Manufacturing and Materials Handling

Forklift and materials handling leader, Hyster, is expanding its service offering – including safety training and logistical support in remote locations – with the appointment of PortxGroup as a Hyster dealer servicing the Pacific region.  PortxGroup is a rapidly evolving industry provider of logistics solutions with a wealth of experience in port development projects and materials handling and will represent Hyster in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and East Timor (Timor Leste).  “Materials handling customers in these Pacific Islands have unique geographical and logistical challenges. Access to service capability and parts availability are key to success, and we believe that the nimble and flexible approach of PortxGroup will provide new solutions for these customers,” says Mr. Simon Munn, Vice President, Dealer Development, JAPIC, Hyster-Yale Group.  “Hyster backs its products globally, in locations ranging from the world’s most populous nations to the most widely dispersed, to ensure the same top standards whether in Singapore, Sydney, or remote Asia-Pacific islands,” he said.  With the company’s mission, to provide cost-effective ways in accessing the very best thinking and innovative solutions in the material handling industry, PortxGroup will complete Hyster’s coverage in the Pacific Island region and bring a level of after-sales service previously unavailable to this region.  PortxGroup Principal, Mr. Peter McLean, has been serving the Pacific Islands region for many years, and says, “Over the years, we have seen many companies come and go. What customers crave is a business who isn’t going to just sell a product and leave. They are looking for a brand that is offering long-term support in very remote, difficult to access regions. We hope to combine Hyster’s globally recognized brand quality with our strong knowledge of the region to offer customers quality and longterm partnerships.”  “The opportunity to be a Hyster™ dealer is not only a chance to work with a globally recognized and long-established brand, but it also offers us access to a full range of high-quality products that are used in a broad range of industries. As a company, PortxGroup wanted to be associated only with a ‘tier-one’ brand, and Hyster was the ideal fit for us,” he said.  As part of the service offering, PortxGroup will provide training to Hyster customers in the Pacific Islands to keep forklift operators updated with the latest safety standards.  “Training is a key part of a long-term relationship. We want our customers to get maximum productivity out of their Hyster forklifts, and Hyster globally puts such a strong focus on safety, which matches our own safety-first ethos,” says Mr. McLean. PortxGroup has been appointed as an authorized Hyster dealer as of 1st September 2021, and Mr. McLean looks forward to making the new relationship a success.  “Our highly motivated team has a unique and customer-focused approach. Our customers know the quality of the Hyster brand, and when combined with our long-term partnership approach to business, it creates a new level of materials handling solution offering,” he said. 

New Swisslog white paper discusses how micro-fulfillment can synergize online and storefront Automation-enabled Micro-Fulfillment Centers are continuing to grow because they benefit both the retailer/grocer and the consumer Global warehouse and logistics automation leader, Swisslog, is introducing a new white paper on micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs), which focuses on how to utilize automation to maximize efficiency and profitability. Automated MFCs allow companies with or without a brick-and-mortar footprint within a particular area to move fulfillment closer to customers in order to reduce transportation costs and enable shorter delivery times, benefitting both the retailer (or Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) producer), and the customer. Companies can build a micro-fulfillment center as a standalone facility, or inside or bolted on to an existing location, to expand fulfillment capacity. MFCs can support customer curb-side pick-up, too, or a hybrid of pick-up and delivery. Swisslog’s White Paper, “Winning the last mile in the supply chain race: Using micro-fulfillment to synergize online and storefront”, talks about the rise of MFCs (which are expected to grow sixfold in 2021), how Covid-19 further accelerated MFC growth, as well as challenges to the growth of MFCs. The white paper then goes on to discuss how to synergize online and storefront using MFCs, the future of MFCs, and the importance of partnering with an experienced automation provider to achieve optimal efficiency and profitability outcomes. “MFCs have experienced huge year-on-year growth in the past three years, and they are expected to grow further in 2021, and in the years ahead,” says Mr Sean Ryan, Head of Sales and Consulting, Swisslog Australia. “The rise of MFCs can be attributed to a range of factors, including the fact that they benefit both the consumer and the retailer or grocer. Consumers are rewarded with increased choice, shorter delivery times and efficient curb-side pickup options. Grocers and retailers are able to utilize a more efficient order fulfillment method – one that reduces labor and transport costs, avoids clogging retail stores with pickers, and supports higher order demand levels,” says Mr Ryan. Partnering with an experienced automation provider MFCs are a relatively new retailing strategy, so to maximize return on investment, it is important to partner with an experienced automation provider – ideally one that already has extensive experience with other models such as Dark Stores and Central Fulfillment Centres (CFCs). An automation partner will not only have knowledge from other grocery projects, but they will have existing software with required functionality, and they will know the intricacies of handling delicate products or the requirements of cold storage, for example. With more than 2,000 warehousing and logistics automation projects completed worldwide, Swisslog not only has fundamental knowledge in food and beverage, e-commerce and retail, but it has the ability to deliver logistics automation for the whole supply chain network within these industries, starting with large CFC and moving through Dark Store, down to MFC. AutoStore (left) and automated shuttle systems (right) are the two main automation solutions for MFCs. Swisslog has extensive global experience with both, including being the world’s top AutoStore integrator In addition to experience with automation equipment, it is important to choose an automation partner with experience in software, too. The software drives the solution, keeps track of data, and analyses that data to further improve processes in the future. Swisslog’s modular WMS SynQ software provides warehouse management, material flow, automation and 3D visualization all from a single point of control. It has been designed for dynamic, data-driven supply chains, such as those found in retail and e-grocery industries. Download the white paper Winning the last mile in the supply chain race: Using micro-fulfillment to synergize online and storefront here.

