Linde event shows off modern forklifts

The live demonstration areas showcased a wide variety of everyday situations from lorries to shipping containers to packaging robots and high bay racking systems. They can see solutions, products, and software tools that are designed to optimise handling processes and make them fit for the future.

The main subject area—“Warehouse”—focuses on the handling and storage of goods at different heights on high shelving. A Linde combi-truck moves along a towering narrow-aisle shelving unit. It is equipped with the Active Stability Control assistance system, which compensates for uneven surfaces in milliseconds. In another area, tour guides showed visitors how the safety guard functions: Anyone wearing a receiver and the driver of the truck receive a visual and acoustic warning before the approaching reach truck can even be seen. Another warehouse sequence looked at the fast storage and retrieval of goods. This includes the presentation of the new driver-seated pallet truck with lifting heights of up to 6.2 metres, equipped with a lithium-ion battery and the Linde Load Management assistance system. The latter prevents the operator from lifting anything heavier than the maximum permissible load, which could otherwise cause damage or injury. The automated Linde-MATIC trucks demonstrate that all major material flow processes can now be organised in the warehouse with autonomous equipment. 

The subject area “Loading and Unloading” involves the demonstration of typical set-ups for incoming goods and dispatch: Lorry unloading and deliveries down to the last mile, loading an overseas container, goods transportation from the platform to the bulk storage area. The focus is on a whole range of innovations: narrow pallet trucks and double-deck loaders, and a versatile electrical tiller tow tractor for loads of up to 1.3 tonnes, and the Truck Call app that can be used to issue transport jobs via mobile device.

Dematic partnership

The third main subject area showed how Linde and its premium partner Dematic have come together to show off a complete range of picking solutions: from fully- or semi-automated systems to special solutions for manual picking. These include the AutoStore solution from Dematic—an ultra-compact warehouse and automated goods-to-person picking system—and Linde robotics autonomous industrial trucks. The Dematic PutWall system was installed nearby. In order to process orders quicker, goods are scanned on one side of the wall and assigned to a compartment via light control; order picking, packaging, and automated reordering are carried out on the other side. The semi-automated low-lift N20 OptiPick order picker is set up in front of another shelving system. Using a wristband, the operator gives driving commands to the device, which carries them out autonomously and therefore saves the employee from unnecessary travel between the truck and the shelf. 

Visitors could also experience a complete production environment with corresponding trucks and machines in the fourth main subject area “Production and Transport”. It shows how fully- and semi-automated and manual processes can work hand in hand for goods transportation, from pre-assembly to assembly, packaging, and dispatch. Once again, it is particularly fascinating to see the precise interaction between the various autonomous devices and machines, controlled as if by magic. The new autonomous C-MATIC guided cart, the P-MATIC tow tractor, a fully-automated packaging machine, a single-arm articulated robot, and an automated small-load transport system will be on display. There are further innovations in manual equipment: The double-stack order picker, the E10 electric forklift truck, and the Trolly Supply Truck.