Toyota's Holger Urbschat with a model of the Ultralifter

Materials handling and logistics will be on display in three dedicated halls at the Hannover Messe industrial show in April. This will be the second edition of the trade show to incorporate materials handling after the termination of the stand-alone CeMAT format. According to Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe, the massive show will demonstrate "how machines, production plants and intralogistics processes can be transitioned to the digital world". Forkliftaction News attended the show preview and heard from organisers and exhibitors about plans for the event. Deutsche Messe materials handling spokeswoman Brigitte Mahnken-Brandhorst says production and logistics are now inseparable and "it therefore makes sense to integrate (what used to be CeMAT) in the Hannover Messe". Mahnken-Brandhorst stresses that the expanded materials handling presence at the industrial show is very different from other logistics trade shows. "We attract different visitors who are looking for solutions - the managers, the CEOs who come to Hannover to get the big picture," she notes. Toyota Material Handling Europe will replicate the Toyota Village concept seen at last year's IMHX show in Birmingham. Toyota's German-based spokesman, Holder Urbschat, told Forkliftaction News one of the highlights will be the first showing of a new autonomous vehicle set to revolutionise materials handling, the Ultralifter. The Ultralifter can be trained in a digital twin of a real warehouse and is designed to work in teams together with other vehicles from Toyota's swarm family. Like many Messe exhibitors, Toyota will also participate at LogiMAT next month, so the decision to participate in Hannover was not an either/or choice. "The main difference is that LogiMAT is more like a sales fair (with a focus on products), while the Hannover show is more conceptual and forward-looking," he explains. The marketing head of Still, Rhea Landkammer, believes the addition of materials handling to Hannover Messe will bring advantages for visitors as intralogistics plays an increasing role in business success. Still's exhibit will focus on automation and "will show customers different concepts to guide them through an Intralogistics 4.0 journey," she explains. The stand will be manned by automation consultants who will help customers understand how to improve their operations. "We offer a wide portfolio of solutions for different stages and processes," she says, adding that many of these, such as the latest version of iGo Neo order picker, will be featured. "We have a complete range of automated vehicles to automate the whole materials flow." For Still, automation is no longer a novelty, and the company undertakes serial production of a range of special vehicles. Hannover Messe 2020 will run from April 20-24 in Hannover.