Wearply from Cut To Size Plastics is used for applications ranging from insulated rail joints, above, through to vibratory conveyor leaf springs used in processing and loading equipment as well as electrical motor, generator and transformer components. A hugely durable reinforced plastic composite that weighs less than aluminium but has up to 10 times the specific strength of 1020 steel is being offered by Cut To Size Plastics for demanding rail, ports, mineral processing, materials handling facilities, infrastructure construction and associated electrical and industrial applications. Wearply reinforced plastic composite is ideal for maintenance, engineering and fabrication tasks which aim to optimize design and performance of infrastructure and machinery components and leaf spring assemblies in which performance and reliability is vital. Wearply can withstand millions of stress cycles at 1400 bar (20,000 psi) without fatigue failure, says Pat Flood, NSW Manager of Cut To Size Plastics. Wearply derives its enormous strength, performance and durability from epoxy resins reinforced with continuously aligned, non-woven filaments. This allows plies to be laid so reinforcement is oriented to give greater strength and stiffness in the direction, or directions, in which it is most needed. Parallel filaments resist the stress abrasion that can shorten the fatigue life in conventional reinforced plastics. “This advanced engineering material is winning the attention of machinery designers globally for its superior performance in a huge range of applications, from rail, materials handling facilities and associated electrical plant through to vibratory machinery in minerals and primary production processing and loading applications. The same qualities that make it suitable for advanced aerospace and medical applications – such as helicopter blades and MRI equipment – mean it can be employed with confidence in rail, materials handling, marine and ship loading and high-precision tasks where reliability is vital,” says Mr Flood, who has national and international experience in the application of light but outstandingly durable engineering thermoplastics in applications including rail transport and infrastructure, materials handling, mining and electric machinery and plant. Material advantages of Wearply include: High strength-to-weight performance, including 50 per cent greater compression strength than 1020 steel and a strength-to-weigh ratio up to 75×106mm. Aluminium is 45 per cent heavier Chemical and corrosion resistance – demonstrated in a wide range of vibratory conveyors, feeders and screening equipment working in aggressive environments, including rail and minerals loading facilities Improved electrical resistance – for performance as an electrical insulator in areas such as rail jointing, where it is used in standard, heavy duty and adhesive types, and as a structural high temperature composite in generators and transformers Damped vibration, noise and shock, qualities High impact strength and low notch sensitivity High resistance to fatigue, which, combined with other properties such as high dynamic strength, makes the material very suitable for helper, guide and drive springs in swing and screen technology Longer service life High temperature stability – dry service temperature up to 177 C (350F) High elastic storing capacity combined with high mechanical strength, to provide higher resiliency as compared with normal steel leaf springs, higher internal damping, well balanced resilience behaviours and six-fold storage capacity as to elastic energy compared with steel springs. Also used in shock and strut structures

Thai Cane Paper’s plant at Kanchanaburi where Konecranes cranes are used in the production of more than 100,000 tons of product a year. Mr Somkieat Dumthong from the plant’s Mechanical Maintenance section (foreground) stresses the importance of safety when loading cranes. A major operation of the biggest manufacturer of high quality packing paper in South East Asia is drawing on the maintenance expertise of Konecranes to help maintain outstanding safety standards and avoid downtime during its 24/7 operation. SCG’s Thai Cane Paper Plant at Kanchanaburi, Thailand, has entered into an extended maintenance contract with Konecranes for 2015-2018 spanning Konecranes OEM equipment and cranes of diverse brands used in their key