Handling Network Spring 2021

2021 spring SPRING Vol MMXX

The Irish Magazine for the Materials Handling, Warehousing & Logistics Sectors

MOFFETT e4 NX IFOY 2021 FINALIST

PREVIEW:

IFOY 2021 Nominees

BT Tyro Powered hand pallet truck

The BT tyro LHE130 is the new entry model perfect for light electric pallet truck applications. It can transport and lift loads up to 1300 kg. The LHE130 is available with li-ion technology for energy efficiency. It combines the features of a powered pallet truck with the flexibility of a pallet truck. The BT tyro is the perfect solution for hand pallet truck users who need that extra boost in productivity.

Price

Lithium-ion battery for increased productivity

Pin code for access control

Toyota Material Handling Ireland Killeen Road Dublin 12, Ireland

EX €1950 VAT

Effortless manoeuvrability, light and compact

01 419 0200 www.toyota -forklifts.ie materialhandling@toyota.ie

Ergonomic design perfect for confined areas

contents spring 2021

The Irish Magazine for the Materials Handling, Warehousing & Logistics Sectors

Volume MMXX Issue 1

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News

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Viewpoint – Zetes

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Awards – IFOY 2021

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Case Study – Jungheinrich

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Supply Chain

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Supply Deal

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54 Published by:

Fleet Publications, D’Alton Street,

Claremorris, Co. Mayo, Ireland F12 E7P2

Editor:

Jarlath Sweeney – jarlath@fleet.ie

Contributors:

Howard Knott, Rob van Dieten

Advertising:

Mary Morrissey

Administration:

Orla Sweeney

Design & Layout: Crackerjack Design House Contact Details: Telephone: 00353 94 9372826

Email: handlingnetwork@fleet.ie

WHO GETS HANDLING NETWORK? Handling Network - the magazine of the Irish Handling & Distribution Industry - is produced bi-monthly by specialists in the materials handling sector, with contributions by experts on topics of special interest to its readership.

Handling Network is distributed on controlled circulation; addressed to key personnel in Ireland’s top companies and organisations. Recipients include Company Directors, Purchasing Managers, Warehouse & Logistics Managers, Plant & Production Engineers, Transport Managers, Safety Officers and other relevant personnel.

Areas covered include forklift trucks, warehouse logistics, racking, storage & distribution, commercial vehicles, plant & equipment finance, lifting gear, loading bay and conveyor systems...together with information on health and safety issues.

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in Handling Network, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by advertisers, manufacturers or contributors or for opinions expressed.

Copyright for all material contained in this magazine remains with the publishers.

www.handling-network.com

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news

Schmitz Cargobull’s ‘new aerodynamic’ EcoGeneration offers fuel savings of up to 5% EcoGeneration vehicle concept: the new sustainable trailer concept with three versions, EcoFIX, EcoFLEX and EcoVARIOS, promises to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 reduction within the road freight transport sector.

Europe’s number 1 trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull has developed an aerodynamic body for the S.CS curtainsider semi-trailer, which enables fuel savings of up to 5% to be achieved.

The lifting rear section concept of the new EcoGeneration provides the trailer with its aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag. It can be easily raised if the trailer needs to be loaded up to the roof. This concept offers potentially high savings without additional expenses, especially when transporting heavy goods. All of this without significantly changing the trailer functions, transport performance and the familiar handling. The increased efficiency and effectiveness

of the aerodynamic body in providing excellent sustainability through maximum fuel savings does not come at the cost of expensive, easily damaged attachments.

“If only 50% of all journeys are made in ‘aerodynamic’ mode and 50% in ‘volume’ mode, without the body lowered, the EcoFlex achieves conservatively calculated savings of €7,700 for 1 million km or more than €900 per year. The environmental burden is reduced by 2.3 tonnes of CO2 per year,” explained Andreas Schmitz; CEO, Schmitz Cargobull on a web conference to the trade press.

Schmitz Cargobull offers three different versions of the EcoGeneration: The EcoFIX body is ideal for transporting horizontal, flat and heavy goods such as steel and paper rolls. With its reduced weight and fixed rear, the vehicle offers an overall front height of four metres. Equipped with the right tarpaulin design, the payload-optimised vehicle represents a fuel-saving alternative thanks to its reduced weight and aerodynamic design.

