‘Team C’ announces new jobs after joining the Fortec Pallet Distribution Network

Thetford-based couriers Team C have announced plans to create jobs after joining the Fortec Pallet Distribution Network.

Between three and five people could be recruited as part of the company's bid to expand the Fortec side of the operation in the coming months.

Team C founder and managing director Tim Clements took the decision to join the Network as part of the next phase of the company's growth.

Team C was formed in 1997 and over the years it has expanded its overnight parcel and same day delivery operations.

 Read Full Article 

Government relicences Skills for Logistics

The Government has announced the renewal of the licence to operate for Skills for Logistics, the sector skills council for the freight logistics industry. The announcement follows a comprehensive review carried out by the National Audit Office on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills which manages the relicensing process and considers the organisation’s ability to deliver specific solutions to employer demand, to deliver core products and services, and to progress results and impacts. The process also looks at how well the organisation is run.

Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "Employers can be confident that Skills for Logistics has come through a rigorous assessment and will offer employers the highest quality service in meeting their skills needs."

 Read Full Article 

Linpac Allibert’s environmental assessment ticks all the right boxes

Paul Smith, LRQA’s climate change manager, Mike James, managing director of LRQA, Danilo Oliynik, commercial director at Linpac Allibert and Michael Hill, from Sustain Ltd celebrate Linpac Allibert’s industry first  Linpac Allibert, global expert in plastic returnable transit packaging for the food, retail and manufacturing sectors, is poised to help customers accurately measure the environmental performance of their supply chain after a carbon footprint assessment of its market-leading Maxinest distribution tray, was independently verified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).

Linpac Allibert is the first organisation in the transit packaging and supply chain solution sector to have the full life cycle carbon footprint of a specific product determined and independently verified by a recognised certification body. The initial carbon footprint analysis was carried out by Sustain Limited, the carbon reduction company, under Europe’s most authoritative product carbon footprinting  specification PAS 2050. The carbon footprint of the Maxinest distribution tray was determined at 26 kgCO₂e in total, or 0.0082 kgCO₂e per litre, per trip, based on each crate performing 92 return trips on a 20 day cycle over five years. The findings take into account the full life cycle of the trays including raw material production, manufacturing, customer use (including transportation and crate washing) and disposal or recycling at the end of its working life. Independent verification by LRQA, a member of the Lloyd’s Register Group and global leader in independent climate change validation, verification, training and certification, confirms the findings of the assessment and the methodology used and is the first to be carried out by LRQA against this standard.

 Read Full Article 

Crisplant installs ‘green’ high-speed sorter in new distribution centre

Crisplant - a global leader in automated logistics systems – has been awarded a contract to design and install a high-speed automated sorting system based on the ‘green’ Crisplant LS-4000CB sorter. The system will be installed in myToys.de’s new-build distribution centre, at Langenselbold, Germany with a scheduled completion date of June 2010.

The new distribution centre will enable myToys.de to maintain its rapid growth by moving from a manual distribution system to a process which optimises workflow and provides a high level of automation, with throughput of 11,000 items per hour.

 Read Full Article 

Psion sets out vision with four major announcements

Psion, the pioneer in mobile handheld computers for industrial and commercial markets, has made four major announcements alongside its 2009 annual results, including and most significantly, a fundamental change to its business model.

The announcements are:

 Read Full Article 

Crisplant installs ‘green’ high-speed sorter in new distribution centre

Crisplant - a global leader in automated logistics systems – has been awarded a contract to design and install a high-speed automated sorting system based on the ‘green’ Crisplant LS-4000CB sorter. The system will be installed in myToys.de’s new-build distribution centre, at Langenselbold, Germany with a scheduled completion date of June 2010.

The new distribution centre will enable myToys.de to maintain its rapid growth by moving from a manual distribution system to a process which optimises workflow and provides a high level of automation, with throughput of 11,000 items per hour.

 Read Full Article 

Watts Tyre Group announces 2010 price rise

Watts Tyre Group has announced an average 6% price increase as of 1st January 2010 following significant increases in raw material prices, principally natural rubber which forms the principle cost element of solid tyres. Watts also expects transportation costs to increase over the coming months.

RSS3 pricing broke through the 2.80US$/kg barrier in early December, 12 months after hitting a low of 1.07US$/kg – an astonishing rise of 165%. Over the last quarter the price has risen by over 30% alone bringing it within reach of the 2008 record high. 

 Read Full Article 

Watts Tyre Group signs agreement with Trelleborg industrial Tires

A recent signed agreement between Watts Tyre Group and Trelleborg Industrial Tires Europe will see the expertise of the UK company combined with the service capability of the French tyre manufacturer to create a truly focused service business.

Watts Tyre Group has recently announced a signed agreement with Trelleborg Industrial Tires Europe for the distribution of Trelleborg industrial tyre products in France. As part of the agreement Watts will integrate Trelleborg’s industrial tyres activities with its own and will now distribute Trelleborg tyre products alongside the Watts product range.

 Read Full Article 

Zed Chex anti-fatigue matting helps prevent health problems

A 2005 TUC report states that up to 11 million UK workers face serious health problems from prolonged standing at work. Each year more than two million sick days are lost due to lower limb disorders, with nearly 200,000 people reporting lower limb ailments caused or made worse by their job including work-related varicose veins, poor circulation and swelling in the feet and legs, foot problems and joint damage.

To help overcome these problems, employers use anti-fatigue matting. Zed Chex from Plastic Extruders Ltd is specially designed to relieve standing fatigue caused by long periods of standing or walking on hard, concrete floors – about the worst possible surface. Manufactured by thermally bonding patented Zedland foam to a tough vinyl chequer plate wear layer, Zed Chex will not suffer from separation.

 Read Full Article 

Hako adds new cost-effective sweeper to its range

Hako has supplemented its range of industrial floor sweepers with a cost-effective new model.

Hako Machines has added the powerful and extremely versatile Jonas 1500 to its range of ride-on vacuum sweepers. Designed to tackle a magnitude of sweeping tasks in all types of areas and under the most difficult of conditions, Hako claims that this durable sweeper is one of the most economical machines on the market.

 Read Full Article 

CogriGroup’s concrete solution

When a leading pharmaceutical company needed to upgrade the floors of its UK distribution centre, the CogriGroup prescribed a floor remedy that cured the problem.

Sanofi Aventis is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies who discover, develop and distribute therapeutic solutions to help improve the lives of people throughout the globe. The floor within the aisles at its UK Distribution Centre in Chapeltown, Sheffield was in need of an upgrade to better support its operational requirements.

 Read Full Article 

Load of trouble

The HSE has published some essential advice regarding the safe loading of vehicles. The consequences of not following that advice are grimly displayed.

It's not entirely clear from the website whether the driver of this lorry in this image survived the pipe coming through the back of his cab. But it demonstrates the extreme - and often hidden - risks workers in the logistics industry can be...