Paving the way for the high-tech industry

With its 15th event, LogiMAT, International Trade Fair for Distribution, Material Handling and Information Flow, is celebrating "a small anniversary" this year, according to Exhibition Director Peter Kazander, Managing Director of Euroexpo Messe- und Kongress-GmbH, Munich. "LogiMAT has been shaped by almost one and a half decades of technological development, which have been characterized by such rapid upheavals and an enormous increase in the importance of intralogistics as hardly any other period before."

In particular, developments in information and communication technology, sensor technology, image capture, automation and robotics now characterize a standard that few people could have imagined at the time of the first LogiMAT in 2003. "At the first LogiMAT at Killesberg in Stuttgart, we had heated discussions about the introduction of RFID," recalls Prof. Dr. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML). "The Internet of Things or Industry 4.0 were still a distant vision back then. Today, we have the technology in our hands to realize the dreams of that time."

In the 15 years since LogiMAT first opened its doors, the trade fair has developed from an initially rather regional trade fair into the most important German, "but probably also the most important European trade fair for the intralogistics industry - or, to put it another way, for technical logistics," states Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Wehking, IFT Institute for Materials Handling and Logistics at the University of Stuttgart.

Photo: EuroExpo

"In its 15 years of existence, LogiMAT has grown into a leading international logistics trade fair," says Peter Altes, Managing Director of AIM-D e.V. And because LogiMAT showcases forward-looking trends and solution developments, the trade fair has, in his eyes, "developed into a home for the AutoID industry, which sees itself as an enabler for the optimization of logistics and production processes - in short: for Industry 4.0, among other things," emphasizes Altes.

With the range of solutions and information presented by the exhibitors, LogiMAT has not only covered the development of all AutoID technologies over the years, from barcodes and 2D codes to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Real Time Localization Systems (RTLS) through to sensor technology, image capture and processing, such as virtual reality solutions using data goggles. In the AutoID sector, the trade fair has thus developed into "the industry meeting place for manufacturers and distributors, solution providers and integrators as well as their partners, customers and interested parties", says the AIM-D Managing Director. This applies equally to IT and conveyor technology, forklift trucks, warehouse and packaging technology. "LogiMAT has developed into the information and market platform for intralogistics in German-speaking countries," explains Urs Grütter, President and Delegate of the Board of Directors for Sales Projects at Stöcklin Logistik AG. "At no other trade fair can you find so many suppliers on a wide range of logistics topics in such a highly concentrated form."

Shuttle technology has been making its mark since 2003:

First in the AKL, then in the HRL. And it goes on. The trade fair's consistent focus as an industry barometer and showcase for future-proof solutions - such as shuttle technology, space-saving storage and fast access - is key to this. Shuttle solutions have been shaping container storage in mini-load warehouses since 2003, then pallet storage in high-bay warehouses and now beyond racking systems into AGV applications - in future with robot arms and reaching into the crate. "The most important trends in recent years have clearly been the triumphant advance of shuttle systems and developments in IT, image processing, communication, modern energy storage and, last but not least, the increasing use of robotics," says industry veteran Peter Bimmermann, Business Development Manager at Vanderlande Industries GmbH. "They enable many of the flexible intralogistics solutions that are now generally 'standard'."

Intra says: Leaders of the table!

Off to Stuttgart! The Swabian metropolis is not only on the upswing when it comes to soccer: VfB Stuttgart and LogiMAT are at the top of their tables, one in League Two, the other when it comes to intralogistics trade fairs. While this may change again for VfB Stuttgart, as soccer fans of Bavarian clubs keep telling me, LogiMAT will remain at the top until at least 2018. Nobody knows what will happen then. But: I'll stay on the ball for you!

Developments that could be followed step by step at LogiMAT. Anyone who visited LogiMAT in 2006 already knew how e-commerce would influence logistics and what solutions were needed to meet the challenge. In 2007, IT web services, so-called cloud solutions, were presented, which at that time were still referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). In March 2009, the focus was already on the transformation from process-oriented to service-oriented software architecture, which today characterizes modern software solutions and forms the basis for digitization and the implementation of the future projects Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.

Michael ten Hompel is not the only one who raves about the swarms of autonomous vehicles

Accordingly, topics such as the integration of AGVs, swarm technology and end-to-end networking as benefits for intralogistics were already the focus of LogiMAT in 2009. "The Internet of Things was and is essential - from the first RFID projects to the global development that is now penetrating ever larger areas of logistics," summarizes ten Hompel. "We are working on swarms of autonomous vehicles, gesture recognition, digital glasses, intelligent shelves and once again we will see intralogistics world firsts in Stuttgart in 2017 that will change our future."

"Against the backdrop of technological developments, we can proudly point out that LogiMAT has paved the way for intralogistics to become a leading high-tech sector," summarizes trade fair director Kazander. "In all of this, we have never lost sight of people. What is aimed at an optimized human/machine interface in the solutions presented includes the team, the trade fair grounds and the trade fair concept on the part of the trade fair management. For trade visitors, LogiMAT remains a compact overview of the industry with added informational value, while for exhibitors it is a concentrated showcase and working trade fair with a feel-good character. Because despite all the technology and automation, the focus is on people."

www.logimat.de