JUNGHEINRICH : Ready for the future
Q. What are the key growth drivers of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) industry in India?
With the trend of using safe and reliable products that are highly efficient, coupled with the need of companies to build larger and higher warehouse, we see a growth in the market. Also, many policy changes like implementation of GST, Industry status for Logistics is also contributing to growth in demand.
Q. How are emerging trends like automation, robotics and IoT influencing the MHE industry?
Growing automation capabilities in the manufacturing space coupled with increasing penetration of advanced technologies, such as IoT, RFID, and AI, are expected to drive the material handling equipment market growth. Automated material handling systems are gaining popularity with the growing inclination of industries to replace human labor with automated systems. RFID, IoT and Automatic Identification & Data Capture (AIDC) technologies are becoming significantly popular as they improve the order fulfillment process and help in enhancing productivity across the supply chain.
Our Logistics Sytem range consists of our Automation portfolio range like Very Narrow Aisle truck with Warehouse Navigation and Logistic Interface, Automated Guided Vehicle, Under Pallet Carrier, Carousels, ASRS, Warehouse Management System and many more to cater to emerging trends in the industry.
Q. Can you share your thoughts when it comes to the safety factor in the material handling sector?
Safety is most important aspect of Material handling and at Jungheinrich; we pay special attention to this. Our products are embedded with features, which provide high safety, reliability and productivity in equipment. e.g. Our forklift is equipped with features like curve control on bends/turns, mast cushioning, energy saving during braking, crawl speed switch and anti roll back ensure safe operation. Increased productivity comes from higher speeds, lower deadweight per tonne of capacity and high residual capacity at maximum lift heights. Our machines are designed considering ergonomics and anthropology requirements, features like adjustable seats, adjustable steering, more leg space, more visibility all enhance the ease of operation for the operator.
Q. What are the latest trends you see in the material handling sector, in terms of advanced technologies, new applications & solutions? How are they shaping the future of the material handling industry?
Lithium Ion technology is definitely the trend in industry, Jungheinrich is amongst the early suppliers who adopted lithium-ion technology to material handling equipment. These batteries are extremely compact, more efficient, fast charging, provide 6-10 times more cycles, have 100 per cent discharge and are environment-friendly as compared to lead-acid battery. In future, lithium-ion battery will be standard feature for our trucks. Since our launch in last year, we have seen a great level of acceptance amongst customer for this technology.
Q. In your view, how has the government is Make in India campaign given a boost to the MHE industry?
The “Make in India’’ initiative did not have much of an impact on the material handling sector in terms of the global MHE companies starting to manufacture in India. The initiative did see a lot of our customer segments increase their manufacturing activities in India, which thereby does work in our favour in terms of growth in the market.”
