In the selection of the “Best Brands 2019” of the transport and logistics industry, three Krone products were on the winners’ podium together. In the “Tarpaulins/Curtainsiders” category, the company took first place – last year it was in second place. In the “Box/Refrigerated Bodies” category, Krone remained in second place, exactly as last year. Following third place in the “Trailer Axles” category in 2018, we were awarded second place this year. All three awards testify to the consistency of Krone’s commitment to the interests of its customers in terms of quality, innovation and flexibility. The “Best Brands” are chosen every year by the readers of trade magazines: the ETM (EuroTransportMedia) publishing house, as the publisher of the magazines Trans aktuell, Lastauto omnibus, Fernfahrer and the Internet portal eurotransport.de, asked its readers about the best commercial vehicle brands of 2019 “Best Brands 2019”. Around 8,400 readers took part in the survey this year. Dr. Frank Albers accepted the prizes on behalf of the Krone team and expressed his thanks for the huge trust that customers put in the Krone brand. “We see the outstanding results in three categories at the same time as evidence of our commitment to product quality and innovation. At the same time, we take this result as motivation to do well in the next survey: ‘onwards and upwards’, as the saying goes”, said Dr. Albers.
KRONE TAKES OVER KNAPEN GROUP
The Dutch Knapen Group, including its subsidiaries Knapen Trailers BV, Knapen Service BV and Trailned BV, has been part of the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group since July 2019. Knapen Trailers is the European market leader in sliding floor trailers.
With the merger, the two companies are intending to bring their product and innovation expertise in their respective business areas together. Their stated aim is to create high-quality products and professional services for customers and partners throughout Europe. Knapen will still be run independently under the umbrella of the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group. Peter Ahlers has been appointed Managing Director.
NEW WORK
According to a Bitkom study on modern working concepts (“New Work”), 66 percent of those surveyed see digitisation as an opportunity for them professionally. One in two of us would like trust-based working hours and the right to work from home.
COLLABORATION
Another Bitkom study shows that nine out of ten logistics companies shut themselves off from collaboration with start-ups: they could be benefitting from the expertise of young companies, particularly in technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and data analysis.
SOLAR MATERIAL
Fraunhofer researchers in Dresden have developed textile solar cells that can be used in lorry tarpaulins to generate electricity independently – for refrigeration units, for example. The cells are applied directly to technical textiles by means of coating processes. The solar material could be ready for market in about five years.
GREEN TRUCK TRAILER INNOVATION AWARD
Krone’s Smart Capacity Management has won the “Green Truck Trailer Innovation Award”. The jury concluded that this system delivers a sustainable increase in transport efficiency: journeys without loads are avoided, available load capacities are used to the full and CO2 is saved. As a platform on which information can be shared, Smart Capacity Management is connected to a freight exchange on which digital data from the sender is received and forwarded to the shipping company and the recipient of the goods – and vice versa. From the digital data of the Krone Telematics installed in the trailer, in conjunction with the electronic brake system, load space detection and load carrier sensors, the current available load capacity and load space, type and quantity of the goods and the location are determined and compared with the transport order data on the freight exchanges in real time.
DENKFABRIK DELIVERS NEW ANSWERS
The Krone 'Denkfabrik' has made a good start at the transport logistic trade fair in Munich: with this new development project, Krone is creating a platform on which the topics of the future can be discussed by experts.
“We invite you to join us in finding new answers for the industry, our customers and for you yourselves”, explained Stefan Oelker, Head of Marketing at Krone. This went down well at transport logistic: the guests included logistics start-ups who introduced themselves with some fresh ideas.
IN BRIEF
MOMENTUM IN WORLD TRADE SLOWS DOWN Worldwide trade in goods is hardly growing at all: statistics from the World Trade Organisation show that the trade in goods in the first quarter of 2019 rose by just 1.2 percent year on year. In the same quarter of the previous year, the increase was 4 percent. Weak growth is also expected for the rest of the year. The values for all index components were under the 100 mark. The indices for air freight (91.4) and electronic components (90.7) showed the biggest deviations. Only the value for container ship traffic (99.0) was close to growth.
MOBILE BLOCKED WHILE DRIVING
Drivers being distracted by their smartphones at the wheel can lead to serious accidents. The ADAC Truckservice has therefore added the SafeDrivePod system to its range. It ensures that smartphones cannot be used while driving. A transmitter installed in the vehicle registers engine vibration and blocks the screen. It is then only possible to make calls via the hands-free kit; for emergencies there is an SOS function and navigation apps can still be used. If the vehicle is stationary for more than 10 seconds, the screen is enabled again.
DIGITISATION BRINGS MANY ADVANTAGES Companies are benefitting in very different ways from digital applications in logistics. According to a survey on behalf of the digital association Bitkom of 514 transport companies with 50 employees or more, time saving, in particular, is an advantage – cited by 68 percent of those surveyed. In second place comes a reduction in susceptibility to errors and failures (43 percent). This is followed by easing of the physical burden on employees (35 percent), better service for end customers (33 percent), lower storage space requirements (31 percent) and lower costs in general (28 percent).
