Happy New Year and welcome to the 15th January Warehouse & Logistics News, our first issue of 2014.
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As British industry knuckles down again to work after the Christmas break and we grit our teeth against the winter weather, the good news is that the business mood is more optimistic than it’s been for several years. In the words of the Prime Minister no less, the UK economy is turning a corner. Manufacturing continues to show expansion, the jobless rate is the lowest since 2009 and recovery remains on track. More businesses are opening up, people are getting jobs, more factories are busy making goods for export, and in our sector we’re seeing a continuation of the resurgence in confidence we reported at IMHX last March. The ‘W&L’ sector held on in there during the difficult last few years, and now it’s well placed to help deliver the growth from here on in.
Out there it’s the flu season. In this issue we have three features to help your warehouse stay fighting fit. ‘Doors & Curtains’ includes industrial doors, curtains and roller shutters. ‘Buildings/Facilities’ looks at Main structures and key equipment including temporary structures. And ‘Warehouse Lighting’ takes in smart lighting solutions for today’s warehouses, LED, energy-efficient, long-life and sensor-activated systems.
Many readers will have made New Year’s resolutions about maintaining their pallet racking, and by now may feel in need of outside help. As our front cover story about the Rack Group reminds us, racking repairs can be costly, but are pivotal to any racking maintenance program. Racking is constantly under threat from forklift trucks and inevitably damage occurs. However 90% of this damage is to the first 600mm of the upright, raising the question: why replace the whole upright when only a small percentage is affected?
With the help of The Rack Group’s Sacrificial Leg Prop, racking can be propped up and repairs carried out while the damaged part of the upright is cut out with minimal fuss and disruption and a new sacrificial leg bolted into place. Repairs can be completed in under 20 minutes without needing to offload pallets or use access equipment. The Rack Group also offers the proactive racking maintenance program, “Rack Aid.” This involves them assessing clients’ racking systems and holding key stock items so the Rack Group can react quickly to incidents, ensuring minimal disruption and reducing lost production and downtime costs.
Have a successful and enjoyable 2014, and stay smiling.
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