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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.
Noise forecasts for night logistics
Noise forecasts for night logistics
Last autumn, a user day hosted by Fraunhofer IML focused on "low-noise logistics." Now, a think tank for mobility, transport & logistics, an innovation circle of the Logistics Initiative Bavaria, has taken a closer look at "low-noise night logistics."
Measure noise levels
Daniela Kirsch,
team leader for "Urban Logistics and Electromobility" at Fraunhofer IML, had recap the current state of research. While streets and loading zones are overloaded during the day, quiet night and off-peak logistics can deliver goods efficiently and in a way that is compatible with urban environments. Electric trucks and low-noise loading and unloading equipment can thus make a significant contribution to emission-free, livable urban logistics. The basic idea is to use quieter commercial vehicles with alternative drive technologies for deliveries after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m.
Low-noise alternatives
In October, participants at the user day in Dortmund were able to see for themselves the effectiveness of special quiet-running rollers for roll containers and a low-noise floor for The differences in noise levels were visualized using an acoustic
Researchers at the rolling cart
Fraunhofer IML also presented a state-funded project there, "SNAP – Silent Night Analysis and Planning," which is intended to support companies and municipalities in assessing the potential for extending operating hours and the impact on their tours.
Study recapitulated
, the opportunities of such low-noise logistics were once again discussed in an online conference with several dozen participants from logistics providers, the Munich Mobility Department, consulting firms and the and Commerce, with IML team leader Daniela Kirsch and accompanied by CNA manager Johannes Kraus
Image: Fraunhofer IML
The study, called GeNaLog, isn't exactly brand new. In urban areas, delivery traffic often operates within very narrow time windows, limiting deliveries to markets, retailers, and restaurants . The main sources of noise are usually the opening and closing of the driver's door, the radio, driving over the loading platform with loading equipment, and the opening and closing of the loading platform itself. Often, the only solution is to minimize these noise sources as much as possible through driver training combined with work instructions .
Consider limit values
The impact of the liftgate on the ground can be dampened, if necessary, by using rubber mats. The liftgate itself, as well as the box body, can be technically adapted for quiet deliveries by applying a noise-reducing coating. Roll containers and insulated roll containers can be retrofitted with low-noise rollers, and the pallets can be transported to the branches using low-noise electric pallet trucks.
Photo: IML
Logistics companies will find it interesting that, for example, by taking noise limits into account, where the respective sound impacts on adjacent residential areas are visualized on a map, delivery times can be increased from two to three by adding nighttime delivery windows, and thus the total number of vehicles required can possibly be reduced.
«Isophone» investigates
As part of the GeNaLog study, researchers used microphones and cameras to create "isophone" maps of passing trucks ranging from 7 to 40 tons. The first part of the results was presented in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2020. A second part is expected to follow next summer.
Despite the thoroughness in determining noise limits and immission protection values, a participant's inquiry revealed that the establishment of "urban hubs" distributed throughout the city, neighborhood-based transshipment points using smaller trucks, or other fundamental structural changes in urban traffic were only touched upon very briefly in the study.
On the drawing board...Fig.: IML
The topic is highly complex, especially since in Germany, with its federal structures, operators and applicants in cities and municipalities repeatedly encounter different building regulations that must be taken into account when setting up delivery zones.
"Last chance" for "default payers"
Quieter working methods also include waste disposal logistics, one participant remarked at the very end. Bizarre, but realistic: in some places, the problem has arisen "that some people only put their bins out when they hear the garbage truck in the distance." This "last chance" for "delinquent" waste collectors would naturally disappear if the collection vehicle consistently remained below a certain noise level and was therefore only noticed when it was almost gone.
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