Five days, 106,000 visitors, the latest developments in the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, energy and environmental sectors: good reasons for the Swiss intralogistics and explosion protection specialist Stöcklin Logistik AG to present itself at ACHEMA 2024 with a selected range of products to interested parties from all over the world.
"Warehouse and supply logistics is not the core of these industries, which often focus on research. But in production, everything stands and falls with the efficiency, sustainability and availability of internal material flows," says Valentin Adelfio, "and this is exactly where intralogistics specialists can simplify a lot for companies and their customers with the right end-to-end solutions for complex operating environments and high requirements."
The member of the Management Board is also Head of the Material Handling Division (forklifts and AGVs) at Stöcklin Logistik AG. He draws a positive conclusion from the five days of the trade fair.
"The demand for intelligent solutions that further increase safety and efficiency in internal material handling is enormous," says Adelfio. "Many visitors were surprised that we offer forklifts with lithium-ion batteries, for example, which can be charged within an explosive environment. Without having to extend and charge or change batteries outside the EX area - without the need for costly additional equipment to compensate for such downtimes."
There was equally strong interest in material handling devices that support several process steps in one operation: For example, the INOX-EX protective weighing pallet truck, designed and manufactured in-house, was also on the stand. With its GMP-compliant, polished stainless steel surface and EX-protected design, it is suitable for explosion-sensitive environments with special hygiene and cleanroom regulations - and can also record quantities during transportation and digitally forward the results to material flow and warehouse management systems.
The strategy of the Swiss intralogistics experts therefore seems to be paying off: To focus on special environments in the process industry with their own product and production line - and to underpin their high level of EX protection expertise internationally with a rare triple certification of the devices. "We are currently the only European intralogistics system provider to offer both ATEX and IECEx as well as KOSHA-certified EX-protected industrial trucks," confirms Jörg Backhaus, EX-protection expert at Stöcklin Logistik AG. "ACHEMA has shown that we are on the right track."
Last but not least, cyber security and the growing onslaught of hacker attacks on digitally networked solutions are driving the industry. Adelfio: "Of course, intralogistics in particular, which is responsible for large parts of automation and IT-OT convergence with material flow and transport device control, also bears enormous responsibility for the security of production. In discussions with competitors, it also became clear that we all take this responsibility very seriously. We not only need secure stand-alone solutions, but also secure solutions for networked plants and overall systems. And to achieve this, we need to see ourselves as a digital partner that plays in the league of system-relevant infrastructures."
Stöcklin Logistik relies on multi-level cyber security concepts and can offer solutions in line with the latest standards thanks to over 40 years of software expertise. However, Adelfio also sees a great opportunity in the merger of providers and the development of joint cyber security activities: "We should join forces and work together to counter the threat, which is difficult for everyone."