Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, signals the start of Christmas business in the US. Discounting drives sales in the local retail sector through the roof, whereas in other countries this idea has mainly been taken up by online retailers. Their package handling centers are now operating at peak capacity until Christmas – and beyond. Because online retailing is booming. In Germany alone, for example, around half a million more packages have been delivered to customers in 2017 than in the previous year. Numerous ContiTech products – from conveyor belts to synchronous belts for rack feeders and through to lines, power transmission systems and vibration dampers in forklifts – ensure that everything nevertheless runs smoothly in transshipment centers.
As soon as they arrive, the goods pass through the roller door through which they also exit the distribution center when they are shipped. HTD timing belts from ContiTech ensure the doors open and close quickly and silently.
Reliably from A to B
ContiTech belts also play an important role in the industrial trucks that move all the goods in the warehouse quickly from A to B – timing belts and polyurethane flat belts with strength members featuring high load ratings enable space-saving and almost silent drive solutions for lift masts. A whole raft of other specific ContiTech components are indispensable parts of industrial trucks – ranging from hose assemblies and line systems to mount systems, often in the form of specialist solutions specially tailored to the particular requirements.
Compact hydraulic hoses for high-pressure applications in masts and hydraulic hoses for the hydrostatic vehicle drive are used in the industrial trucks together with polyurethane twin hoses for operation of the masts. A space-saving plug-in system is used for high-speed fitting of these lines. Thanks to their especially conductive inner lining compounds, electrically conductive fuel hoses prevent the risk of ignition and of a disruptive electric discharge caused by a buildup of charge as the medium flows through the line.
In its Schwingmetall range, ContiTech also offers state-of-the art mount systems for axles, cabs, engines and other units from a single source – extending from rubber-to-metal mounts for noise decoupling to mount elements designed to ensure the ultimate comfort standards.
Up, up and away
Once arrived at the rack, rack feeders lift the goods to airy heights. A lift drive technology developed with the assistance of ContiTech minimizes wear and maintenance and optimizes positioning times. Goods in high-bay warehouses can therefore be positioned quickly and accurately. At the heart of the system is a durable, low-maintenance Synchrodrive synchronous belt that requires no lubrication. A further development, the Synchrodrive HTD 20M belt, enables even higher pallet loads of up to five tonnes, faster accelerations and lift heights in excess of 30 meters.
The sorting lines in the distribution centers also operate flat out. For them, ContiTech supplies lightweight conveyor belts that enable reliable transport of the packages from the warehouse to the sorting department. The packages also have to cope with being diverted. Lightweight PVC conveyor belts from ContiTech are ideally suited to these tasks. Their HPC™ technology guarantees a homogeneous finish, extremely precise tracking and excellent splicing properties for a long service life.
Even when warehouses are operating at peak capacity, therefore, ContiTech ensures that the goods reach the customers reliably and punctually.