CeMat 2014: Bravo 4 Zero – Extreme engineering and the truth about T5, by Paul Casebourne

) as fuel for B4Z thought, all of which could be funded by Bravo 4 Zero type funding, or the German equivalent. I have also added those who have business opportunities arising out of speaking with them, or simply listed what they do. Read it and tell me out of this tiny sample from over 1000 exhibitors MHW magazine reviewed for our readers, you can still afford to stay at home this week:-

Mobicon Container Handlers: http://www.mobiconsystems.com

Can bring containers inside buildings and under low awnings.

Extreme low wheel weights

Operator does not have to leave the cabin to hook up

ELME spreader (ELME is the name of the spreader maker)

Small turning circle

Faster turnaround times

Perhaps also in the near future this type of equipment may be able to check the weight ( they can do that now) and contents uninvasively during handling including stow away checks, feeding back the information to the owners and security services. The container itself may even be RFID’d so the hirer knows exactly where it is at all times. A detector could satellite text its last known position in the event of shock detection alerting the security services.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Europe http://www.hyundai.eu build ships amongst other things and power generation, not to mention motor cars. They are working on equipment beyond my imagination right now to take the global Bravo 4 zero mission to new levels.

Elmot Bulgaria Motors and Drive Systems http://www.elmotbg.com/en/products.html but not exclusively for cranes OET lifting equipment. Technology is available to monitor, improve and maintain what they make.

Beumer Group http://www.beumergroup.com leaders in conveyor manufacturing, already partnered with some remarkable IT specialist making mechanical engineering products wildly more functional, controllable, durable and affordable.

Bito Lagertechnik http://www.bito.com in small parts storage systems and work place systemization, they take organisation to a whole new level.

Bohnerkamp AG Major Tyre Distributors http://www.en.bohnenkamp.de/ in industrial tyres. A company which survives on its expertise and strong relationships with it highly competitive supply chain and manufacturers.

Clark Europe Fork lifts http://www.clarkmheu.com of the best known and longest established fork truck maker, just completing their new plant builds in Germany, are oozing gadgets and gizmos which will save money and time and have new cost effective build programmes rolled out to save the end user time and money.

Continental Reifen Industrial Tyres, makers and distributors on a global scale with analytical skills and in process material builds to improve industrial safety and durability for many forms of vehicles for almost all environments. They have good ideas on how to cut down time for maintenance which are out working in the field now and have track records on strong industrial performance.

Egemin Automation Systems – Design and build storage and handling http://www.egemin-automation.com projects they are the buzzword on the edge of the B4Z initiatives.

Grammer AG taking Cab furniture and seating https://www.grammer.com/ to a whole new level, what they know about RSI avoidance and safe working ergonomic positions is the stuff of legends. They could have talking seats that warn you to "wake up" I could go on, but enough said!

Hörmann KG Industrial doors. http://www.hoermann.com/ security system possibilities here for B4Z but they already use clever circuitry to produce some very useful and desirable features including a very high speed conventional door.

Iwiss Antriebssysteme Precision chain drives. http://www.iwis.de system and development partners for all well-known car manufacturers – Their engine system solutions can be found in virtually every vehicle on and off the world’s roads today. Clever surface technology and precision machining techniques are a defining feature.

J Schmalz Gmbh http://de.schmalz.com/ Vacuum lifts. Winners of many awards including one for the best Employer. Best known for precision assisted vacuum lifters. They were the first to tackle the problems of work positioning quickly and safely. They are clever with smart solutions.

Jungheinrich AG Warehouse Equipment http://www.jungheinrich.com/ with technology and it is the warehousing benchmark. Anything you use, need to build, pick, shift and handle is done by this global company and with so many products available to deliver their promise it’s hard to know where to begin. If you thought you knew Jungheinrich you probably don’t, there is so much to find out. Put them on your list of influential companies in global materials handling and storage otherwise you are missing out. Their gear really can talk to you!

Kardex Remstar – Carousels http://www.kardexremstar.com Makes the what that goes round come round, specialist in high density storage, labour saving, fast pick and pack, secure systems. They also abound with clever software. Don’t build out build up, it’s cheaper!

Sick AG Sensor and detection equipment http://www.sick.com Because you need to know and measure, monitor, control, detect, sense and gather critical data. They are the world’s partner in electronically accountable intelligence gathering.

Still Fork Trucks and Tractors http://www.still.eu/ The place to start when you need a focused approach to operational issues. Strong on service with a substantial, reliable range of warehousing and yard solutions they deliver solid compact solutions for fast moving stock and work in progress.