production process and in the green energy co-gen plant. As the world’s largest crane service organization – with more than 450,000 pieces of equipment of all makes under service contract worldwide – Konecranes service contracts are widely employed applications including manufacturing, infrastructure, paper, cement and ports. At Kanchanaburi, Konecranes also draws on its Asia-Pacific and global safety expertise to offer optimum hazard avoidance and to provide statutory compliance reports for the Kanchanaburi plant, which produces 118,000 tons of product a year. “Konecranes works with our Mechanical and Electrical staff as a team to optimize production and safety,” said Mechanical Maintenance Section Supervisor Mr.Somkieat Dumthong. Konecranes service staff – who are on 24 hour call to respond to issues within two hours – have invested time to thoroughly understand their customer’s business and technology so as to be able to respond rapidly to production needs. They are responsible for nine cranes of diverse makes and capacities from 5-35 tons used for key process functions, such as preparing raw material and handling the finished paper, including loading and unloading from the paper winders heavy paper rolls (up to 4m wide and 10 tons) at the end of the production line. Remote control helps optimise safety at the paper winders Kanchanaburi’s cranes – the latest of which include Konecranes CXT technology – are also involved in maintenance and handling of waste and recycling material at the plant, which generates 10 per cent of its own energy needs through its integrated co-generation plant fed by waste product. “We had too many types of cranes before and too many suppliers of services,” said Mr.Somkieat. “Now, with Konecranes as a single supplier, we can focus best on our key priorities, such as preparation of raw material, avoidance of breakdowns and safety.” “In addition to being a supplier of OEM technology, and a knowledgeable advisor on the most suitable advanced crane technologies, Konecranes is the source of spare parts for all the cranes, which is very important. “Konecranes also assists us with our statutory safety compliance reporting, because safety is very important.” Mr. Somkieat Dumthong with one of the latest Konecranes Konecranes operates under a global safety “Hooked on Safety” ethos which says that, at Konecranes, there is no job so important and no service so urgent that we cannot take the time to perform our work safely and correctly. We want our people and our customers returning home safely each and every night, says the company. Konecranes (Thailand) Ltd. Mr.Kanokphong Bussayadilok says the company’s inspections and preventive maintenance provided as part of its maintenance contracts offer an accurate assessment of the condition of equipment. They evaluate risks, identify improvement opportunities and provide recommendations – “An active preventive maintenance program is crucial to improving safety and productivity, while our vast experience and expertise allow us to tailor preventive maintenance to each manufacturer’s recommendations,” Lifecycle care Konecranes comprehensive maintenance is based on its Lifecycle Care concept, which is a systematic, consistent, comprehensive and professional approach to maintenance, supported by world-class tools and processes. Highest Lifecycle Value results from maximizing the productivity of uptime in addition to minimizing the cost of downtime. We believe merely keeping your cranes running is not sufficient. We must also help you achieve the highest productivity during every shift. We aim to deliver measurable improvements in safety and productivity that can be reported and reviewed, demonstrating a return on investment to you. Our crane experts apply a systematic Risk and Recommendation Method of evaluation and a consultative, planning and review process to drive continuous improvement in safety and productivity. Inspections and preventive maintenance identify risks, improvement opportunities and support compliance. Corrective maintenance and retrofits address safety and productivity issues and capitalize on improvement opportunities. Consultation services guide decision making, uncover critical issues and maximize your return on investment. Modernization services prolong the economic service life of equipment. New equipment for installations or replacing old equipment.

