with which the material handling experts are driving forward topics such as lithium-ion batteries or autonomous driving is impressive. Without any whining about government subsidies and so on. BMW, Audi, Daimler and co.: imitate them, please!