Viastore Systems Warehousing, sort, convey, pick and put design and build http://www.viastore.com/ This is the ideal partner for complex fast moving warehouse operations. They will help you design, build and equip it.

Vitronic Camera inspection and machinery vision http://www.vitronic.de recognition devices to detect and record condition and data, fast accurate QA and enforcement tools for machinery and robotics.

Volvo – http://www.volvopenta.com power packs delivering ICE power to the point of need, clean power output solutions for industrial machinery to generate both electricity and drive for machinery and vehicles.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG http://www.zf.com High performance gearing, drive shaft mountings and braking systems for power generation and transmission equipment.

ProxiPi – http://proxipi.com Clever anti collision device with audible intervention over a 16 M range to prevent site incidents in high risk areas where uncoordinated activities are likely to develop.

Camoplast Solideal – Tyres. http://www.camoplastsolideal.com/ With their own rubber plantation, this company can create the exact compounds and structures they want to tackle the issues faced by operational equipment in industry. Result – informed, affordable and competitive durability with safety by design. Popular with the big FLT OEMs.

BYD Europe Fork trucks and Road Vehicles http://www.byd.com/ Interesting company history and specialist in lithium iron battery power technology which has led them into a range of electric, commercial vehicle and goods vehicle handling equipment.

Copal Development BV http://www.copal-development.nl/ Stripping machine for intensive container unloading offering conveying and palletising solutions with single operative requirement, very fast and lowest achievable manning levels in container unloading operations.

Qimarox BV Palletisers and vertical conveyors, http://www.qimarox.com/products Taking precision conveying to a whole new level quite literally with layering and integrating technology for uninterrupted pallet layering and builds for take off and transfer applications.

Knapp AG Storage organisation, http://www.knapp.com pick, put and process capability for warehousing and logistics.

Kalmar – The word for Big Machinery – http://www.kalmar.com/en Kalmar is where to go when you need to organise containerised cargo in ports or sites where 40 tonnes upwards is where the game starts.

Ferag ag Specialist in print room collation and bundling http://www.ferag.com/ This really is very specialised plant and equipment solutions for bagging and packing paper and card materials, for example magazines both bundling and individual wraps and sortation.

Cummins Engines provider of IC engine solutions for OEM’s. http://distribution.cummins.com Quietly getting on with the business of clean power for on and off road applications, marine and power generation with resource in closely associated activities such as filtration for example. Big community contributor Cummins is not scared to take on worthy projects which can make a life altering difference – good philosophy, in controlling their role well on our fragile planet.

Toyota Materials Handling https://www.toyota-forklifts.eu

With their own special day you might expect Toyota had a special one lined up, you would be right it was epic, this is what happened.

With around 50,000 employees this company knows a thing or two about vehicle production, so when their attention was turned to materials handling they didn’t take it on idly to fill in time. They took it on with the same intention as the automotive success and that was to deliver what the market wants at an affordable price at a sustainable build program rate.

Announcements

They announced the launch of their new trucks. They have had these plans in process, exhaustively trialed and proved to market readiness and rolled them out at the CeMat special review with names like Tonero, Levio and I_site, Toyota wheeled out their top brass and announced they are poised to become Europe’s number 1 provider of fork lift trucks.

How on earth can you announce that speculatively? The answer is you can’t, with stock markets and shareholders baying for blood when dividends don’t perform and dependents’ dreams smashed, you need to be sure of yourself with such an announcement. Whilst the assembled gathering were asking lots of product questions, (after all it really was about the new products) my attention wandered to the required human resource issues that just has to swamp that statement. Simple maths can provide a truck output per head of employment level and then there are the issues of natural migration and retirement. I just had to know more. I really didn’t want to ask that question with an audience of 100 journalists so I thought it was better to be silent and appear a fool than speak, get the words all wrong and remove all doubt!

I was shaking at the Knees

I waited for my chance and as the senior Toyota board members disconnected themselves from the PA system I suddenly found myself in front of Matthias Fischer, Vice President Marketing and Sales TMHE (Toyota Materials Handling Europe…did you just say wow!)

Man or mouse I thought, squeak up now or forever hold your peace.

"Please may I ask a question" I heard myself say

"Yes of course" replied Matthias (Mr. Fischer to me)

"You must have an H.R team ( thats human resource not hormone replacement) of the size of a small country to deal with this announcement, the responsibilities are simply incomprehensible to me"

"It is the key" was the reply, I thought this is no accident, they know the responsibilities that go with their statement. So it was no statement at all then? Success is never final, merely a consequence of doing the right thing and then getting the thing right.

