News

POST-EXPO provides the most significant opportunity the postal, parcel and express industries have to debate current issues and form business relationships on a global scale. 2012 will be the 16th international conference and exhibition for postal technology, equipment, services and innovation.

Over three days POST-EXPO 2012 will bring together CEOs, senior directors and managers, key decision makers, suppliers and buyers from all over the world to exchange ideas and information about the future development of the postal, parcel and express industries.

For further information check out the website: www.postexpo.com

We look forward seeing you at our booth #1020 at PostExpo 2012 in Brussels!

Ancra Systems gains in May and June two major orders up to more than Euro 1Mio turnover at two well known German automotive manufacturers and just-in-time suppliers. Both orders are based on a new type of carpet system. Bernard Renzema, former KWB has been attracted as product specialist and project manager.

The first project is for a supplier of volume models for one of the largest automotive manufacturers in Germany. The project includes seven stationary carpet systems for loading and unloading of various automotive components. Six systems are installed at the factory in Zwickau, Germany and  one system at a nearby supplier. The controls of the systems are based on one of the latest type of Siemens PLC's (317F). All seven systems are operational in September.

The second project is for supply of car wheel sets for a major German automotive manufacturer in Beijing, China. The project comprises a stationary carpet system, including feeding conveyor, lift and cross section. Furthermore, the project includes three special trailers including carpet systems and Dekra approved cargo securing system by means of air pockets. Ancra has experience with projects in China and will therefore use Chinese make trailers and a large part of the conveyor technique will be performed by their Chinese partner. Late January 2013 the systems will be delivered.

The carpet system is an addition to the already wide range of loading and unloading solutions of Ancra, such as chain conveyors, slat conveyors, roller tracks, belt conveyors and skate systems. Advantages of the carpet system are the minimum installation height, floor driveability by forklift trucks and the full carrying surface of the floor. Managing Director of Ancra, Jasper van den Driest, "complementing our portfolio with carpet systems and attracting Bernard Renzema with his extensive experience in this field, fits perfectly in our mission to become world champion in the field of automatic loading and unloading. These two international orders are fantastic references on which we can build. We foresee great opportunities especially in the German market."

Ancra Systems has implemented multiple systems for unloading loose loaded parcels at the Danish Post. By installing conveyor systems in dedicated trailers and dock conveyor system, the unloading process is now fully automated and the ‘truck turn around time ’is reduced significantly.

Danish Post, part of PostNord AB Group, is the largest post and parcel operator in Denmark. High volume shuttle transportation of parcels takes place between the two main sortation centers in Bronby, near Kopenhagen, and Taulov, on Jutland. Because of the next day delivery service level, the parcel transportation needs to take place in a limited time window.

Ancra Systems has installed belt systems in a dedicated fleet of 23 trailers (supplied by French based Fruehauf) and 2 dock systems at both hubs. When a trailer is docked, the Ancra trailer system unloads the parcels onto the Ancra dock system in less then 20 minutes. The dock system is connected to a conveyor system (supplied by Crisplant), that feeds the parcels directly to the sorting system.

By fully automating the parcel unloading process, a number of benefits are realized:

• Savings in labor due to full automation of the unloading process.
• Significant reduction of the trailer fleet, because of quicker ‘truck turn around time’
• Increased safely and less injuries due to full automation.
• Fully compliant with increasingly strict EU regulations for manual material handling.
• Better utilization of the sorting systems, due to a continues flow of parcels from the trailers.

The Danish Post is the second large customer this type of parcel unloading systems for Ancra Systems. This unique technology was first developed 10 years ago for French parcel operator ColiPoste. To date, Ancra has installed close to 500 trailers systems and 56 dock systems in France.

Ancra Systems has been awarded the contract by SAS Automotive to supply a large and complex system for fully automated truck loading at their brand new production facility in Gent (Belgium). By entering into a close cooperation with CSi industries, they have succeeded to design, build and install the system in record breaking time.

SAS is manufacturer of completely assembled dashboards en supplies these from a new production facility in Gent to the close by factory of Volvo. The new factory of SAS has been built to meet the increased capacity demand of Volvo. For the automated truck loading and unloading systems, SAS was looking for a supplier that was capable to deliver a turn key solution in a very short period of time.

Because of the short time line, Ancra entered into a close cooperation with CSi from Raamsdonksveer. By creating one project team, they succeeded in installing the complete system within 4 months. As planned, the systems have been commissioned in December.

The system is designed to automatically unload empty skids (2.2 meters wide) at two levels that come from Volvo and automatically transfer these skids to the assembly line. Meanwhile, full skids are taken from the assembly line and loaded in two levels in trailers in the exact right frequency. To meet these functional requirements, multiple chain conveyors, turn tables, elevators and a shuttle car are part of the overall design.

This advanced type of automation saves the customer substantial labour cost, decreases product damage and increases the supply chain reliability. Furthermore, much less trailers are needed to shuttle the same amount of cargo to Volvo, due to a highly reduced ‘truck turn around time’ at the dock 

Automatic truck loading in record breaking time at SAS Automotive: ATLS voor SAS, Gent

We are pleased to announce that Ancra Systems BV was awarded Logistics Innovation of 2011 in Poland. The contest was organized by the Polish logistics magazine, Eurologistics. The award ceremony was held on 2 December 2011 in Warsaw during one of the most prestigious logistic event, the Transport and Logistics Gala. The event gathered about 500 managers and logistic specialists from Poland and abroad. This Innovation award is especially important for Ancra, since it has been focusing on developing the growing Polish logistics market for the last year. 

To  have a better overview of what we are doing and who are our clients, please check us out on yotube