NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 MATERIALS HANDLING
MM: A key facet of the new RX-60 is the
fact that its speed can bring significant
efficiency gains. Do you think people realise
how much of an efficiency gain they can
make in a warehouse?
HP: If you look at the automotive industry,
where they’re doing incredibly high volumes each
day, they work in seconds, or even fractions of
seconds. They know the integrity of every single
piece of the entire value chain – there’s nothing
left out. The idea of an efficient warehouse is
already second nature to them. But if you look at
smaller industrial companies, maybe they’re not
so focused on it, so there’s opportunity.
We are offering analytical packages for
customers, where we use the data our products
generate to consult customers. We help customers
make decisions, like how many trucks they need,
when they go in and stuff like that. Sometimes it’s
pretty eye opening: if you say to the customer, “by
the way, you’re running 100 truck fleet? Do you
know what the utilisation rate is? Why are you
using a forklift truck here, maybe put in a tugger
train instead – it’s much more efficient.”
MM: Do manufacturers realise the
importance a good materials handling
operation can bring to their business?
HP: There are companies such as Amazon
where logistics is core to the business. But
manufacturers are focused on production and,
An efficient warehouse and
materials handling operation can be
as effective as a well-run shopfloor,
says STILL’s Henry Puhl (below)
while they feel logistics is important, it’s not
something where they want to put their own
resources. So, they offshore it to one of the big
logistics providers. That’s a sensible thing to do
in this case: the logistics provider knows how
difficult it is, and has the right focus. I would
always advise a company, if they think logistics is
an easy piece of the puzzle, that’s fine. But if not,
companies could maybe think about outsourcing
to a logistics professional because it will bring
savings and reduce headaches.
MM: Are we at the end of the road for diesel
power, especially for smaller forklift trucks?
HP: I think everyone is asking this question. It’s a
tricky question, really. There are certain places in
the world, like Africa, where diesel will be around
much longer. And the reason is simple: mechanics
there are used to diesel, so doing a repair job on
an electric machine may not be so easy. I think in
the more let’s say, industrialised countries, the
move away from diesel will be faster. But even
here certain customers do have established
infrastructure. Are they ready to change
immediately? No, a good portion are waiting
to see how the technology will evolve. Do
they choose lithium ion or fuel cells?
They’re in observing mode. More and
more are ready to convert, but are we at a
tipping point where it crashes down in the
next three years? I don’t think so.
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