Interview Yale about LogiMAT 2019

At LogiMAT, we sat down with Ian Melhuish, VP of Sales EMEA for Yale Europe Materials Handling. Ian has been with the company for 18 years.

The reach truck series MR 14-25 is supplemented by a tiltable mast. What is the advantage of this supplement?

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A reach truck has a very rigid mast at full height, but the compromise is that you require a slightly wider aisle because you’re unable to pull the load back. The beauty of a tilting mast is that you can pick the load and tilt it back, allowing you to pull the load out, and operate in a narrower aisle than a traditional tilting carriage. It’s a very technical advantage, making it cost effective for smaller operations where aisle width and height are limited  – for example, in back of store or small retail outlets. User visibility is also optimised with the tilting mast making it easier for the operator to see the load, reducing the risk of damage when placing or removing items from racking. And when it comes to ergonomics, options like joystick steering and heated seats are available.

How do you see the further development of your machines regarding the progressing digitisation?

The main development will be integration! Most of the key elements now exist, it’s not a concept anymore. At our Yale stand at LogiMAT, we have everything we need for digitisation. Our cloud based online telemetry system, Yale Vision, allows key performance indicators, effectiveness and event information resulting from fleet utilisation to be interpreted. It shows actual data from the forklift fleet and enables fleet managers to restructure efficiently as well as to safeguard the operation of the workforce. In other words, Yale Vision assists and provides a reliable solution for data gathering and fleet improvements. The truck connects via the cloud to tell you where it is, how fast it is going and in which direction. Then we have our Yale robotic truck – an automated solution with dual-mode capability. Instructions can be given directly to the truck, freeing the operator for higher-level work. We use data to understand our customers’ operations, allowing us to add value to them and offer a fully integrated solution.

We strive for an emission-free future, in how far is that possible for forklift trucks in addition to e-mobility?

Every year, over one million trucks are built in the world and the majority of these are already electric. When people ask about zero emissions, forklift trucks are way ahead of other industries. We were faster than cars, agriculture and earth moving. The future will be how we carry the power around. The current technology is lead acid and lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells. We bought a fuel cell company around 3 years ago, and at LogiMAT we’re displaying a hydrogen fuel cell and li-ion battery. We have a very strong focus on emission-free trucks. On larger trucks you do need more power, but even there we have very large vehicles which are now electric. For us at Yale, ‘People, Products and Productivity’ is the priority.

How important is LogiMAT for you and what does the visitor expect at your stand?

LogiMAT is very important to us. I’ve seen it grow in importance and it now attracts a wide group of people. It used to be very much logistics-based, but now it’s a very broad base of people. Technologically, it’s very advanced with digitisation, data systems, plus the materials handling. From us, people can expect to see one of the world’s leading materials handling manufacturers and what Yale is thinking about. We have a very open policy about what we are doing: we are people, products, productivity. People expect good, strong local service. We have a long list of our dealer partners, franchises and local people who are embedded in their community, who care about the business world in their area. Visitors can expect to see a large global multi-billion dollar company that connects with people on a local level.

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