The EcoFLEX features a flexible lowerable tail end. At maximum extension, it has a total height of four metres at the front and rear. At the same time, the curtain height adjusts to match the body with the option of flexibly raising the rear when the full loading volume is mood. The resulting aerodynamic shape can optimise fuel savings. This body is ideal for general cargo and beverage transport.

The EcoVARIOS is an option for high-volume goods carriage and also the automotive industry when transporting three stacked pallet cages, for example. Both the front and rear sections of the body can be flexibly adjusted. This variant offers an interior height of three metres and a total height of four metres. This trailer provides fuel savings when the entire interior height of three metres is not required.

The first versions with the new aerodynamic body shapes have already been produced and are undergoing field testing in cooperation with leading transport operators. Sales orders are now being taken and series production will commence by Q2, 2021.

Another major award for the 100% electric Irizar ie truck The Irizar ie truck, the multi-functional electric chassis-platform has won another new award, becoming the Ecological Industrial Vehicle of the Year 2021 in Spain, an award given by Grupo Editec.

Organised by the publisher of the magazines Transporte 3 and Viajeros, the fifty member jury, consisting of experts and business people in the goods and passenger transport sector, recognised the Irizar ie truck on a number of factors, particularly its versatility.

This prize is added to those obtained in 2019 and 2020, where the Irizar ie truck, which was jointly developed with FCC Medio Ambiente, was the winner of the World Smart

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City Awards in the Innovative Idea category, as part of the Smart City Expo World Congress 2019 and the European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) in the Product and/or Service category.

This is the third time that Irizar e-mobility vehicles have been nominated Ecological Industrial Vehicle of the Year. In 2016 the i2e electric bus won the award. Two years later, in 2018, the Irizar ie tram won the prize and this year the Irizar ie truck received the recognition.

In the words of a delighted Imanol Rego, General Manager of Irizar

e-mobility: “This award is a recognition of our efforts towards innovation in electromobility in urban/metropolitan environments. We are very proud that we have found the solution enabling us to contribute to drastic reductions in noise, pollutants and CO2 emissions”.

The Ecological Industrial Vehicle of the Year is a mixed category of the National Transport Awards covering both passenger and freight models.

ADDING GREEN TO FUTURE LOGISTICS

THE NEXT GENERATION MOFFETT ESERIES NX QUIET, STRONG AND 100% ELECTRIC An entirely new range of all-electric truck mounted forklifts, equipped with the latest Lithium-ion battery technology and all-wheel drive to make your deliveries even quicker and smoother.

Ideal for moving goods from outside to inside, distribution at night and deliveries within Low Emission Zones.

Cargotec Ireland Limited Ardee Road, Dundalk, Co. Louth +353 (0)42 9359500 moffett.forklift@hiab.com www.hiab.com

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viewpoint

ZETES - Meeting Transport & Logistics Current Challenges & Customer Demands Interview with Paul Rogers – Zetes Sales Manager

Over the past year or so, the transport and logistics sectors have had to meet new challenges to meet demand and new working methods - has Zetes adapted also?

Of course, like every business we have had to adapt to what we hope is a temporary new norm.

As a supplier to many of the largest transport and logistics companies we have been on hand to support them,

as we have seen this year all the main delivery companies have experienced levels of growth that few could have imagined when they were building their business plans for 2020.

Have you introduced new products and services?

Zetes continually launches new products, software modules and services in a normal year and 2020 was no exception. The major change was that we were being asked by customers to provide solutions that allowed them to effectively manage their Covid-19 obligations. With this in mind we launched solutions that tracked the temperature of workers, traffic light

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systems based on capacities, solutions that monitored and reported on when employees were within 2 metres of each other and Ultraviolet device disinfection for mobile computers, scanners, printers.

Has the peak seasonal aspect of on-line shopping changed as the restrictions from the global Coronavirus continue?

Our customers have told us that they were experiencing Christmas trading [levels] in the very early days of lockdown 1 and very quickly they were at volumes 30 to 60% higher than that.

They also shared that they saw large ticket items normally associated with Christmas as far back as the Summer as consumers were purchasing. Black Friday and Cyber Monday volumes continue to rise year on year and our retail customers have reported seeing huge increases in purchases.

Can the logistics supply chain continue to cope and how can Zetes help?

It is Zetes’ assertion that the logistics SC [providers] can only cope much better in the future if they focus on attaining true real time visibility throughout the entire supply chain, which will be achievable by investing in technology and solutions that are built around the core concept of col-

laboration. By investing in the right solutions, such as those offered by Zetes, we can help organisations to do more with less, quicker, cheaper and with full real time visibility.

