Welcome to the 15 May Warehouse & Logistics News. As we report in our Conveying & Sortation feature, the modern hi-tech warehouse is a highly impressive environment, with its automated conveyors and other systems that are transforming businesses’ materials handling efficiency, and even appearing in movies.

Also in this issue our Pallet Networks feature offers a review of the major European, UK and regional pallet networks; and in our Multimodal feature we look at the other options for moving goods including air, rail and sea, as Britain and Europe’s road networks get ever more congested.

The opening scene of the 2005 version of ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory,’ starring Johnny Depp, features a conveyor carrying lollipops. Okay, it’s a film but the technology behind the conveyor is real enough, as Gary Bale, MD of CI Logistics, who provided the conveyor and who we interview in our Conveying & Sortation feature – can confirm.

Outside the movie studios, CI Logistics is an international supplier and manufacturer of quality materials handling and storage systems, with high profile customers in a variety of sectors. CI specialises in overhead conveyors, floor conveyors, garment conveyors and storage systems, together with the necessary electrical controls. CI also has an in-house design and build service, and provide innovative solutions to any materials handling challenge.

CI Logistics’ other recent achievements include a major materials handling contract for Diageo’s £10m cooperage facility in Clackmannanshire, due for completion this summer. They have also installed a heavy-duty overhead conveyor in JCB’s paint facility and helped CMK (Treatments) increase the capacity of its Birmingham powder coating plant with a new power and free conveyor.

As regular readers know, Warehouse & Logistics News is proud to be Media Partner to the RTITB Operator of the Year Competition 2011, whose National Finals are now under way, and by all accounts generating a remarkable response. As reported in this issue the Northern England National Final took place on Wednesday 20th April, hosted by competition co-sponsors Toyota Material Handling UK at their Castleford, West Yorkshire premises. Gary Maher from Jarrow, a re-entrant from the 2008 competition, who incidentally is employed and trained by competition co-sponsors TNT Express Services UK & Ireland, was crowned Northern England National Champion. Gary now goes forward to the Grand Final on Friday 16th September.

Finally, our exclusive series on the History of The Fork Lift Truck has now reached 1969. That was the year men walked on the moon and fork lifts worked under water, as the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment in Christchurch tested out a sub-aqua forklift conversion of a Bray general purpose tractor.

Happy reading!

Warehouse & Logistics News

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