From car jacks and mixers to Allen keys: Draper Tools offers equipment for the construction, automotive, mechanical engineering, and agricultural sectors. The British company continues to expand. With this growth come increasing logistical challenges. SSI Schäfer is there to support them.

Antalis Switzerland, a leading distributor of paper, packaging solutions, visual communication materials, and customized logistics, has replaced its mobile transport robots, built in 1982, with modern AGVs from the manufacturer Safelog. The manufacturer of the previous robots had gone bankrupt – with unexpected consequences.

Here, despite appearances, no patients are being transferred, but rather supplies for public and private hospitals. In Caltignaga, near Milan in the Italian Piedmont region, Dematic is reducing the storage space required for medical supplies at the hospital logistics provider Plurima by 75 percent.

Control specialist HBC Radiomatic offers the new technos C radio remote control, an individually configurable combination for operating a wide variety of machines with a large range of functions – from concrete pumps to mobile cranes with extended functional safety capabilities.

It looks like a "billion" contract, but it's just under: The supermarket chain Coles plans to invest 880 million Australian dollars (around 512 million Swiss francs) to establish a new distribution center with Witron to supply the states of Victoria and Tasmania with up to 4.6 million retail units per week.

 Photo: IFOY

According to the International Federation of Robotics' (IFR) annual report "World Robotics – Service Robots," nearly 113,000 robots were sold in 2023 for transport and logistics tasks. Of these, according to the German VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association, 80,300 were specifically designed for internal transport.

Heavy-duty systems like the EXS mobile racking system from SSI Schäfer are designed for load capacities of up to 600 tons. The overall height can be up to 16.5 meters, corresponding to the lifting height of the forklift systems used, thus minimizing the space requirement. This is particularly interesting for deep-freeze facilities, says David Eisenhut.

Preparations and construction of the new Pantanal aviary at Zurich Zoo are progressing, once again with considerable demands on construction site logistics and careful transport. The highlight: the future inhabitants will be equipped with a special type of access authorization.

While the first two "stretch" robots from Boston Dynamics, which Arvato has put into operation at a site in Louisville (Kentucky), can't yet do Pilates or yoga, they can be used to automatically and damage-free unload a wider range of different cardboard boxes from containers.

Since 1945, Architectural Grille has become a leading US supplier of architectural design metal grilles for construction, interior design, and the arts. Instead of manually sorting the materials, five Kasto tower storage units offered a good alternative.

 M. ten Cate

Kardex Mlog, a provider of integrated material flow systems and high-bay warehouses, is strengthening its operations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg with the appointment of Martin ten Cate as the new Sales Manager for the Benelux region. The 58-year-old has 34 years of experience in intralogistics – and also manages a motocross team.

Sustained sustainability: Despite continuing challenging market conditions and a subdued environment, SSI Schäfer recorded significant progress and successes in sustainability last year. These included a climate strategy with measurable reduction targets and an energy transformation concept for its headquarters in Neunkirchen.

The number and applications of mobile robots have increased significantly in recent years. Most are simply marketed as "Automated Guided Vehicles" According to the manufacturer Safelog, this no longer accurately reflects their range of applications. An "add-on" to the naming convention is intended to simplify matters.

Kardex Mlog already commissioned two 22-meter-high storage and retrieval machines in Würth's high-bay warehouse at the Graubünden logistics center of the assembly and fastening specialists back in 2008. Now, the machines and system controls are being upgraded in Landquart.

The fastest goal in the world won't be decided on the pitch of European and World Cup tournaments, but in logistics. Goal manufacturer Hörmann, at least, is currently claiming to offer the fastest vertically oriented model, with a speed of 4 m/s.