Logistics firms making costly mistakes with warehouse automation, claims Linde vice president

Speaking to MT at the company’s head office in Aschaffenburg, Germany, Ulrike Just, executive vice president sales & service (pictured right), said a shortage of warehousing staff was luring UK transport firms into over-investment in automation that risked crippling their businesses.

“Sometimes firms want to show they’re future orientated but there’s a massive cost implication if you go all in,” Just said. “What’s interesting when we talk to customers is that they usually want to automate things that are not so easy to automate. They’re not as interested in automating things that have a quick return on investment. They want to automate really complex applications like lorry loading and unloading which is extremely costly to do. It’s a huge project where you take big risks, so especially for SME customers I’d suggest you scale it.

“We tell our customers to try it out and then we can go bigger,” Just added. “But many of them want everything now, or they automate very complex applications which then makes it difficult for them to make a business case. They’re better to start with something simple and see how it goes.”

Part of the KION Group, Linde is a leading manufacturer of electric and diesel forklift trucks, warehouse equipment and automation solutions for intralogistics.

The company believes digital networking, automation and the increasing demand for individual products are driving technological change in intralogistics and helps customers align with these new challenges.

In the UK, Linde works with 3PLs, automotive and FMCG customers who Just said embraced automation but understood the risks: “Companies need to look at automation, they have to,” she said. “I live in the UK myself and it’s dear to my heart. But with Brexit it’s getting increasingly difficult to find people to drive forklifts and do warehouse work.

“In the UK operators are also looking at very particular atutomation because warehouses reach higher into the sky than other countries,” she added. “The UK has high warehouses that suit products like our K-MATIC autonomously-driven turret truck which is suitable for loads of up to 1,450 kg and lift heights of up to 14 metres.”

Just also admitted that many customers embarking on automation found the step “super scary”.

“They want someone who they know they can trust and who has experience with it,” she explained. “They automate because it’s a good business case, because they can’t find the right people to work in the warehouse and because automation means reliability. People make mistakes but if it’s automated it’s accurate. It’s a reliability and safety issue.”

Just’s comments came at a special press and dealer event in Aschaffenburg where Linde announced it was replacing its existing range of electric forklifts with 26 new three- and four-wheel truck models with load capacities ranging from 1.0 to 2.0 tonnes. Operators have the option to switch between lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries or continue using existing batteries. The E-models have also been designed to accommodate hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Linde has been operating its own hydrogen infrastructure at the site since May 2023. It supplies hydrogen for refuelling 21 forklifts with fuel cell hybrid drives in partnership with BMW Group. Forklifts with fuel cells are refuelled instead of charged, meaning there is no downtime waiting at a charging point or power outlet. Within just three minutes, the fuel cell is refilled with hydrogen and the truck is ready for use.

“It refuels extremely quickly which is good but if you are not an operator who has it available as part of the production process it’s difficult to make the economics work,” Just admitted. “People are interested because of the environmental benefit but economically it’s very hard to make it work. It would have to be heavily subsidised but hydrogen doesn’t seem to be of interest to our governments. It won’t be around for quite some time.

“But we pride ourselves on the fact that you can get any energy you want from Linde. We have acid, we have lithium-ion, diesel, CNG, LNG and hydrogen. You can get that all from us. And if the hydrogen situation changes we’re prepared with our own production and we have the experience to make it work.”