Are customer expectations regarding speedy delivery from online shopping too high?

It is not fair to say that expectations are too high, this is something that has slowly built to this point. What retailers need to ensure is that their systems are capable of meeting the expectation of the customer so they need to have a robust Pick, Pack & Dispatch solution as is offered as part of our ZetesAthena application, and final mile notifications, where effective communication as offered within our ZetesChronos delivery application will let a customer know exactly when their items will be delivered.

Could communication between dispatchers and the end customer improve as delivery delays are growing?

There is always room for improvement although often this is not achievable, as all too often delays are only discovered in a reactive mode i.e. when someone makes an enquiry.

ZetesZeus would have alerted the retailer to the delay on the original day telling them that there was a high probability that a delay was going to occur, thus allowing the dispatcher to effectively communicate with the customer and take corrective measures.

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viewpoint

Will there be a higher focus on the carbon footprint produced from first to final mile?

Absolutely, consumers are becoming more and more cognisant of their own environmental impact and this will become a larger and larger consideration when they are buying items where they will want to ensure that their product has been delivered in the most carbon efficient way. This will drive retailers to look at systems like ZetesAthena to fulfil orders from stores closer to the final delivery point and ZetesChronos for route optimisation solutions that will plan the most effective route.

Returns have certainly caused many issues for retailers especially those in the apparel business, where we now no longer look at seasons being quarterly.

Efficiencies can be made where the returns process is as easy as possible to enact. This means that customers can return their unwanted goods by a variety of channels. Zetes has a number of modules within our core solutions that can help companies in this area.

What about the growing percentage of online purchase returns? How can efficiencies be made here?

Is it possible to qualify the advantages of the introduction of the eircode postal system? Is it integrated into your systems?

It is very easy to see the benefits that the eircode solution has brought every single person in Ireland. The eircode system has been integrated within a number of our core software solutions, including our proof of delivery application, ZetesChronos.

Our customers report a higher first time attach rate and the ability to perform more deliveries per day.

Zetes Ireland National Technology Park, Plassey, Limerick Tel: +353 61 333188 l W: www.zetes.ie BMJ-May19-Combilift.qxp_Layout 1 25/04/2019 15:42 Page 1

‘Always a good ID’

LEADERS IN CUSTOMISED HANDLING SOLUTIONS +353 47 80500

combilift.com

www.handling-network.com

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awards

17 Products and Solutions from 14 intralogistics providers nominated for IFOY AWARDs 2021 The finalists for the ninth annual IFOY AWARD (International Intralogistics & Forklift Truck of the Year) 2021 have been announced. For this year’s award programme, the jury selected 17 devices and solutions from 14 manufacturers to compete for the best intralogistics products and solutions arculus of the year from an initial entry field of 36 applicants.

Commenting on the high level of entries received, Anita Würmser, Chairperson of the IFOY jury, said: “This year, the jury concentrated on a few top models in classic forklift trucks and warehouse equipment and placed a very strong focus on the warehouse of the not so distant future in its nominations. This is a clear statement of where the journey in intralogistics is going; autonomisation, technology, software and holistic solutions are more important than ever right now. The finals will be highly exciting.”

The shortlisted candidates include Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), robots, special vehicles, software and complex warehouse provider solutions from companies such as arculus, Hi ROBOTICS Cargotec Engineering, HAI ROBOTICS, Hänel, H+E Produktentwicklung, HHLA Sky, the BMW subsidiary IDEALworks, Interroll Group, NIMMSTA, OPPIDUM TIC, STILL, SYNAOS, VOLUME Lagersysteme and WAKU Robotics.

The selected finalists will go through the three-stage IFOY Audit during the international IFOY TEST DAYS from March 22 to 26, to be held for the first time at the Messe Dortmund exhibition centre. In the IFOY Test, experts use a standardised procedure to measure the key figures of the finalists, while in the IFOY Innovation Check, scientists and engineers will evaluate the innovative potential of the nominated products and solutions. The Innovation Check is conducted by specialists from the Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), HUSKi the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden and the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow and Logistics (fml) at the Technical University of Munich. Toward the end of the IFOY TEST DAYS, a panel of experienced jurors from Europe, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa will travel to the Ruhr region to have a closer look at the nominated products and solutions to test and appraise. These jury members are trade journalists from leading logistics media in 21 countries, including Jarlath

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Sweeney (Fleet Transport/Handling Network).

