The vehicles and solutions from our KION Group subsidiaries are hard at work behind the scenes in many industries. This is especially true now in spring - for example in the flower trade or in tree nurseries.
2024-03-27
What do spring and the economy have in common? On the one hand, growth plays a major role in both. And secondly, both spring and the global economy could do with a little help from the KION Group. Here are a few examples - some of which are very surprising!
Trolleys in Aalsmeer take over the complete transport of plants and flowers.
FloraHolland in Aalsmeer near Amsterdam - the world's largest open marketplace for plants and flowers - is located in the heart of the Dutch spring, where the growing areas are transformed into a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours. In the midst of this colourful hustle and bustle, KION subsidiary Dematic manages a logistical masterpiece: every day, between 6,000 and 12,000 fully automated trolleys navigate independently through the aisles of the flower market, loaded with fresh cut flowers and plants.
The trolleys take over the complete transport from the cold stores to the auction area. This is made possible by an innovative underfloor chain drag conveyor from Dematic. The system allows the flowers and plants to take a spin around the auction area and be inspected by potential buyers before being transported to the dispatch area at lightning speed immediately after a bid has been placed. In this way, every flowering beauty goes directly into the hands of the dealer who placed the best bid as quickly as possible. Ron van't Hoog, Managing Logistics Operation FloraHolland, has nothing but praise for Dematic: "Not only do they know our systems very well, they also constantly help us to further optimise our processes," he explains.
From the colourful auctions of FloraHolland to the green gardens and forests where the Husqvarna Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of forestry and gardening equipment, is at home. At the logistics centre in Laichingen (southern Germany), the hub for European distribution, safety and efficiency play a decisive role - two areas in which Husqvarna has relied on good cooperation with KION subsidiary Linde Material Handling (MH) for several years.
Safety and efficiency are top priorities at the Husqvarna Group's logistics centre. The plant relies on the good cooperation with Linde MH.
The manager responsible for EHS (Environment, Health, Safety) in the Gardena Division at Husqvarna sought advice from Linde MH with the aim of significantly improving the level of safety within the company. As a result, Linde MH implemented a variety of solutions. Always with the company's own "Zero Accidents" philosophy as a guiding principle in mind. More than 30 vehicles in the intralogistics fleet have been equipped with modern safety and assistance systems such as Linde BlueSpot, Linde Safety Guard, Speed Assist, reversing alarms and access controls. The result of these comprehensive measures? A significant reduction in the number of accidents by more than 50 per cent!
The Belgian company Carolus Trees works in harmony with nature at its fruit tree nurseries in Limburg in the Flanders region. When growing pear and apple trees, green fingers meet robust technology. Carolus Trees relies on electric forklift trucks from Linde MH - and they literally do the dirty work: they reliably navigate through the mud when harvesting and transporting the trees in the open air.
Pieter Lemmens, production assistant at Carolus Trees, is delighted with the forklifts: "The ergonomics, the performance, the ease of use, the reliability, the safety - Linde sets the bar very high in all areas," says the tree nursery employee approvingly
The excellent cooperation with the KION subsidiary began with the detailed consultation on the selection of the forklift trucks. This made it possible to find an optimum solution for the specific needs of Carolus Trees.
Dematic supports the agricultural sector in Röthlein near Schweinfurt (Germany) in a completely different way: In the supply of urgently needed spare parts. Röthlein Logistik GmbH, a joint venture between BayWa AG and Schäflein AG, operates a 14,000 square metre multi-user logistics centre here specifically for the storage of spare parts and the processing of all e-commerce orders. The requirements are enormous; after all, any delay can have a direct impact on the success of the harvest. This is why Röthlein Logistik GmbH has set itself the goal of delivering spare parts as quickly as possible - sometimes within an hour of receiving an order.
With the help of dematic and the multi-user logistics centre, Röthlein GmbH supplies the agricultural sector with urgently needed spare parts in a timely manner.
From rings weighing just a few grams to combine harvester cutter bars weighing several tonnes, the range includes around 96,000 different spare parts, which are managed in a complex system consisting of Dematic solutions such as shelving, small parts and high-bay warehouses, a Dematic Multishuttle system and special warehouses such as a hazardous goods warehouse. The process is highly efficient, says Michael Hunstock, head of the logistics centre: "With the automation solution from Dematic, we have increased our goods turnover fourfold." A mature achievement!
But it's not just farmers and hobby gardeners who are drawn outside into the fresh air in spring - many recreational athletes also enjoy the sunshine and warmth of the open air after the dark season. Here, too, the products and solutions of the KION brands play a role, for example Bioracer, Europe's market leader for innovative, customised cycling speedwear (which has already equipped 616 medal winners at the Olympic Games and World Championships).
In Bioracer's Belgian warehouse, the jerseys are stacked using forklift trucks from Linde Material Handling - a conscious decision by the company. The quality and durability of the Linde trucks were decisive factors in the partnership - characteristics that are simply indispensable for Bioracer. Towards the end of the coronavirus pandemic, cycling gained enormous popularity worldwide - and brought the company a drastic increase in customer enquiries of 35 per cent within twelve months. Bioracer has the reliable forklift trucks from Linde MH to thank for the fact that it was able to cope with this growth in the warehouse.
From blooming seas of flowers to vital agriculture and the world of cycling, the KION Group and its brands play their part in springtime growth - in nature as well as in business!
