© EKUPAC
URBAN LOGISTICS AND STANDARDISATION EKUPAC We are in the midst of the mobility transition and face the huge challenge of finding new paths towards a better future – paths that are not far-off visions but implementable in the real world. For more than 25 years, EKUPAC has increasingly specialised in holistic approaches and concepts in the field of reusable transport packaging and hence urban logistics. Many projects have already been successfully implemented, including the aubergine-coloured fruit and vegetable crates for ALDI Süd, the reusable crates that esprit uses to supply its stores, and the plastic Euro pallets and quarter pallets, which are utilised in diverse ways in industry and commerce. In close collaboration with its partners and the companies in which it holds an interest, EKUPAC is a specialist in comprehensive solutions – and not just in theory but tried and tested in practice because the company steers all its concepts from the test phase through to market roll-out and optimises them together with its customers. For some years, its work has gone beyond mere transport packaging and now provides some urgently needed logistics solutions for urban environments.
Transport solutions: Goods transport on the penultimate and last mile Our cities are at their limits. Transports in and out of them are overburdening the infrastructure, which hasn’t kept up with this growth, and causing severe congestion every day.
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EXHIBITORS
Solution: the penultimate mile With its company Smart City Loop, EKUPAC has shown how goods can be transported underground on some sections of their routes through urban areas. The team has developed a concept for the penultimate mile. Goods are transported by an autonomous transport system from an urban hub at the city’s periphery to a city hub. From there, they continue their journey to the customer on vehicles such as cargo bikes or e-scooters, or customers collect the items in person. Conversely, finished products or recyclable materials are transported out of the city in the same way. A feasibility study in Hamburg has shown that a single pipe can eliminate up to 1,500 transport trips per day. This contributes significantly to traffic calming and air quality while enhancing the attractiveness of the urban environment for residents. All the components of the Smart City Loop system are tried and tested and represent the state of the art in technology – the pipe construction, conveyor systems and automated industrial trucks. This means that the implementation is technically feasible within a very short timescale – three years have been estimated from the start of construction to the go-live in Hamburg.
