Linde Material Handling is adding three compact, agile, and flexibly deployable logistics helpers for horizontal goods movements in warehouses and production to its extensive portfolio of automated solutions. The platforms on wheels, which are about a metre long and a little less than a metre wide, can turn and rotate the picked-up load on the spot. As a result, they require little space for driving or turning manoeuvres, making them ideal for warehouse layouts with limited space.

According to product expert Philipp Stephan, the vehicles can be used in a wide range of applications: they transport automotive components to modern production lines; they move building materials, spare parts, paper, or clothing on pallets or in wire mesh crates through warehouses; or they bring goods to people, following a picking concept primarily used in online retailing. The Linde C-MATIC arrives at predetermined transfer point and positions the load-handling device’s surface centrally beneath the transport table or a pallet in a transfer rack. The cart then lifts the load and transports it at a speed of up to 7.2 km per h to the designated staging area.

QR codes placed in a grid pattern on the floor and read by the QR camera installed on the vehicle are also used to navigate the surrounding area. A warehouse management system, such as Linde’s Warehouse Navigator, provides information to the transport robots about the destination, which is located within a short to medium distance. For each individual transport job, the vehicle’s software determines the best route through the building.

French transport specialist Groupe Cayon took delivery of three new 60 t capacity Grove GMK3060L-1 all-terrain cranes in 2021 and one GMK5150L-1 in February 2022.