EuroSort is a specialist in loop sorters for high-speed single-item sorting, ranging from 5 grm to 32 kg and up to 32,000 uph. Our inhouse development and production are perfectly in tune with customer logistics/needs and market developments. Founded in 2003, EuroSort now employs over 200 dedicated professionals. Our headquarters, R&D, production, and service are based in the Netherlands, with additional branches in the US and Spain.
Kasper Stoffels, Marketing Manager at EuroSort, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What are your best-known products/solutions/services?
We are best known for our automated sorters. More specifically, most people will know us from our Split Tray Sorter, Push Tray Sorter, and Cross Tray Sorter. For over 25 years, we have been serving medium and large-sized companies in their logistics operations.
Our journey started with the Split Tray Sorter. In recent years, our unique Cross Tray Sorter, launched in 2019, has been gaining an increasing market share. Customers appreciate the unique benefits this sorter has, including its patented fully enclosed tray design.
How do you think your industry sector is performing at the moment?
Depending on which county or region, it is very different. Overall, there has been a lot of hesitation in the market in the first half of the year, where, of course, geopolitical issues were, and still are, a main factor. However, we still see an ever-increasing demand for automation solutions. This demand is largely driven by labour shortages across Europe and a rising need in Eastern European countries. Across different industries, the differences are even bigger. Some industries are currently stagnant, or even somewhat declining, while others are still seeing a surge in demand. Consumer goods are an ever-growing industry, whereas in Post, it is slightly more complicated.
How many markets are you in and what is your biggest market?
Across the globe, our solutions are used in more than 40 countries. Most often this is in what we call the fashion industry; garments, accessories, shoes and jewellery. However, our presence in the consumer goods market is growing. Additionally, we provide solutions for the Post and Parcel market, pharmaceuticals, and books/media distribution markets.
What are your most recent product innovations?
This year we have brought the prototype of our E-Sort to the market. This solution is specifically tailored to the needs of the e-commerce logistics operators, using the power of our existing product portfolio with new patented technologies. We have received some amazing feedback after the trade shows earlier in the year and we are very excited about showing this product in our innovation centre to potential customers. The E-Sort is set to revolutionise the e-commerce sorting process and will soon be fully available to the market.
Can you tell us about any recent customer contract wins or projects and how you helped the customer meet their challenges?
We have recently sold a sorter to a customer in Eastern Europe. In this competitive landscape, it is critical to develop technological advancements that make us stand out from the competition. For their retail operations, this customer was looking for a very specific number of destinations on a very tight footprint in their existing warehouse. Our Push Tray sorter, with patented chute pitch reducer technology, ensured that the number of destinations that were required was met. And also, it meant it could handle their wide product mix. The product mix ranged from single fashion items to multi-packs or bundles and anything in between. By working together and listening closely to the customers’ needs, we were able to meet and exceed the requirements in this project.
Can you foresee autonomous mobile robots and goods-to-person systems becoming more mainstream to improve efficiency and reduce manual labour?
We believe that G2P systems and AMRs are already mainstream. More and more we find them in our customers’ warehouses or in projects that we are bidding on. No matter the outcome, it is essential to always compare the different systems. Know what they bring, and also what the process around those systems looks like.
All the different systems, be it G2P or AMR, have a place in logistics operations. Reviewing the ROI and how this fits your product and output requirements is critical. For example, with G2P systems, we often see that it works really well for slow movers and lower output. If you need high-volume sorting, though, this may not be the best solution. The same goes for AMR solutions. So review your process and requirements critically before you buy into any solution.
Is the industry placing a greater emphasis on sustainability?
Sustainability is becoming a greater priority across the board. The new CSRD rules have also pushed this for larger companies. We see that companies of all sizes (including our own) are intrinsically motivated to work on sustainable solutions. Whether it is energy consumption or the recyclability of solutions, more often we get asked about how our solutions and our way of working affect the environment or the welfare of the operators. Actually, ergonomics should definitely be considered part of sustainability, and on all of the above topics, our solutions are helping in working towards a brighter future.
Are you placing greater emphasis on employee wellness such as investing in ergonomic environments and mental health support?
Absolutely. We place great emphasis on the ergonomics for both our own employees as well as those employees using our solutions. We build our solutions with operator ergonomics in mind, and in some cases this has also been the decisive factor in winning a project. Our solutions put the users at the forefront, from the silence of the sorter, to working on reduced physical stress on the operator.
What sets your company apart from others?
The business we are in is not aimed at short-term, fast relationships. Most of our clients have been with us for many years. This doesn’t only come from the high quality our solutions bring, or the low TCO, but also from working together and listening to our customers. Integrating any automation, and more specifically a sorting solution, often means some big changes in the process. We strongly feel connected to our customers and want to make sure they make the most out of our solutions. We stay connected and see where there are areas for improvement, and we also love to receive feedback. If an issue arises, we face it head-on and make sure that we solve it as quickly as possible. Our 25 years of experience and over 500 installations worldwide give us a huge advantage in our knowledge of automated sortation solutions.
How future-proof and flexible are your solutions?
Even though our sorting solutions are fixed to the ground in a warehouse, they are actually very future-proof and flexible. It shows how many of our installations are still operational, even going back to our first customers. Essentially, we offer our clients a few options when it comes to their existing installations. Refurbishments (mechanically and/or electronically) allow our solutions to run, even after the initial life span may have reached its end. This is often after 8-10 years. Relocations allow sorters to move with our customers to new warehouses or other warehouse locations. Next to this, we can also do upgrades where we alter or extend the existing sorter to the new needs of the logistics operation. The flexibility that this brings has often helped our customers to continue to use the sorter and increase the benefits of it over time.
Can you sum up your company in three words?
Efficient, precise, reliable.
EUROSORT
+31 (0) 88 88 77 425
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