From manufacturer to consumer, and back. Almost every parcel and package despatched today has encountered Caljan at some point in the handling process. Our Telescopic Conveyors may have made the loading/unloading process safer, easier and more efficient. Our Automated Solutions may have applied a carrier-specific label, inserted consumer documentation and routed the package rapidly and cost-effectively. Our purpose is to improve the logistics process, so our customers are able to deliver the right items to the right place — at the right time.
MD UK & Vice President of Automated Solutions
For more than half a century, we’ve helped parcel carriers, retailers and manufacturers around the world handle loose-loaded cargo efficiently. We continuously evolve our product offering and develop our processes to anticipate future challenges. Multiple manufacturing facilities, on both sides of the Atlantic, and a comprehensive sales and aftermarket network provides on-going support.
Caljan is a global company, owned by Investment AB Latour.
Derek Wright, Managing Director UK & Vice President of Automated Solutions at Caljan Limited spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What products or services does your company offer?
At Caljan we have four main deliverables to the market. We started out in 1963 manufacturing telescopic boom conveyors. Today Caljan is world-leading in this product. We also develop and produce Document Handling and Labelling solutions for retailers and manufacturers globally. In selected European regions we provide fully-automated conveyor solutions. The whole product range is supported by our Service Division offering 24/7 emergency calls, planned or even residential maintenance plus refurbishment, upgrades etc.
Which industries do your customers operate in and which sectors are growing fastest?
For many decades, our main focus has been post and parcel. Caljan products and services are delivered to almost all Parcel Carriers both regionally and globally.
In the past two years this sector has grown exponentially with the increase in online shopping.
We also work with manufacturers, retailers and e-tailers. In reality, anyone who moves parcels or products within buildings, between facilities, to a network or to consumers can benefit from the products and services Caljan offers.
Do you have any examples of a project you have recently completed?
Although NDAs prevent us from disclosing details, our focus in the UK in recent years has had to be on parcel carriers. As they have grown, we have provided a steady stream of products and services, so much so, that we have grown with them.
What are your most recent product innovations?
At Caljan we are always innovating, extending our scope and applying new technology. The most notable recent developments are:
• Caljan AutoLoader fills a trailer with minimal supervision, reducing labour intensity and time requirements giving huge time and cost benefits.
• Caljan Print & Apply with Flying Applicator tracks items placed randomly on the belt before touching down to firmly apply the right label in the right spot.
We have also recently integrated the Intralox technology into a fully automated routing solution. This allows our customers to increase throughput and cope with enormously diverse parcel dimensions. Both larger and smaller packages are handled automatically.
What are the major trends and developments affecting your category and your customers, and how are you responding?
Growth in e-commerce is driving our customers to find ways of sorting higher volumes of parcels in the same building footprint. Caljan is developing and delivering new and improved technologies, as well as innovative system designs to deliver increased throughput.
How were business levels in 2022 compared to previous years?
2022 was another outstanding year for Caljan, cementing the incredible growth the business has experienced over the previous two years and building further growth into 2023.
What is your strategy for succeeding in the current climate?
Consistency, quality and innovation. Delivering the high standards we set with innovative technology and designs will allow us to keep pace with increasing market demands.
What training do you provide for your staff?
We are heavily invested in our staff development. As part of our new UK office, we have a dedicated Training Academy for our engineers and we have recently employed a Training Manager, dedicated to continually improving the knowledge and skills of our team.
What is the company’s commitment to social responsibility?
Like many of the logistics and retail companies that we work with, Caljan has a strong focus on minimising the impact our business has on the environment. Internally, this is leading towards a responsible, circular business model.
Just last month, we published our very first Sustainability Report. Being socially responsible is extremely important for Caljan.
As we work with the 17 UN goals for sustainable development, we have become keenly aware that there is a wide disparity between businesses developing to meet the challenge of e-commerce, and communities struggling to provide clean water. Sponsoring Solvatten became an obvious choice.
Are you helping customers boost the level of automation in their business?
This is exactly what we deliver to our customers but only when it is needed. We take the time to understand the customer pain and then design the right level of automation to meet today’s need with a flexible design for tomorrow’s challenge.
Do you help customers maximise the use of their existing warehouse space?
We have a clear focus on maximising efficiency and throughput in the space available to our customers. Our Design and Engineering Team deliver this through innovation, material flow analysis and 3D simulations to provide a design that will work for the application.
Will you be investing in your premises over the next 12 months?
No need. In January 2022 Caljan UK moved to a new facility in Milton Keynes. Our new HQ, based in Rooksley, showcases the business we have grown into. The building has been designed with our people very much in mind. We want to provide a perfect working environment, with space for some all-important downtime too.
What industries do you believe offer your business the most potential over the next year?
Post and Parcel will continue to be our cornerstone, but our Document Handling and Labelling solutions will provide us with opportunities within other growth markets, i.e. retail and e-commerce.
How future proof is your business?
Caljan is an extremely agile business. We pride ourselves on our innovative approach which has led us into new markets outside of our traditional telescopic offering.
Our owners continue to invest in us and support our growth journey, which we greatly appreciate.
Will you be exhibiting at any major trade shows over the next year?
After investing in new offices in UK, and a new manufacturing plant in Germany, we are taking the opportunity to invite customers to visit us. Our new facilities will host a number of open days so customers can have focused and dedicated time with the Caljan Team.
How would you sum up your company in three words?
Quality – Innovative – Global
CALJAN
01908 648900
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