Welcome to the 15 January Warehouse & Logistics News, and a warm hello to our hard-working readers who have kept the UK’s warehouses and logistics operations going during the cold snap. Never mind brass monkeys, it’s been cold enough to injure an Arctic one, but thanks to your efforts the country has kept going. It’s certainly been a chilly start to the year in the retail sector, which in turn means a ‘frost’ for warehousing and logistics professionals. The weather will eventually get warmer, of course, and spring will be here in a matter of weeks. Sadly, that’s going to be sooner than any warming in the economy, but if we can beat the physical frost surely we can come through the financial one too.
We’re all in this together, and Warehouse & Logistics News is pledged to continue to bring you the latest news every fortnight, in print and on-line, plus special features to help you and your business succeed. In this issue we’ve got features on doors and curtains, and on fork truck attachments, to help you kit out your operations to succeed.
Success stories are always inspiring, and we’ve got cheery news in our interview with Whirlowdale Group. The British-owned materials handling and logistics supplier continues doing well and has been enhancing its service to help customers flourish. Whirlowdale has stepped up its plastic and wooden pallets and packaging solutions with a new range of plastic pallets, an enlarged HQ and an extended service depot network.
We also have a major profile on Unisto, another success. Over 70,000 vehicles worldwide rely on Unisto’s electronic seals for increased security and operational efficiency, and their blue chip customers include major retailers, parcel carriers and 3PL’s. From their transport security roots, Unisto have extended their expertise to iRFID and infrared technology, but security seals remain their core business.
Finally, if you take a long-term view of business, you’re presumably enjoying our exclusive series on the history of the forklift truck, now up to episode 35. Our writer is James Brindley who runs the National Fork Truck Heritage Centre, Britain’s first such collection open to the public. James’s saga has now reached 1960, when the featured names at the Earls Court Exhibition included Hyster, Jungheinrich, Sichelsmidt, Steinbock and Atlet. The forklift industry as a whole is very different now compared to 1960, but these names are all still with us, and long may they go on.
Happy reading!
Charles Smith
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