Logistics and production facilities

Transshipment halls at freight forwarding companies are a special kind of hub where virtually everything classified as goods is moved. Accordingly, one of the key requirements is the ability to load even the most sensitive consignments without damaging them.

This challenge is resolved by NovoDock L 500i hydraulic loading ramps.

They can be infinitely adjusted to fit and the platform and lip (when fully extended) form a flush surface with no sills or edges to trip over. Which not only protects the merchandise being moved over the ramps, but also the transport vehicles.

7.5 tonne trucks, swap bodies, trailers, artics – virtually anything that has wheels docks at a cargo hall.

The challenge: Irrespective of the size of the various superstructures, both the staff and the consignments must be protected against draughts and driving rain while loading. The NovoSeal S 420 door seal meets these requirements.p>

Novoferm makes the seals from sturdy but supple tarpaulin. Exactly defined slits in the tarpaulins and a resilient aluminium frame at the front enable optimum adjustment to the various types of vehicl

Freight forwarders earn their money by loading and moving consignments. One key requirement is speed, albeit not at the cost of safety.

Thanks to some of the engineering details on the loading systems, this “Gordian knot” of contradicting requirements can be cut: Large windows in the doors enable hazardous traffic in front of the ramp to be spotted quickly. Loading lights illuminate lightproof superstructures to prevent collisions. Trucks cannot drive off until an outdoor traffic light signals that the ramp has been withdrawn and they are free to leave.

Unfortunately daily routine in freight forwarding:
When enormously heavy trucks roll up to the loading ramp, the application of massive force regularly necessitates expensive repairs to the buildings and vehicles. Failure to lower to normal level can often result in destruction of the door.

Protection made by Novoferm:
Non-wearing steel buffers instead of conventional rubber. The outer sheet steel and inner rubber core form a fixed unit with a deflection path of about 80 mm and can reliably absorb even the hardest jolts. Added to which, buffers at two different heights protect the doors from trucks with loading edges that are too high.

To be able to provide almost any type of transport and logistics services, BTG-Feldberg & Sohn is closely linked with GEL, Cargo-Line and ELVIS logistics networks. The vehicle fleet of the forwarding agency based in Bocholt, Germany comprises approximately 50 trucks and docks at a vast number of ramps every day. This experience is the reason why BTG-Feldberg & Sohn decided to use only Novoferm loading technology in its logistics centre.

A total of 114 electro-hydraulic loading ramps with telescopic lips were installed, two of which measured 4 m x 2 m to enable even larger trucks to dock easily.

The telescopic lips can be adjusted individually with millimetre precision to ensure a perfect fit for working on.

The steel tear plates on the ramps are 8/10 mm thick and made entirely of high grade steel to ensure robustness and durability.

Hermes opted for loading doors made of double skin, hot dip galvanized steel louvres (installation depth: 45 mm) with an HCFC-free rigid foam core made of polyurethane.

110 doors are operated by hand, making them particularly practical and cost efficient. The double spring package ensures virtually total balance of the door weight thus minimizing the need for strength to operate the door.

To comply with fireproofing regulations, four doors were designated air intakes and fitted with electric operators. The doors and loading ramps are reciprocally locked to ensure that the ramp is only released for use when the door is completely open.

The door seals with automatic roof elevation have side panels with a special foam core that give without suffering damage if vehicles dock off centre or at an angle.

One special engineering feature is the separate top apron developed specifically to protect the highly sensitive computerized sorting technology. Here again, only the best was good enough for Hermes.

The double skin buffers made of 8 mm steel were developed specifically to protect buildings. With their 10 mm foam core, they reliably absorb forces that would otherwise be transferred to the building and might cause damage.

Hermes’ new logistics centre has two tilt tray sorters, one above the other and each with its own controller, and can handle about 22,000 parcels per hour in total.

Each sorter is 664 m long, with 781 trays.

The small goods sorter is 164 m long, with 205 belt trays and 81 discharge points (cascade chutes). Handling is based on plain type OCR; the Corlettes are emptied automatically.

Novoferm also made the total of 16 roller shutters installed at Volvo Construction Equipment in the third stage to measure. The individual shutter sizes ranged from widths of about 1700 – 5200 mm and heights of about 3150 – 5200 millimetres.

This was only possible by planning the individual doors meticulously beforehand, taking account of the relevant structural conditions for each of them. Exact plans were drawn up for each door beforehand to indicate the locations of drive motor, electrical connection or switchbox for the control electronics.

According to architect Franz Conen, who was commissioned to modernize the hall: “Close consultation on site is key, especially when planning and installing industrial doors in an existing property.”

Volvo Construction Equipment opted for NovoSpeed Alu rapid roll doors to close up the extremely busy openings to the outside:
Depending on their size, the doors open entirely at speeds of 1.8 – 2.5 m/sec. and close again at a speed of about 1 m/sec.

Usually it is only indoor PVC roller shutters that can achieve such performance. By contrast, NovoSpeed Alu doors combine this speed with the stability of a conventional aluminium exterior door.

NovoSpeed Alu rapid roll doors have a sturdy curtain made of extrusion moulded aluminium louvres combined with self-supporting guides at the sides, making them enormously resistant to weather and wind loads while ensuring good thermal insulation and corresponding burglar resistance.

Together with the frequency inversion technology in the operator, large, maintenance-free tension springs integrated in the side frame ensure reliable performance and smooth user-friendly operation in spite of the high running speeds.

As large exterior doors are always eye catching, Volvo Construction Equipment placed great importance on the design.

The new NovoSpeed Alu doors blend pleasingly with the façades with their coating of RAL 9007 paint, transparent light strips over the full surface of the door, and matching side door in some cases. Novoferm also fitted the NovoSpeed Alu curtain on the two standard roller shutters at the openings where high speed is not a requirement to ensure their identical appearance.

The result is an utterly uniform appearance despite the use of different types of doors for functional reasons.

Because they are largely adapted to suit individual customer requirements, nearly every digger or compact wheel loader built by Volvo Construction Equipment is unique.

This poses enormous challenges for logistics to ensure the necessary production components are fed to the individual assembly process steps just in time.