FEATURE PRINTING, PACKAGING & LOGISTICS
The new Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) is easy to set up from idea to operation, while keeping the focus on material flow
C
OVID-19 has changed business as we know it in so many ways, yet while we
often hear of the negative effects, some areas are seeing huge growth. Take e-commerce as one example. Prior to the pandemic, e-commerce was increasing on average by 20% per year, commented Hilton Campbell, managing director of Interroll. Compared to last year, this has risen to 40%. Campbell explained that the pandemic
has been the catalyst for growth: Demands previously only witnessed on Black Friday or the Christmas period have become the ‘new normal’. In fact, many people who wouldn’t have used this method before are now purchasing items online. Baby boomers, for example, are becoming more tech savvy out of necessity, and there has been huge growth in people purchasing food, white goods, clothing, and more online. As a result, companies such as the Royal
Mail, Hermes, DPD and Yodel that send parcels are having to transport a far greater number of packages than before. With these, a ‘hub and spoke’ concept tends to be used, where goods are collected from the retailer or producer, transported to a hub, sorted (either automatically or manually), and then sent to the depots. To help increase automation levels, these
companies are pushing for more standardised regular shaped packaging, and it is expected that more irregular shaped packed goods will be purchased through the traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retail model. This growth in the number of packages being
sent out, however, has increased congestion at the carrier’s doors where products leave the trucks – and congestion has been further amplified by social distancing meaning less people can offload packages from the vehicles, slowing the process down, and resulting in significant congestion. New and environmentally friendly solutions are therefore needed to manage the congestion. To help, Interroll today offers a wide range
of solutions to its customers, which include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and systems integrators.
PALLET HANDLING SOLUTIONS Interroll provides a comprehensive range of modular pallet handling solutions which, when combined, are said to constitute the ultimate high-quality solution for the entire flow of pallets through manufacturing plants and distribution centres. These include the Modular Pallet Conveyor Platform (MPP); pallet flow and pallet handling solutions; and the brand new Smart Pallet Mover (SPM). In fact, the company recently expanded its
MPP with the introduction of a new stacker crane and transfer car which enable the fast and safe storage and retrieval of up to 100 pallets per hour. According to the company, with the launch of such solutions, companies for the first time have the opportunity to implement a continuous material flow with
20 SEPTEMBER 2020 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
ON THE MOVE Rachael Morling attended Interroll’s international
virtual press conference – travelling from Kettering in the UK to Germany and the Netherlands, all from the comfort of her own home office – to find out how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has triggered growing
demand for equipment such as pallet handlers and conveyors, and to learn about the company’s latest product: the Smart Pallet Mover
pallets, for example, between incoming and outgoing goods or between warehouse, production and order picking, on the basis of a technology offering from a single source. With an overall height of 12 meters, horizontal
travel speed of three meters per second, and lifting speed of 0.8 meters per second, the stacker crane offers lightweight construction and integrated energy recovery, which make it extremely energy-efficient. The transfer car, meanwhile, is for fast pallet
conveying. Up to five meters per second can be achieved, allowing even greater distances to be bridged quickly and reliably, such as in the area of route preparation or the connection between warehouse and production. Earlier this year, Interroll also introduced the
MX 025H Crossbelt Sorter, a high-performance system capable of handling up to 20,000 conveyed goods per hour. Interroll’s huge range of equipment will
therefore help in the transportation of goods while reducing bottlenecks and congestion at the doors.
INTRODUCING SMART PALLET MOVER During a production logistics survey commissioned by the company and conducted by an independent agency, Interroll asked 200 production companies in Germany what the three most important requirements for pallet conveyor technology are: 35% responded with high-tech design; followed by simple operation (53%); and robustness (58%). With the results of the survey in mind, the company began developing the Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) in
order to better organise and automate the ‘last mile’ in manufacturing areas. According to Martijn Smit, business
development manager for Smart Pallet Handling, SPM is a smart system: It is easy to set up from idea to operation, while keeping the focus on material flow. And, as it can interface intelligently with other machines and equipment, it will become a key component for industry 4.0. The SPM is therefore a simple solution
designed for the low-throughput movement of pallets up to 1000kg in close proximity to manufacturing machines. Common applications include:
• Pallet handling/organisation/input/output by production cells or assembly lines
• Pallet handling by fully automated production machines
• Pallet handling in manual or robotised picking applications
• Pallet handling in robotised palletising applications. The SPM consists of a battery-operated
motorised unit mounted on tracks under the conveyor rollers; the SPM transfer which moves pallets between parallel conveyors; and conveyor modules. With this, it is possible to add modules and reconfigure the system to accommodate changes in requirements. Meeting customer requirements, Interroll’s
material handling solutions are helping industry cope with today’s rapidly changing demands.
Interroll
www.interroll.co.uk
/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS
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