The criteria for the assessments include innovation value, technology, ergonomics and handling, safety, marketability, design and customer benefits, as well as cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

Notable during this process is that the finalists are not compared with each other in their individual categories, but with the competitive products and solutions on the market. “Only those who outperform their direct competitors in terms of innovation have a chance of winning,” emphasized Anita.

The announcement and presentation of the prestigious trophies will be made on 21 May as part of the Austrian MOFFETT HERMES Verkehrs.Logistik.Preis Gala Dinner, in association with the LOGISTIK.Kurier and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce.

IFOY AWARDS 2021 – The Contenders German software and robotics expert arculus from Ingolstadt has made it to the finals with two products and solutions: The multi-vendor fleet management system arculus Fleet enables its users to operate AGVs from different manufacturers on one surface via the new VDA 5050 interface, including planning and, among other things, intelligent path planning based on live Hänel traffic information. The company is also hoping to win an award for its nominated AGV arculee2. Developed for in-house production and logistics environments, the autonomous mobile robot with a capacity of up to one tonne is designed to bring autonomous driving and the economies of mass production to industrial areas. The AGV is controlled by a robotic unit that enables over-the-air updates and fleet learning.

Cargotec (Moffett) Engineering Ireland [Dundalk] has ensured itself a place in the final with the second generation of its MOFFETT E4-25.3NX, the world’s first all-electric truck-mounted forklift. In addition to numerous safety features, the 2.5-ton capacity truck has a HHLA SKY fully electric three-wheel drive

A previous winner of IFOY AWARDs is the Hamand is emission-free. burg-based intralogistics provider STILL. This year, the Intralogistics provider Hänel EXH-S 25, a low-lift pallet truck with a load capacity of entered the competition with a 2.5 tonnes for particularly tough and narrow work areas warehouse solution and reached the is up for final adjudication. It is characterised by its parfinal round. The warehouse techticularly compact dimensions and can travel at speeds nology manufacturer implemented IDEALworks of up to 14 kilometres per hour. A the integration of twelve Hänel second nomination also involves STILL Rotomat warehouse lifts over two for its warehouse solution. As part of its floors for MSC Technologies, a provider of embedded Danfoss Project, the company supplied systems. The carousels not only connect the physical a fully coordinated combination of three flow of goods, but are also seamlessly integrated into automated series industrial trucks each the SAP environment. A unique feature is that the lift for the new production warehouse of control is also a SAP terminal.

Danfoss Power Electronics in Tinglev, The HUSKi tugger train solution from H+E INTERROLL Denmark, and installed all system comProduktentwicklung also made it to the finals. The ponents.

HUSKi can transfer goods weighing up to 1.4 tonnes without contact, Start-up of the Year automatically and autonomously, category contenders making autonomous intralogistics possible in the large goods sector.

