Logimat 2018 will once again feature a number of innovations and – however you interpret them – world firsts. As Jungheinrich does not want to reveal its secrets until the start of the trade fair, we will content ourselves here with looking back and looking ahead – and record figures.
“It’s going to be an exciting year for intralogistics!” enthuses Dr. Lars Brzoska – and you can hear that he actually means: It’s going to be a successful year for Jungheinrich!
Well, Jungheinrich’s Board Member for Sales rightly shows his proudly swollen chest when he mentions current figures, trends and developments (no, this is nothing new – Jungheinrich has had positive things to report before. It’s just that the tone has changed): Looking at the forecast for the past year, Jungheinrich expects incoming orders of around 3.5 billion euros and net sales of around 3.4 billion euros – a record in the company’s history. Pre-tax profit is estimated at 250 to 260 million euros.
A volume of 1,395 thousand units produced (2017) is forecast for the global market as a whole. This is an increase of 18% compared to 2016 (1,182 thousand) or 25% if, like Brzoska, this is compared to 2015 (1,100 thousand). The comparative value in the individual regions of the world – and if we stick to 2015, the figures are even more impressive – is 26% for Europe, 14% for North America and even 37% for Asia.
Over 100,000 trucks
But back to Jungheinrich. Apart from the data that has to be published, the Hamburg-based company can boast even more record figures: for the first time, over 100,000 trucks were produced in one year. The provider of intralogistics solutions is now represented in 39 countries (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru were added last year) with a total of around 16,000 employees.
And: according to Jungheinrich, last year it recorded the largest single order for lithium-ion forklift trucks of all time. The company that placed the order, which does not wish to be named, has recognized and believes “that we are in a position to deliver 1,000 trucks with lithium-ion technology,” Brzoska continues.
Noble restraint
Keyword: lithium-ion: The pioneer in the field of alternative energy storage is still – nobly – holding back on this. But that will be over at exactly 09:30 on March 13, 2018. That’s when Jungheinrich will unveil its world premiere in the field of lithium-ion forklift trucks. The same applies to another innovation, which will be kept under wraps at this point.
What can be said: At Logimat 2018, for example, the Hamburg-based company will be showcasing its new remote control for the horizontal order pickers in the ECE family called “Easy Pilot Follow”. This is a semi-automated control system that allows the ECE to follow its operator automatically. The operator carries a control unit in their pocket or on their belt and can therefore concentrate fully on the picking process.
On the spot at the picking station
“The associated ECE positions itself precisely so that the goods can be placed directly in the right place on the fork,” explains Gunnar Tons, Head of Product Management at Jungheinrich. The truck is always available at the picking station, it follows the operator as he moves forward and stops in the exact position – eliminating the need for time-consuming, frequent mounting and dismounting as well as the longer walking distances from the picking station to the order picker and back.
Jungheinrich will also be exhibiting a high-rack stacker at Logimat in Stuttgart that was first presented at the end of 2015. The new feature of the EKX 516a is that it can now also be automated. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Rosenbach, Board Member for Logistics Systems at Jungheinrich: “The truck is now the newest member of the automated guided vehicle family.” It rounds off the portfolio as an automated solution for warehouse tasks with lifting heights of up to 13 meters.
In-house development from Norderstedt
According to Jungheinrich, this is the first time that the company has exclusively exhibited trucks with lithium-ion technology at Logimat. The Hamburg-based company is also presenting a new generation of SLH 300 high-frequency chargers, specifically the SLH 300i, for fast and effective charging of lithium-ion batteries. The chargers are proprietary developments that are produced at the Jungheinrich plant in Norderstedt. According to Dr. Carsten Harnisch, Head of Jungheinrich Energy and Drive Systems, the chargers are “an integral part of the Jungheinrich system solution”.
These are just some of the solutions from the portfolio that Jungheinrich will be presenting on its almost 1,000 square meters of exhibition space in Hall 9 at Logimat. Lars Brzoska will also be there again, who will not only say that 2018 has “started excellently” from Jungheinrich’s point of view, but that 2018 will be a very successful year for Jungheinrich.
2018 – jak