After a virtual event last year, CeMAT Australia returned to Melbourne last month, attracting around 3,000 registrations, 80 exhibitors and 50 speakers over three days.

According to organisers, automation was the main topic of conversation at the event, with lots of additional discussion about the complex conundrum of just-in-time versus just-in-case, and labour shortages that are affecting every link in the supply chain.

Presentations covered Industry 4.0, the implications of the rise of online shopping, rethinking supply chain configuration and networks, environmental sustainability and the unique aspects of the Australian supply chain.

Forkliftaction News facilitated a panel discussion on warehouse safety against a backdrop of increasing automation. Chris Littlewood, country manager for Combilift, said safety begins long before equipment is delivered to the end-user. It is inherent in the product design, and then enhanced through consultation with the client to ascertain the requirements and processes in which it will be used. 

Kent Rogers, global product development manager - inventory robots at DHL Supply Chain, explained his company’s comprehensive safety strategy which begins with thorough briefings of all new staff. “We have a commitment to making sure safety systems are in place, especially when we bring robots into a site that hasn’t had them before,” he explained.

Max Reynolds, director of DC design and optimisation at TMX Global, noted that automation can enhance safety by reducing human interaction with equipment, “but if not implemented correctly, it can be a hindrance as well”.

Jeff Triantafilo, intralogistics consultant - warehouse and logistics improvement engineering at FuzzyLogX, stressed the need to reconsider ergonomics in the operational areas when automation and manual processes interact. “It’s very important that, during the design phase, as many eyes as possible look at the processes,” he suggested.

There was some belief that people are still the weakest link in warehouse safety, with calls for more awareness, training, consultation and constant monitoring with a view to process improvement.

Automation on show

Automation solutions dominated the exhibition hall, with a number of big players represented.

Dematic director of marketing, Asia Pacific, Philip Makowski notes growing interest in automation as Australian companies face labour shortages, higher storage costs and increased demand for quick handling as e-commerce has taken off.

The Dematic stand was very popular among logistics professionals interested in current trends, checking out technological developments and looking for reliable partners, he says. 

“The focus for end-users has shifted from labour costs to labour availability,” he notes, adding that automation is discussed far more frequently than in the past.

Another trend, he says, is the shift from just-in-time to just-in-case. “With all the supply chain disruptions through floods and geo-political challenges, you need to design resilience into your operations – you need to have enough capacity, which often means having more inventory in the same footprint,” he adds.

Hai Robotics showed its HAIPICK A42T and HAIPICK A42 robots at CeMAT, with Julian Brancaccio, national director of sales, explaining that July marks the company’s first anniversary in Australia, following its first deployment in 2021 at the warehouses of Booktopia, Australia's biggest online bookstore.

Brancaccio notes that “everyone is looking to get super, super dense because the vacancy rates for commercial property around Australia are around 1.4%, so 70-80% of all the stock coming on the market in the next 18 months has been accounted for. So instead of moving, customers are looking for ways to ‘make things denser’.”

This interest in maximising the use of warehouse space presents significant opportunities for Hai Robotics with its line of tote solutions.

Despite the supply chain challenges, Hai is currently quoting around five months “from PO to implementation”.

Visitors to the Vanderlande stand were predominantly interested in e-commerce solutions, according to director Roald de Groot. “We try to combine solutions for brick and mortar and e-commerce because a lot of our customers are going in that direction. We’re seeing customers with growth of 20-30% in e-commerce, but that’s not at the expense of store articles, so they need more capacity in their existing facilities,” he says.

“Australia is really picking up the pace and taking that next step toward automation. It sounds a bit harsh, but COVID has helped,” he says, adding that the lack of staff forced businesses to reconsider their strategies.

de Groot admits that as a European-headquartered company, Vanderlande is experiencing supply chain challenges itself due to the conflict in Ukraine and the shortage of components, “but we try to mitigate that by properly forecasting – looking at the order book and the prospects in the sales space”.

“We also talk to our suppliers and share our outlook with them so that they can anticipate as well,” he says.

Knapp Australia managing director Michael Kemeny notes that last mile was a key topic of conversation with visitors at his stand, with at least half of them looking for improvements in customer service.

Supply chain resilience was another hot topic. “People are interested in a flexible automation system that can grow with the customer’s needs.

“Over the last two years, e-commerce has been exploding. And at the same, there has been a lack of resources in which you don’t get the right people (or any people at all!),” he says. “These factors are driving increased interest in automation, with people taking a more holistic view of their supply chains.”

VisionNav used CeMAT Australia to debut a new autonomous forklift and the Bright Eyes environment monitoring system. "As the epidemic dissipates and the Australian manufacturing and logistics industry sees new growth, a growing demand for intralogistics automation is obvious. VisionNav has customised autonomous forklifts and solutions for Australian users that offer unique advantages in efficiency, stability and safety," says Thomas Wilson, head of sales for VisionNav Australia.

