Walkie pallet jack and straddle stackers: Toyota Industrial
Equipment’s new 4,500-pound walkie electric pallet jack and
new 2,000-pound and 2,500-pound walkie straddle stackers
were designed to meet the needs of delivery, retail, warehouse,
and narrow-aisle customers.
The new models are IP65 rated to help protect against dust
and liquids, including low-pressure water streams from all directions, and the handle heads are sealed and weather-tested. The
AC-drive motor provides smoother acceleration and plugging
than previous versions did.
All three new models include “no tools required” service
covers for better serviceability and to reduce the amount of
time required for routine maintenance and inspections. The
battery pack on Toyota’s new walkie pallet jack and walkie
stackers received nine improvements to make it stronger, last
longer, and charge faster. (Toyota Industrial Equipment, www.
ToyotaForklifts.com)
Keg clamp: B&B Attachments and Kaup have designed a
new Keg Clamp 2T415BKN forklift attachment to improve performance, visibility, and safety when handling kegs and casks
without pallets.
The new keg clamp attachment offers improved features. It
has a larger load-stabilizer opening range of 11. 6 inches (295
mm) to 86.4 inches (2195 mm). The attachment’s width has
been reduced from 43. 3 inches (1100 mm) to 35. 4 inches (900
mm), making it good for narrow trucks as well as for preventing
damage when working in compact areas.
The keg clamp’s stronger frame design includes increased
overlaps between the arm carrier and frame, making the attachment more durable. The manufacturer has also added replace-able wear strips to the underside of the frame, which reduces the
cost of repairs, as the user can now simply replace the wear strip.
Customers can also choose to add rubber inserts to the
outer tines, which grip the lower kegs and prevent slippage or
loss of irregular kegs from a stack. (B&B Attachments, www.
bandbattachments.com)
Supply chain consulting service: Third-party logistics company
Kenco has established a department focused on researching and
developing innovative approaches to supply chain management
challenges.
Kenco’s Innovation Labs and its dedicated team of “innovation
specialists” will collaborate with customers to identify, research,
and prototype leading-edge ideas and processes. This team
will also partner with entrepreneurs and vendors from multiple
industries to identify trends that can be cost effectively applied in
the supply chain. A test lab and demonstration center will be created at the Kenco corporate campus in Chattanooga, Tenn., to
explore and research these emerging technologies and processes.
(Kenco, www.kenco.com)
Collaborative shipping solution: ShipMax Alliance from APL
Logistics is a collaborative shipping solution designed to optimize
and manage high-frequency truck deliveries across increasingly
complex supply chains. The software helps companies implement
collaborative logistics, or the sharing of equipment, vehicles,
information, or carriers with another company.
ShipMax Alliance helps shippers—particularly in the consumer
and retail industries—take advantage of collaborative logistics in
a variety of ways, including:
ShipMax Alliance will initially launch in the Americas, with a
planned rollout to other regions in early 2016. (APL Logistics,
www.apllogistics.com)
Mixed-case palletizer:
Dematic, a supplier of
intralogistics systems for
factories, warehouses,
and distribution centers,
has introduced AMCAP,
a new order-fulfillment
solution that automates
the palletizing of mixed
cases. AMCAP, which
stands for Automated
Mixed Case Palletizing, is a case-palletizing system designed to
accommodate the growing need to assemble pallets more efficiently. The solution is well suited for grocery retailers, beverage
distributors, and producers of consumable products.
The AMCAP solution makes the pallet-unloading process at
the pallet destination (typically a retail store) easier. It arranges
the cases on the pallet in a specific sequence to optimize shelf
restocking. AMCAP pallets are typically assembled with the cases
arranged by family group to correlate to the appropriate aisle in
the store. This arrangement helps stock clerks replenish shelves
more quickly and efficiently.
AMCAP creates an outbound pallet that is stable, and the
automated process allows cases to be stacked more densely and
higher on the pallet. This better pallet load, in turn, helps maximize the use of truck trailer transport space.
The AMCAP system combines scalability with a compact footprint, allowing the modular system to fit into existing facilities. To
build the outbound pallet, first a robot de-layers the full pallets of
one SKU. The cases are then singulated and placed into an automated buffer staging module. Performance optimizing software
releases the cases from the buffer in a precise sequence for pallet
assembly. A robotic palletizer receives the cases and automatically builds the pallet. (Dematic, www.dematic.com/AMCAP)
