HI-LIFTS & LOADERS
strong, driven by the dynamic growth of
express air freight, declares Kevin Cecil,
Engineering Manager, Loaders. “ is
comes 25 years a er the Commander
30 (the Commander 30i’s predecessor)
entered service as the rst cargo loader
designed to service express air freight
carriers.
“Sales of the Commander 15i electric
continued to remain steady, as more
airports have facilities available for
recharging electric loaders. JBT feels
very strongly about the future of electric
loaders and has recently introduced to
the market the Commander 30i electric
15 tonne main deck and Ranger electric 7
tonne cargo loaders.”
e company highlight, perhaps, is that
during the past year JBT has been testing
a Ranger loader with an autonomous
docking feature, which is programmed
to automatically follow safe operating
protocols when interfacing with the
aircra . A key feature of the Ranger’s
autonomous docking system is its ability
to interface with the cargo bay without the
aid of a decal target attached to the aircra
fuselage: this was important to JBT’s
customers, declares Cecil.
French polish
Last year CIMC Airmarrel saw a steady
demand from its historical markets,
namely Europe, Asia and the Middle East,
but it also witnessed an increasing interest
from the US and Canada.
“Requirement for our main deck loaders
increased signi cantly in 2019, and while
demand for 14 tonne capacity remained
high in Europe, interest in heavy duty
cargo loaders like our LAM35000 is
sharply increasing in Asia, the Middle East
and Africa, thanks to the heavier freight
operations in these regions,” notes the
company’s Gwenn Hervet.
CIMC Airmarrel o ers now one of the
most complete ranges of fully electric
vehicles, ranging from 3.5 tonne lower
deck to 14 tonne main deck loaders. “We
developed in 2019 an electric version
of the best-selling LAM3500, which is
already in operation in several countries,
including France; and we have just
released our new LAM14000 11 series.
In addition to diesel Stage 5 engines, the
LAM14000 can be o ered with both leadacid
and lithium-ion batteries, based on
customer and regional requirement. While
lead-acid batteries are more commonly
used in Europe, lithium-ion is a must in
China, currently the leading country for
electric GSE.”
TLD has a long history of producing
Trepel’s big news is the
development of an electric
hi-lift destined for China
cargo loaders in North America and
today it produces loaders in Wuxi, St
Lin and Sherbrooke; it is the latter where
the majority of TLD’s world production
occurs. As with most GSE, the trend to go
electric is growing exponentially, to the
point that in 2019 over 50% of the loaders
delivered were battery powered. Today’s
E Loader production is a mix of 3.5, 7
and 15 tonne, running on lead-acid or
lithium-ion, but TLD avers that the latter
chemistry is becoming more and more
accepted.
Part of the TLD loader attraction is
the nearly universal acceptance of its
Aircra Safe Docking system (ASD)
feature as a practical solution to anticollision
required by IATA. ASD +, an
evolution to autonomously assist the
operator in docking to the cargo door, is
now being demonstrated to customers.
What sets the TLD E product line apart
is the autonomy it has. is is achieved
through the loader’s unique architecture
which is really a “from the ground up”
design that focuses on energy e ciency
by driving high consumption functions as
much as possible electrically, rather than
hydraulically, and taking advantage of the
regeneration of energy when lowering the
elevator platform. is energy e ciency
is allowing users a full day’s work in the
most demanding environments at cycle
speeds equivalent to a diesel-powered
machine. e already large TLD Canadian
factory was expanded in 2019 to meet the
increasing demand and production rates
have increased accordingly, in preparation
for what appears to be a strong 2020. ghi
FUTURE
TECHNOLOGY
CIMC Airmarrel is now
developing 3.5 tonne and 7
tonne loaders powered by a
combination of hydrogen and
electric. Many readers will know
that hydrogen technology is no
stranger to the manufacturer;
these vehicles will be tested in
France during the second half of
2020, for a scheduled product
launch in early 2021.
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