62 RAMP EQUIPMENT NEWS
TLD continues its expansion in the Chinese market
TLD recently announced the offi cial opening of its new facility in Wuxi, China, for the manufacture of airfreight loaders, pushback tractors and other airport ground support equipment. This facility expands the group’s global manufacturing footprint in Europe, America and Asia, and complements the factory already existing in Shanghai, and has the intention of meeting increased customer demand in China and other Asia-Pacifi c markets.
Since entering the Chinese market some 30 years ago, TLD has established a strong research and development, manufacturing and commercial infrastructure in China, becoming one of the largest companies serving the GSE market in the region. Most recently, TLD has invested US$7m in the 12,000 square metre Wuxi plant, which is already housing more than 80 employees and has ample room for expansion. From this geographically central location, the new facility will primarily serve the aviation industries, including airports, airlines and ground handling companies, as well as customers in the airfreight, catering and aircraft industries. In Wuxi, TLD will manufacture
airfreight loaders, tractors and trucks, including pushback tractors and baggage tractors, as well as water and lavatory vehicles. To ensure a quality, environmentally-friendly and safe working environment, the new facility will follow the best global and local manufacturing practices, and incorporate ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards.
“China is one of our fastest-growing markets and has been a key contributor to our success,” commented Jean-Marie Fulconis, President and Chief Executive Offi cer of TLD Group. “The Wuxi facility builds on our well-established presence in China and is an important next step as we closely follow with our product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities China’s fi ve-year plan to develop strategic industries, including infrastructure, aviation and related industries.”
A busy year for Schopf
Last year was a successful one for Schopf. Ongoing development of the complete cargo line led to product development challenges that resulted in the successful market integration of the 14 tonne LoadStar 140 main deck loader. Customers have reported that the product’s new features were very useful and combined with its reliability, have made the LoadStar 140 a useful vehicle for day-to-day cargo operations within the industry. The development programme for
a signifi cant order for tow tractors for moving aircraft aboard aircraft carriers presented major challenges over the past 12 months. Evaluations for this new development, the shipboard tow tractor, included more than 120 different tests, all of which were completed successfully. The tests were performed on a special test track in northern Germany and included long distance towing of a full load up and down a 5° incline. A total of 1,600 operating hours were completed without a single malfunction of any kind. The shipboard shock test, in which tractor components and the SST 50 tractor itself were subjected to extreme shocks with acceleration forces in excess of 50g, were the most demanding in the history of Schopf. The requirement for the tractor to be fully functional following the test was successfully met. In passing these stringent tests and evaluations the Schopf engineering team ably demonstrated the specialist vehicle expertise gained from more than 40 years’ experience of heavy tow tractor design. It is interesting to note that around 80% of the company’s sales represent orders from existing customers. Recent sales have included orders from the Far East, Australia, the Middle East, Russia and Europe, covering the full range of GSE. Because customer decision-making is ever more cost driven, the market is becoming increasingly competitive. Ground handlers and GSE operators are now focussing more and more on total cost of ownership, where initial purchase price only makes up less than 20% of total lifetime costs.
Short scheduled maintenance times have also become a crucial deciding factor in addition to high reliability. To complete it all, the new year saw Schopf become a part of the Goldhofer group, giving the latter a fully-rounded product range in terms of pushback tractors.
New 2D scanning technology launched by Access IS
Access IS, a global market leader for 2D barcode scanning technology in the
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2013
airport sector, has launched the LSR116: a compact sealed, water and dust-resistant 2D barcode reader which produces exceptionally fast and accurate reading of barcode data from smartphones, as well as printed paper.
The LSR116 is an innovative high-tech solution that takes away the high- investment often necessary for kiosk manufacturers. The simple plug-in design, using just a single bracket, enables it to be quickly and cost-effectively integrated with kiosks, podiums and ticket gates. It has a unique optimised focal distance and a 2D omni-directional barcode imager to ensure high-speed performance, instantly capturing and decoding barcodes in any orientation. It also provides simultaneous user feedback with a bright green LED light to reassure users of a successful scan. This makes it ideal for processing large numbers of customers, many of whom may be novice users and may be in a hurry. “Most barcode readers have a narrow focal range tolerance, and don’t employ omni-directional scanners. This makes it confusing and frustrating for users who often struggle to fi nd the correct angle or distance at which a barcode can be recognised by the scanner. The LSR116 offers exceptional performance, even overcoming the current market challenges of ensuring high performance reads for smartphone and tablet QR code displays,” comments Nigel Bonsor, Technical Director at Access.
Furthermore, the sealed LSR116 units
are certifi ed to IP67 standards and water- resistant up to a metre in depth, as well as being dustproof: this makes them suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments, as well as extreme weather. The 2D barcode reader features a single interchangable cable connection to a host PC, RS232 and USB interface options and FLASH upgradeable software. The imager reads all popular linear, PDF417 and 2D symbologies, including postal barcodes. Access is currently working with leading manufacturers who are keen to incorporate near fi eld communication (NFC) functionality into their design, an area in which Access has developed signifi cant expertise.
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