WAGNER Switzerland AG
WWW.LOGISTICSINNOVATION.ORG
The online magazine for Switzerland, the EU and the rest of the world
Prime example of sustainability
High-speed doors combine perfect insulation, energy-efficient functionality, and modern technology. The new building for the Road Traffic and Shipping Office in Schaffhausen is a showcase project for sustainable construction. Efaflex doors further contribute to minimizing energy consumption.
Swiss Post under increasing pressure
Without the logistics division, which generated CHF 278 million in operating profit in 2025, Swiss Post as a whole would be close to being in the red. As it is, the group still made a profit of CHF 315 million in 2025. Meanwhile, the company is still reeling from the shock of the bus fire in Kerzers that claimed six lives.
News from the management team
Toyota Material Handling, a provider of forklift trucks and intralogistics solutions, is hosting a panel discussion with leading European executives on the second day of LogiMAT at the Stuttgart trade fair. Participants include Jan Lorenz, CEO of Toyota Germany; Hiroshi Kuriyama, head of Toyota Europe; Ralph Cox; and Avinash Balachandran, head of development.
Hupac defies difficult environment
In 2025, the Hupac Group transported approximately 975,000 road shipments using combined road/rail transport. This represents a 4.3% increase in transport volume. Hupac stated that this performance allowed it to maintain its leading position in Europe, particularly on the transalpine TEN-T corridor.
Not as rosy as expected
For material handling and intralogistics suppliers in Germany, the 2025 financial year shows a 7 percent decline in production volume. This brings the value down to €25.8 billion, reports the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association. No turnaround is yet in sight for 2026.
The perpetrator set himself on fire
Following the fire on the postal bus in Kerzers, initial findings from the investigation do not point to a terrorist act. Hearings and witness statements suggest that the perpetrator was mentally unstable, acted alone, likely holds Swiss citizenship, and lived in the canton of Bern.
«Vehicle Lifetime» in Katowice
In Katowice, SSI Schäfer is setting up a highly automated logistics center for the «Vehicle Lifetime» division of the automotive supplier Schaeffler in close cooperation with the robot specialists from RO-BER, the SAP experts from SWAN and the robotics and AGV experts from DS Automation.
With Kardex Mlog towards Lodz
As part of the expansion of an existing high-bay warehouse by three additional aisles, a pallet conveyor loop, and the modernization of the existing pallet conveyor system, Kardex Mlog has provided 20,016 new pallet spaces for the Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm Farmacja.
A fire in a postal bus claims lives
Six people are believed to be dead and several injured after a postal bus went up in flames in Kerzers on Tuesday evening around 6:25 p.m. Police reported late Tuesday evening that the bus was completely destroyed and that the fire may have been deliberately set.
Always up-to-date via remote access
Economical to purchase, with focused performance, ergonomic and equipped with numerous safety features, the new Linde Ri14 to Ri18 series reach trucks from Linde Material Handling (MH) are set to premiere at LogiMAT.
Extensive data from DLR light vehicle study
Extensive data from DLR light vehicle study
The DLR cargo bike and light vehicle project, whose results were presented in Berlin on Thursday as announced, has yielded an extremely rich collection of assessments and experiences regarding the use of cargo bikes and electric light vehicles in city logistics.
Data from over 100,000 kilometers driven by companies and transport providers using these vehicles were analyzed. The result, according to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and more than 40 companies from the trades, commerce, and logistics sectors: The vehicles, including the electric light vehicles (LEVs), are cost-effective and environmentally friendly – if used correctly.
Adjust the frame
The researchers identified six key factors that were, and still are, crucial for success in practice. A checklist for implementation and a tool for calculating profitability have also been available online for several days. After a four-year project, the answer was a resounding yes to cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs). Both economic reasons and benefits for urban dwellers, the climate, and the environment support their use. It is important that the vehicles deployed are adapted to individual operational requirements.
Photos: DLR
The DLR team tracked the vehicle movements with its mobile large-scale facility "MovingLab" and conducted numerous interviews with users. This allowed the researchers to gain detailed insights into when and why the use of these vehicles is successful – and what obstacles exist.
Six points for the switch
“Our data shows that such vehicles can be very attractive for companies from an economic perspective. At the same time, they have great potential to free our cities from traffic noise, harmful emissions, and congestion. However, they are not a guaranteed success and must be individually selected and deployed for each company,” summarizes Johannes Gruber, head of the project at the DLR Institute of Transport Research in Berlin. “For the first time, we have scientifically identified the success factors for permanently integrating cargo bikes and electric light vehicles into company fleets and replacing, for example, cars or small vans.”
The analysis of the driving data and interviews with the companies revealed a clear pattern: companies that continued to rely on cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs) after the test had similar experiences. Based on these "best practice" observations, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) compiled a six-point practical checklist.
- Implementation as a transformation project : Cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs) are new vehicle categories for most companies and require a willingness to change. Many processes need to be adapted, and the transformation must be actively shaped.
- Defining concrete scenarios : Companies that were successful in the project had carefully considered which trips they would use the test vehicles for – or were creative in discovering new areas of application within their ongoing operations. Analyzing trip profiles helped in this regard: Existing trips could either be directly transferred to cargo bikes and LEVs, or they were cleverly combined with existing vans. (...) The range of eight to 18 kilometers per day was particularly successful.
- Taking advantage of the benefits : These include bypassing traffic jams, using shortcuts, eliminating the need to search for parking, and shorter walking distances at the destination. The resulting time savings have enabled some of the participating companies to complete more orders per day.
- Involve all levels : The enthusiasm of the employees for these vehicles was a key factor. To achieve this, they should be involved as early as possible and have a say in the selection of the vehicles.
- Test drives in everyday work situations : Whether a specific vehicle model is suitable depends on many factors: for example, the goods to be transported, the battery range, or the driving experience. Suitability can only be determined through test drives in everyday work situations.
- Calculate the benefits individually : Due to their low operating costs – compared to conventional motor vehicles – cargo bikes are suitable for supplementing an existing fleet, but especially as a replacement for underutilized smaller vans or cars. If an existing vehicle is replaced by a cargo bike, annual savings in the three- to four-figure range are possible.
“What surprised us was the wide range of factors that determined when a usage scenario was a complete success for a company: Some companies used the cargo bike daily with mileages of 30 kilometers or more. Other companies were already completely enthusiastic with four kilometers a day or even just one day of use per week,” says DLR researcher Gruber.
Online calculator
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) provides companies with comprehensive materials to help them make economically viable decisions regarding the purchase and use of cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs): An online calculator allows users to compare the costs of cargo bikes and LEVs with those of conventional vehicles. This tool also takes into account differences in speed, operating costs, labor costs, and CO2 emissions.
The long-term study now presented, “I relieve cities 2”, built on the findings of a previous project, “I relieve cities (1)”, which, from 2017 to 2020, was the largest cargo bike test in Europe and collected insights from diverse application scenarios.