Haulotte Australia General Manager Mr Keith Clarke, left, with United Equipment CEO Mr David Maxwell celebrating the delivery of the 1000th Haulotte machine, an Optimum 8 AC scissor lift Leading national access equipment specialist United Forklift and Access Solutions is celebrating the landmark delivery of its 1000th high safety and efficiency unit from one of the world’s largest aerial work platform manufacturers, Haulotte. United Forklift and Access Solutions’ General Manager Mr Trent Osborne says the delivery to United of its 1000th Haulotte advanced technology machine – an Optimum 8 AC electric scissor lift – demonstrates United’s ongoing commitment to the leadership and quality of its already large and expanding national rental fleet and broad access solutions offering. “The handover to us of this latest Haulotte machine is part of the continual process of updating our fleet with new and productive equipment that keeps us at the global forefront of safety and efficiency innovations in our industry. “United values highly its long-term partnership with Haulotte, built up over many years to establish an ongoing relationship that delivers many customer benefits, including the opportunity to work closely with Haulotte as a global leader and technology innovator across 23 countries. “The innovative rental specification of Haulotte equipment is part of the expanding stream of world class technologies arriving in Australia over the coming year, which will continue to reinforce Haulotte’s important role among United’s suppliers of quality machinery, built to offer a leading return on investment.” “In addition to the benefits for Australia of Haulotte’s leading edge innovation, experience and safety, we will continue to work extensively in partnership with them to provide input for products that deliver optimum performance for tough Australian conditions, including strength, durability and ergonomic design.” Haulotte Australia General Manager Mr Keith Clarke says the new Optimum 8 is a real game-changer for rental companies and all users driven by efficiency and versatility, being a full-featured machine with a great drive system and built-in diagnostics. “The delivery of this first Optimum 8 AC to United’s Perth office underlines their commitment to the industry’s latest safety, service and efficiency technologies, keeping United’s fleet at the forefront of the industry in Australia.” This win-win relationship between United and Haulotte is exemplified by the features of the new Optimum 8, says Mr Osborne, including: Maintenance-free AC motors High-precision driving, for safety, productivity and confined spaces Proportional and quick movements ACTIV’Screen onboard diagnostics for minimum downtime Responsive sales and service provided by United locations throughout Australia, which bring together many years’ local experience in Haulotte product, including maximising uptime United Forklift and Access Solutions’ relationship with Haulotte extends back to 2010, with the delivery of a HA120PX rough terrain boom lift. Since then, United Equipment’s national Haulotte range has expanded to cover the spectrum of scissor lifts, boom lifts and telehandlers. “The longevity in the relationship is founded upon the instilled values both companies share,” says Mr Osborne. “Haulotte’s extensive product range and diversity – coupled with quality manufacturing, latest technology and safety features – demonstrates Haulotte’ s commitment to providing quality products focused on the needs of end users – the customers.” United Forklift and Access Solutions is one of Australia’s largest privately owned forklift and access equipment companies, with a company footprint extending across key Australian markets, enabling it to offer a truly national solution that remains responsive to local conditions. United Forklift and Access Solutions has operations in all States, offering comprehensive support of its customers throughout Australia. Our partner Haulotte is Europe’s largest manufacturer and supplier of elevating work platforms with revenue in excess of $1 billion. Haulotte markets a full range of self-propelled access equipment, ranging from 6m to 43m. Haulotte Group is a quality accredited company (ISO 9001) and has developed a reputation for producing quality units. All products not only meet or exceed the requirements of Australian Standards AS1418.10, they also carry the European CE compliance stamp. With over eight ranges of products spanning sixty different models, there is a Haulotte machine for every job. United have the complete range needed to lift people or materials into hard-to-reach places. United provides short and long term rental options as well as flexible finance options on our complete range of equipment. We can structure a competitive lease or purchase financial package to meet the requirements of your business. As time is money, we can work quickly to get the finance in place so your business can get working. At United customer service is our greatest asset. This is clearly emphasised by our slogan “It’s All About You” which reflects our single focus on serving customers better. With fully maintained state of the art GPS service vehicles operating 24/7 and accredited operating training programs, our company ensures the very highest levels of service to our valued customers. At United it’s all about you.