The jury nominated no less than five Start-ups for Also nominated is the Integrated the 2021 final under the “Start-up of the Year” cateDrone Control Centre of HHLA Sky gory. NIMMSTA is competing with the HS 50, the first – a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen NIMMSTA backhand scanner with a touch display und Logistik AG (HHLA). The drone that enables hands-free scanning. The management system organises all LOGISTICS INTERCHAT platform from processes in the operation of drones and remote-conOPPIDUM TIC in Zaragoza, Spain, trolled vehicles on a single platform. It is able to fly is created to solve communication more than 100 drones simultaneously out of sight. problems between employees for freight HAI ROBOTICS from Shenzhen, China, is forwarders in loading and unloading represented twice in the final line-up. The jury was centres. The platform helps to comply firstly impressed by the brand new HAIPICK A42T, with social distancing regulations. The LOGISTICS INTERCHAT the world’s first telescopic lift ACR SYNA.OS Logistics software system (Autonomous Case Handling Rofrom the Hannover-based start-up SYNAOS also reached bot). It enables intelligent “goodsthe finals. The solution for orchestrating factories and to-person” order picking and covers logistics centres using artificial intelligence and cloud a height of up to 6.50 metres with technologies optimises intralogistics processes, controls its telescopic lift function. Also in autonomous mobile robots and optimises routes, among contention was its warehouse soluother things. tion based on the HAIPICK A42N The fourth candidate is the Volume WAVE from STILL model. According to the company, VOLUME Lagersysteme. This product the A452N is the world’s first autonis the world’s first ultra-compact, fully omous carton picking robot to enable mixed picking automated pallet shuttle warehouse of cartons and totes of different sizes. The manuwith individual access to storage places facturer adopts 3D visual recognition technology which has a very high storage density to enable the machine to locate and directly access and is an alternative to automated stortotes and cartons without the need for codes. age and retrieval stacker crane systems The fact that an automotive manufacturer does as well as wide and narrow aisle warenot have to hide as an intralogistics provider is SYNAOS houses. The fifth contestant is WAKU demonstrated by a nomination for Robotics’ solution WAKU Sense. This is the newly founded BMW subsidiary a real-time analytics dashboard, which can be used to IDEALworks. Its fully autonomous, benchmark the different robot types in performance, the mobile robot iw.hub is not only ofcapacity of utilisation, and reliability across sites. fered in an attractive price segment, Under the ‘IFOY meets Business’ theme, B2B trade but with its cloud-based control experts from the logistics sector will once again be platform AnyFleet, it can be impleadmitted during the IFOY TEST DAYS 2021. This TEST mented within two days without VOLUME CAMP Intralogistics section will enable logistics deany structural adjustments – based cision-makers to take test drives, test on the VDA 5050 standard also with equipment and hold intensive technical third-party devices. discussions with company representaThe Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) of the Interroll tives whose equipment and solutions Group was also selected. This is a new, mobile have made it to the IFOY AWARD robotics solution for the automation of pallet transfinals. Nominated vehicles and soluport in the areas of production machines and order tions from previous years will also be picking, with the ability to transport pallets or boxes presented.

WAKU Robotics weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. www.handling-network.com

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Text: Jarlath Sweeney – editor@fleet.ie

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case study

Lynas Food Service expands to meet growing demands with Jungheinrich

Materials Handling solutions manufacturer and service provider Jungheinrich is helping to support the expansion of Lynas Food Service, the largest family-operated Foodservice Company in Ireland, through the deployment of a range of intelligent materials handling equipment across several sites.

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Lynas Food Service, the third-generation family-run business for over seventy years, provides over 6,000 ambient, chilled, frozen and non-foods products to organisations and services across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Scotland, including many large hotel chains, restaurants, schools and prisons. As a fast-growing company, the wholesaler was outgrowing its existing warehouses, and had limited capacity to take on new customers and opportunities at its current rate. With a specific need for more pallet spaces, the company made the decision in 2019 to expand its warehouse, creating an additional 4,000 ambient pallet spaces from a 75m x 30m x 15m extension.

With additional warehouse space also came the additional need for machinery to support its expansion and to meet growing demands. As such, it turned to Jungheinrich to explore potential options and proceeded with the purchase of two EKX 516 VNA trucks, the new generation of high-rise stackers.

Utilised to load and unload pallets on the 15-metre high racking, Maurice Devenney, Group Facilities and H&S Manager at Lynas Food Services was impressed with Jungheinrich’s VNA trucks: “Jungheinrich’s VNA order pickers were exactly what we needed.

Especially from a health and safety point of view, with these machines, the operator is eye level to the pallet no matter where he is placing it, whether it’s two meters high or 15 metres.

“With other available options, the operator consistently remains lower

when placing the pallet at height, and instead has to depend on cameras and personal skills, which isn’t as reliable.

Jungheinrich’s VNA order pickers are therefore ideal for our operations.”

In addition to the VNA trucks, Jungheinrich also supplied the wholesaler with ten ERE 125 electric pallet trucks to deploy in its warehouses in Coleraine and Dublin, as well as counterbalance trucks and other manual handling trucks for the food outlets and meat plant.

As a nearly 24/7 operation, it’s vital for Lynas Food Services to have access to strong, robust and reliable machinery. In order to maintain business consistency, it’s essential for the company to minimise down-time as much as possible. To ensure this requirement is met, Jungheinrich has

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case study

provided a consistent loop of communication, with engineers available on the same day or next day to fix any issues that arise.

Since the implementation of the ERE pallet trucks in August 2019, and the VNA order pickers in November 2019, Lynas Food Services has seen numerous improvements, with the main benefit being the reduction in the damage to racking. Maurice explained about the issues addressed: “One of our main problems was the amount of damage we had to racking, which resulted in the loss of pallet spaces, and the risk to health and safety. We have seen a significant reduction in the damage to racking in our expanded part of the warehouse since we implemented the VNA order pickers in November”.

