Automation on show at WoMH

Linde Material Handling is highlighting the opportunities surrounding automation at its World of Material Handling (WoMH) customer event, sharing its vision for the 'smart factory'.

"Towing, transporting, storing - we will have an automated solution in all categories," says Tobias Zierhut, Linde head of product & service marketing, adding that many applications will be linked together in a networked system in the future.

At the centre of the WoMH display is the K-MATIC order picking forklift, the new Linde "driven by Balyo" robotic truck, which should come to market at the end of the year.

Automatic narrow forklifts run between shelves on a cable or rails and pick up or unload goods on both sides. When it has to change aisles during its operation, it moves without mechanical guidance using geonavigation. "There is a clear trend for narrow-aisle warehouses in Europe because of increasing property prices and a higher throughput of goods," explains Zierhut. "Automation offers our customers the opportunity to make further efficiency increases."

The order picker is the fifth model in the Linde robotics fleet, which already includes two pallet stackers (L-MATIC), one tractor (P-MATIC) and a pallet truck (T-MATIC).

"Internal logistics will increasingly be networked, digitalised and automated," explains Massimiliano Sammartano, Linde vice president, sales and service marketing and operations.

The two-and-a-half-week Linde event, currently under way, features exhibition areas, 3D-media shows, expert forums, product demonstrations and experience zones. "Following on from the comprehensive exhibition two years ago, we are concentrating this year on the four most significant areas of expertise which will be of vital importance for our customers in the very near future," explains Manfred Höhn, head of marketing communication and branding.

Linde will not participate in CeMAT later this month, opting instead to run its own event.