The new VNP15 autonomous forklift shuttles between racks, performing high-level access and two-level stacking operations. The forklifts are equipped with four modules of positioning, perception, control and safety, which can autonomously plan paths and identify racks, goods and obstacles in the environment.

The new Bright Eyes System, meanwhile, uses real-time monitoring of storage positions, goods and persons in the buffer zone, to provide early warnings of risk from a distance.

Sortation specialist Tompkins Robotics was represented at CeMAT by its recently appointed local partner, Primary Sight.

Head of solutions ANZ Sean Hewat says the partnership is chasing the automated sortation niche. 

Hewat sees growing interest in automation, especially since “Australia is a little bit behind (the market leaders) and we’re playing catch-up”.

Thompson Brockmann, VP operations of the American company, sees sortation as an effective first step into automation. “Every DC has to sort something – whether on the inbound side, returns process or fulfillment. We have a solution that can do all of those,” he says. 

Hewat adds that the capital investment for sortation automation is low compared to other aspects of the distribution chain, so the ROI is more significant.

China’s Geek+ marked four years in Australia at CeMAT, boasting over 20 projects in the country.

The stand featured the Geek+ RoboShuttle tote-to-person picking solution, which was a popular stop for visitors.

‘Old school’ equipment

Traditional materials handling equipment was somewhat overshadowed by the automation solutions, with just a handful of exhibitors in attendance.

The major suppliers, including Toyota, Linde, Jungheinrich, Hyster and Yale, were conspicuous by their absence.

Jialift Australia had one of the most comprehensive equipment collections at the show, featuring machines from Heli and Jialift.

Spokesman Ryan Liu says there was strong interest in the Heli forklifts, especially the lithium-ion options.

To address any concerns about service support and parts availability, Liu confirms that Jialift will soon open a 3,000 sqm warehouse in Melbourne, with five factory-trained technicians on hand for technical support. The warehouse is expected to maintain stock levels of around 300 units to ensure order availability. Shipping times from China have increased from around 20 days pre-COVID to a month currently.

On the positive side, Liu says the shortage of second-hand machines and the high prices they command are helping his business, with the imports attractively priced despite the higher shipping costs. The long delivery delays quoted by some of the major players are also helping Jialift Australia.

Ireland’s Combilift showed off a range of equipment including its first order picker, the Aisle Master-OP.

Country manager Chris Littlewood notes that “2021 was the strongest year that Combilift has ever achieved in the Australian market in terms of the order book”. This year has been a bit quieter due to the long lead time of Combilift’s custom-built products and fears some may not make it before some of the write-down incentives are due to end next June.

Nonetheless Littlewood is seeing strong interest and expects good sales in the second half of 2022.

“Around 90% of what we do is customised materials handling equipment and as much as we are able to order stock, we do. But we tend to build to customer specifications, so lead times can be long,” he explains, adding that customers with a genuine need are generally prepared to wait for the right solution.

“Forewarned is forearmed,” he says, “so we are constantly talking to our customers and keeping them informed about the state of supply so that they know what to expect and can factor that into their fleet planning.” 

CeMAT 2022 saw a debut appearance by Big Joe Australia, with spokesman Jeff Marshall explaining that parent company ISS Equipment has just concluded a 10-year distribution agreement with Big Joe America. 

Like other exhibitors, many of the products which should have been on display were affected by shipping delays, but there were a number of walkie stackers at the stand.

Marshall notes that the Australian market has been buoyant, in part thanks to the government’s investment incentives which saw a big push from customers wanting delivery before the end of the financial year. That has presented some challenges, with deliveries currently delayed by up to four months.

He believes that Australian buyers have unprecedented product choice and while some customers may have been skeptical about Chinese-made equipment in the past, the value for money certainly overcomes a lot of hesitation.

Big Joe, he says, has a strong commitment to the Australian market and holds significant stock of parts and equipment.

Italian sideloader specialist Baumann shipped over one of the biggest pieces of equipment at the show, a diesel-powered HX50, which was the most recent model sold in Australia some years ago.

UK-based global marketing manager Tony Benson says Baumann used CeMAT to “re-establish itself in the Australian market” after distribution shifted from Red Australia to Komatsu. 

While the current Australian market is largely untested for Baumann, Benson says: “We’ve dramatically underestimated (the demand) in most parts of the world. We’ve also expanded the range to include much heavier models, making us much more attractive to the steel and timber industries.”

“We hope it could become quite a sizeable market. There’s no reason, if we do a good job of supporting it, that it can’t be done.”

Benson used the show to further cement the relationship with Komatsu and to educate the distributor about the range of applications for the sideloaders, but is also keen to build a larger dealer network to support the product nationally.

CeMAT Australia will be held in Sydney next year for the first time in eight years, scheduled for 25-27 July at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park. 

Check out our CeMAT Gallery here.