As well as the reduction in damage, Maurice and the team at Lynas Food Services have also seen increased productivity in their workforce. By removing the need for employees to manually operate their pallet trucks and walk from each side of the warehouse, the workforce are now able to utilise

the electronic ride-on format to move between the pallets at a speed of 10km/h, helping to increase their production speed and ability to manage increased demand.

Lynas Food Service is continuing to grow and expand with plans for a new warehouse in Dublin and several other food outlets. Understanding there will be a need for reach trucks in the next space, Maurice claims that it’s a ‘no-brainer’ from their experience with Jungheinrich that it will deploy four to six Jungheinrich trucks after proving their

reliability and robustness.

Steve Richmond, Director of Logistics Systems at Jungheinrich added: “Lynas Foods has maximised its storage capacity, efficiency and productivity across its sites through the deployment of Jungheinrich VNA order pickers, ERE pallet trucks and additional machinery. Despite challenging times, with certain industries continuing to grow and meet accelerated demand, the implementation of innovative technology and solutions is necessary to help transform operational performance, reliability and safety within businesses. We look forward to developing our relationship even further and helping them and other businesses in Northern Ireland to expand and meet demand in the future.”

Maurice added: “The team at Jungheinrich is dependable and has incredibly knowledgeable experts

in logistics. They have provided us with options which we never would have considered and continue to look after us and our machinery. We have a couple of other machines in our warehouse, but we’ve found Jungheinrich to be the most reliable model. If we ever have an issue, Jungheinrich instantly arranges for an engineer to come to our site to fix it, while going above and beyond to check our other machines and identify any problems before they arise, which helps us save time and reduce any costs. We’re excited to continue our work with Jungheinrich moving forward as we continue to expand.”

Text: Jarlath Sweeney – editor@fleet.ie www.handling-network.com

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supply chain

Report on development of Rail Connectivity in Connacht ignores European Year of Rail 2021 objectives On 17 December 2020, the European Council formally adopted the decision to designate 2021 as being the European Year of Rail. This is aimed at increasing the proportion of people and goods travelling by rail, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. Behind this designation are a wide range of incentives to enable European Member States to prioritise the development of rail infrastructure and services to transfer passengers and freight from road to a significantly greener alternative.

The EY Report, commissioned by the Department of Transport and issued a couple of weeks later, on the re-development of the rail link between Athenry and Claremorris would appear to fly in the face of these objectives. Given the fact that freight volumes moving between manufacturing locations in Connacht and ports including Waterford, Cork and Foynes will increase as trade develops, then the need for development of an effective rail-based distribution system serving all ports is apparent.

The European Year of Rail project would appear to be an enabler for an island of Ireland distribution network optimising both rail and road options, the strategic placement of distribution centres and decongesting port access.

Brexit shifts focus on distribution strategies for Irish traders The ending of the UK/EU Brexit transition period on the 31 December last saw the introduction of several new Ro-Ro ferry and Lo-Lo Container services and the upgrading of others, all amounting to a viable way for Irish traders to work with EU partners while avoiding the inevitable delays and increased costs involved with use of the

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British Landbridge.

The post-Brexit situation has, within a couple of weeks of operation, shown that trading models using UK located distribution centres (DC) will, in almost all cases, cease to be viable. Set-ups in which a DC services both the British and Irish markets will, as the import problems with ‘Percy Pig’ demonstrated, risk significant Border Control issues.

The establishment of the DFDS Ferry service from Rosslare Europort to Dunkirk and the Containerships Lo-Lo service linking Dublin and Cork also to Dunkirk has opened several alternative Distribution Hub options within the port area and the region, taking advantage of its proximity to major European markets. Dunkirk also has a long history in the handling and distribution of fresh food products while neighbouring Boulogne is home to Europe’s major fish markets and distributors.

A comprehensive network of rail freight services links Dunkirk to destinations including Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Milan. A number of these operate through the major Road/Rail hub at Dourges, some 78 km distant from the Dunkirk quayside. A significant addition to the services portfolio through Dourges has been launched in December by CMA-CGM group company, CEVA, carrying containers from the Chinese city of Jinhua. Transit time on the service is 18 days and connections with Dunkirk port can be made using rail, barge, or truck.

