Cargo Hub Magazine
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SACOiAijpojtt" EqUipme sparkling vmn energy Nearly 66 years old arxl lull ol energy: that Is SACO Airport Equipment, the company was lounded in 19S1 and currently employs 70 people at two locations in the south ot The Netherlands: Mierlo and Oeutne. In boot, SACO specialises in the development, fabrication and supply ot air cargo handling and stoiage systems. Caigotlub Magazine spoke with Hans van Schaik, the company's Sales Director. SACO develops smart systems lor the handling and storage ol air cargo whereby the health and safety ol the cargo personnel has priority, 'lor a number ol projects we have engineered specific equipment which lightens the physical burden on employees as much as possible therefore increasing salety'. Hans says *We feel it is important that the people using the equipment an do that work in a responsible and sate manner' A lew examples are: • retractable steps lot workstations to avoid personnel having to step up a half melre step each time to reach a unit load device (ULD), and also in such a way that the step doesn’t form an obstacle lor lotkklt tralflc; • automatic ULD stops at airside so that slops no longer have to be manually raised and lowered each lime when translening to and Irom dollies,-• auxSiary drives in castor decks with mobile control panels to avoid overstressing personnel whilst pushing heavy pallets; • hinged covers lor lowering workstations to protect personnel Irom tripping of becoming trapped when buikkng or breaking fogh pallets Growth in air cargo, growth for SACO! The intcinattonal Air transport Association (IA1A) has forecast further worldwide growth in air cargo ton nage. in reply to t!»e question it this growth wit have an influence on the interest of airlines and handing agents in Saco's products, Hans con firms ttvs and explains: 'SACO is doing well 1 would even dare fo say that we have seen an exponential growth since 2012-2013 in the handling equipment segment. Airlines and handling agents want to be one step ahead of their competitors and be able to olfer movative and modem systems to customers and potential customers, the lelated n systems which arc constantly in development play an important role*. Express operators are the major investors SACO'S diem base indudes the major express operators such as FedEx, TNT and DHL Express ‘They vtvesl substantially in UID handling systems. We supply equipment to FedEx tor their hubs in Paris and cologne Bonn, to the TNI Eurohub in Liege and to the OHi hubs in Amsterdam, Leipzig and Brussels', says Hans. "But also the smaller hubs receive the coned material Irom us. For instance, we supply systems to Dill Express Gothenburg, Arland and vastberga in Sweden, and to Tampere and Helsinki in Finland, the tact that the express segment is taking ott in this way is partially due to the rise of e-commerce where speed ol delivery becomes significantly important the number ol internet purchases has increased diastically and the express operators have become extremely busy, they also oltei traditional air cargo operations within their existing network as door-to door products. So yes, that 6, once again, good lor SACO', says Hans. Solving your cargo handling challenges! work area Although rooted in the Netherlands, SACO frequently works across the bolder, not just in Furope but also lurther away From Calgary to Vladivostok and from Auckland to Dhaka, everywhere in the world you will find SACO systems. last summer for instance, SACO built and supplied the first Elevating iransler vehicle (Etv) to the South Pacific region. 'Foreign customers see the Netherlands has knowledge, experience and quality when it comes to material handling systems, the market is in the hands ol only a lew suppliers and SACO has both the know-how and technical teams to be able to oflef a lull service package to customers: from design to fabrication and installation ol the equipment the customer needs. Our slogan is there lor a good reason: solving your cargo haxBing challenges1' Airlines, handling agents and airports But it's not only airlines and handing agents who find SACO, the airports themselves are investigating pos sibiliiies to invest in modern handling systems, the fully automated LTV system tor storing aircraft UtDs is veiy interesting to this target group SACO not only otters single storage level but also the more advanced systems up to five levels high For example, these systems can store 10-loot, 20-loot main deck pallets and LD3 lower deck containers and with the aid of an automated it system, any particular uid can be located ax! retrieved. Future Asking how he sees the future. Flans replies: "We want to realise a healthy, organic growth tor oui company, to keep looking alter our customers wherever they may vzant to lly in the world sdxphol is, ol course, one ot the roots ol our company and we are one ol the very few suppliers who have been around for more than half of SchiphoLs too years' existence, the increasing demand lot our piodiKts in the air cargo world encourages us to be very positive over the future.' SACO airport eauiPMtm SACO AH port Equipment P.0. BOX 47, 5730 AA Mierto industriewog 7,5731 hr M*>rio Itte Netherlands Ptl: *31 492 430059 F: *31 492 432713 irfo@sacD.aao vmw.saco.aero