"You cannot believe the ongoing work involved just to maintain what we do," Mr Fischer continued "every key job must have plans A to C, in other words we have 3 back ups for every job"

You’ve been Thunder struck!

I was beginning to see why they needed an Academy.

"If we can recruit people young enough," I was trying to keep up with what Mr Fischer was saying to me "We can train them into our culture"

Now I know just exactly what that means, it means:

A real career path

Managed development

Leadership

Training

Mentoring

Variety

Transparency (and not just through a glass ceiling)

Holistic knowledge

But above all the freedom to be "me" in a fair environment where the warrior classes police and protect but always fairly and never manipulate or bully to get ‘The way’. ( A good grasp of ‘the house divided’ syndrome)

Lining up Your Ducks

Are Toyota capable of delivering that dream into the many varied cultures of Europe?

Well history says they are. Not only that, so does their financial record. When you do deliver on that promise you will aspire to the number one slot not aggressively but as a consequence of being a rising tide of good practice. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not patronizing them, I just don’t believe you can say you are going to be number one on product alone. After all the customer has a choice, is not stupid and is faced with a great many equally attractive options to rival the best offer Toyota has, and they know it.

So the overriding message Toyota presented, but without laboring it in any way, was the customer comes first. To achieve this, all Toyota’s ducks have to be properly lined up and after some time of dealing with all that mother nature could throw at their best laid plans, global recession and financial melt downs in world economies (not least our own), they seem to have emerged without the visible scares of business battle on a universal scale. In my experience they are not invaders they are developers and expert partners in a tough environment, they don’t complain about stepping up to reality, and go out of their way to help you. So now you can say wow!

The Forecast is Good

There you have it. This is what Europe and in particular the U.K. and Germany are presenting as the future for our industry. It starts on May 19th until the 23rd 2014 and bi annually thereafter.

As for Exhibitions being a waste of time, consider this forecast:

55,000 people 44,000 of whom are decision makers,

A spending power of several billion over the next 10 years

Memory recall to 5 years

Over 100,000 business opportunities worth trillions

Networking and Information exchange

Career prospects

Job opportunities

Global connection to the world’s most influential people

New ideas

Problem solvers with the muscle to deliver

Like minded people

Business support on a mind blowing scale

Along with our weather, I can also forecast extreme engineering, an imminent growth in the more traditional basic engineering works, cleverly supported by a whole new range of electronics as brilliant folk find new and surprising uses for iPhones, iPads and computers linked to sensors and measuring devices with miniature IT implants enabling them to tell us what is going on at unthinkable levels, performing thousands of calculations and comparing these to produce fascinating results and if you don’t believe it now, Believe this: two of the biggest engineering power houses in Europe are now lining billions into the fantastic future of this technology, and just like Toyota they are not going to do that if they are not certain good things were going to follow as a consequence. Companies such as Siemens are already off the starting blocks by some margin.

Germany and GB Ltd compared.com

Compare the two Countries strategy.com

Vince Cable’s version of our strategy lines up infrastructure, naming banking, aerospace, training and technology in a much looser way than the German i4.0 plan which focuses purely on the ‘one thing’, the need to link up the actual wiring and Wifi aspects to further intensify the resulting information all the way up the supply chain and in the other direction out to the end beneficiary. German industry in this respect and materials handling and logistics in particular can get behind such a strategy, whereas our industry opportunities are posted via far bigger and diverse players like for example banking sectors and the establishment neither of whom are renowned for their philanthropical approach to some of the businesses which are directed to placing our manufacturing winners on the same level international playing field as our German competitors. I note that the list of German specialists, professors, doctors and leaders of the field is "extreme" for the Germans. Where as ours seems to consist of Vince Cable. Are we sure on this side of the channel that our much broader strategy will capture such a rare opportunity for us? Or are we about to fudge one of the biggest industrial revolutions for our nation since the first industrial revolution? Because that is how Germany sees it and their vision seems very clearly 3d.

Bravo 4 Zero, over and out (not for a Duck I hope)

See you at CeMat then.

For more information and reading please visit:

http://www.cemat.de and http://www.bmbf.de/en/19955.php for the 4.0 initiative in Germany for the UK http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/ and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-and-industry-unite-behind-industrial-strategy-to-help-british-businesses-grow