Speaking to Handling Network about the CMA-CGM Group’s operations through and at the Port of Dunkirk, Containerships Ireland’s Interim Short Sea Director and Reefer Manager, Fintan Dawson, said: “Supplementary to our twice weekly

Benelux Ireland service, Containerships also added the port of Dunkerque to the BENI 1 rotation back on the 19 November. With this independently operated service we are adding to our service bridge from Ireland to the continent and further enhancing our strong short sea service portfolio.”

“Our customers gain the benefit of intermodal services in Dunkerque to Paris and Metz via rail, as well doorto-door delivery throughout France, in addition to the intermodal network connections offered on this route through Rotterdam to mainland Europe. We also offer transhipment and storage services through our relationship with a local cold store facilities service provider CONHEXA located within the port of Dunkerque, 500 metres from the Container Terminal, Conhexa (https://www. conhexa.com/en/home) can handle frozen, chilled and ambient temperatures. We can facilitate something with CONHEXA if required (either as subcontractor, or we can introduce clients to deal with CONHEXA directly). “ The port of Dunkirk’s Commercial Department Head, Yvan Gomel, YGomel@PortDeDunkerque.fr is the point of contact for discussions concerning the development of operations at the Port.

Text: Howard Knott – howard@fleet.ie

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supply deal

Major award for Kiernan Structural Steel thanks to Straddle Carrier

Electric power for newest additions to forklift fleet Longford headquartered family run business, Kiernan Structural Steel recently celebrated the winning of a major safety award following the acquisition of a Straddle Carrier (Combi-SC) from specialist handling manufacturer Combilift. The Construction Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (CSPAC) holds annual awards to drive continual improvements in safety, health and welfare in the construction sector, and Kiernan’s won the Innovation in Safety in Construction and Maintenance category thanks to improvements that have been achieved on site with the Combi-SC. From humble beginnings in 1981, Kiernans has grown to become one of Ireland’s largest structural steel contractors, employing over 180 people at its premises in Longford and also at a base in Middlesex in England. The company offers a wide range of services for its customers which include BIM design engineering, steel fabrication and erection and roof and floor metal decking to name but a few. It has been involved in some prestigious projects such as the St. James Gate Guinness Brewery and the Blackrock Clinic.

Around 15,000 tonnes of steel are moved around the premises on a yearly basis, and KSSL wanted to reduce the risks associated with the loading and unloading of trailers, which is considered to be a difficult and potentially hazardous procedure across the industry. This traditionally entails the use of forklifts or teleporters which are required to carry out multiple lifting procedures per load, together with operatives working outside, at height, on a trailer bed to secure the individual beams. The risk of a load collapsing is an ever present danger and the time

for each load is typically around two to three hours.

“We take the responsibility to protect our staff – most of whom are local and have been with us for years – very seriously,” said Managing Director Frank Kiernan. “We also follow a policy of lean management and continuous improvement, so when we looked at the Combi-SC we realised it would not only make a substantial contribution to safety but would also increase productivity and reduce costs. These three factors met the criteria for the CSPAC Award and I am in no doubt that they were instrumental in us winning it.”

Finished loads can now be prepared at ground level which has eradicated the need for working at height and the risk of collapsed loads. This also applies to the unloading of raw incoming steel. These procedures are carried out indoors so staff are not exposed to the elements any more. Once a complete load is ready it can be raised in one lift with the Combi-SC, driven across the trailer bed and safely deposited – which takes around just 15 minutes.

Thanks to this time saving, there is now no need for late night loading which has significantly reduced labour costs.

The Combi-SC also enabled the number of KSSL’s trailers to be halved, saving on maintenance costs and avoiding a build-up of material which used to slow down production.

“This one machine has had multiple benefits: we have improved welfare for our staff, made vast savings in terms of cost and time for improved efficiency – and we’ve won a major award. So it’s definitely one of the best pieces of equipment we have ever bought,” said John Kiernan.

Text: Rob Van Dieten – rob@fleet.ie

+353 47 80500

www.handling-network.com 55 Text: Rob Van Dieten – rob@fleet.ie combilift.com

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The new EcoGeneration: Save up to 5% fuel and reduce CO2 emissions for efficient and sustainable transportation

The aerodynamic shape of the EcoGeneration trailers reduces drag, while the adjustable rear roof of the EcoFLEX and EcoVARIOS models can be flexibly adapted to the load volume.

The EcoGeneration concept offers fuel savings of up to 5%.

More information on www.cargobull.com