The last thing companies in competitive markets need are unscheduled unexpected shutdowns. The same applies to suppliers of essential services, such as energy and water utilities. New technologies open a window into future reliability of machinery, motors and systems What sounded like science fiction just a short time ago is now a reality in the new predictive maintenance systems becoming available from members of the global Schaeffler Group such as Schaeffler Australia. The company’s automated rolling bearing diagnostics and the calculation of the remaining useful life of bearings are important components of Industry 4.0, which refers to a fourth industrial revolution (following water/steam power, mass production and automation through IT and robotics). Industry 4.0 introduces the concept of ‘cyber-physical systems’ to differentiate this new evolutionary phase from the electronic automation that has gone before. “All machinery – all motors, drives, shafts, conveyors, wheels – depend critically on bearings, whether you’re in an outback mine, city factory or an urban water or energy plant supplying the population,” says Mr Mark Ciechanowicz, Industrial Services Manager, Schaeffler Australia. Plant maintenance and operational staff were given an insight to the future at this year’s Hannover Messe 2016, the world’s biggest industrial trade fair, where Schaeffler presented to the 250,000 visitors its new predictive maintenance solutions that provide machine operators with information about the future condition of their machines. Schaeffler technologies flowing on into Australia in time for the Christmas New Year maintenance season included the FAG SmartCheck diagnostic system, which transfers data to the cloud. “The cloud provides greater processing power and a wider range of analysis options than existing purely local calculation systems”, says Mr Ciechanowicz. “This type of predictive maintenance allows not only the capacity utilisation of factories, processing plants and utilities to be optimised, but also makes it possible to plan maintenance intervals, says Mr Ciechanowicz, who is responsible for advanced technologies such as the early warning system FAG SmartQB. FAG SmartCheck from Schaeffler. With around 84,000 employees, Schaeffler is a global bearing technology authority with approximately 170 locations in 50 countries including Australasia, which has access to a worldwide network research and development facilities that complement extensive local capabilities. This user-friendly technology comprises a FAG SmartQB sensor unit (a variant of the existing FAG SmartCheck), a cubic housing with a touch panel, and a cable for power and data transmission. The system was specially developed for detecting irregularities in electric motors, pumps, fans, and their rolling bearings, and is supplied with a ready-to-use configuration suitable for Australasian conditions. “An important prerequisite for predictive maintenance is automated rolling bearing diagnostics, a function that is used in motor gearbox units, for example. These units are used not only in machine tools, but also in belt conveyors, presses, water and energy infrastructure, paper and cement plants and resources, processing and manufacturing and bulk handling processes, as well as steel mill rollers. “Because such machine drives may be operated virtually without interruption, they require intensive maintenance in order to prevent production downtimes. This is why it is so important for operators to know the condition of the drive components at all times, and why the bearings are becoming particularly important as a central machine element.” The new generation of the FAG SmartCheck diagnostic system represents a further step forward for Schaeffler which, with 85,000 employees worldwide, is a global leader in bearing manufacture and maintenance. In addition to identifying the threat of bearing damage, wear, and irregularities such as imbalance and misalignments based on vibration pattern changes, FAG SmartCheck’s cloud connection can be used to create an automated diagnosis in the cloud. This uses raw data supplied by the FAG SmartCheck and from additional data, e.g. from the machine control system. From condition monitoring to predictive maintenance Data stored in the cloud from condition monitoring systems such as FAG SmartCheck also allows the information to be used for other calculations, such as drive train and rolling bearing simulations relating to their static and dynamic strength. “Using the real load spectra gathered during operation, Schaeffler can continuously calculate the bearings’ remaining useful life on the customer’s behalf at freely definable time intervals,” says Mr Ciechanowicz. Schaeffler’s BEARINX calculation tool retrieves the data from the cloud. The customer can then view the remaining useful life of every bearing in the machine using an internet-capable end device. Schaeffler’s solution is based on three central elements: A suitable system of sensors gathers reliable load data for the machine and its bearings. Simulation models calculate the remaining useful life based on the dimensions of the machine and the actual loads. A software platform through which the customer can access the calculations and retrieve information about his or her machine individually. Schaeffler’s BEARINX calculation tool retrieves the data from the cloud and calculates the nominal rating life of the individual bearings. The calculation is based on loads such as speeds, torques, temperatures, and vibrations. To back the system, Schaeffler Australia offers a full range of maintenance tools and condition monitoring equipment and services from a single source. Included in the range are hand-held data collectors for patrol monitoring, to modular online fixed vibration monitoring systems and easy-to-use acoustic emission monitoring devices. Services include vibration analysis, thermographic imaging, oil analysis and complete after-sales service by fully qualified engineers and for any application in any industry. Optimum Maintenance Interval Planning While condition monitoring provides information about a machine’s current condition, predictive maintenance also looks into the future and allows the optimum time for maintenance to be predicted. Dr. Hans-Willi Keßler, Vice President of Service Products at Schaeffler, says this allows factories’ production planning to be optimised. “For example, production can be increased if this is required to meet increased order and sufficient machine capacity is available. Alternatively, production can be reduced when there are fewer orders pending in order to match a specific maintenance interval.” In this way, production machine maintenance can be carried out based on the load conditions and according to requirements instead of specific time intervals and acute