Somewhere in Southern Germany, someone longs for tranquility – and spontaneously orders a deckchair. What they probably don’t realize: elsewhere in Southern Germany, the exact opposite is happening because of that deckchair (and thousands of other piece goods).
“Let’s just say: If you want to relax, you’re in the wrong place here,” jokes Thomas Gundel during our on-site visit at the Schweinfurt transshipment terminal of DB Schenker.
On about 5,000 square meters of hall space, the internationally operating logistics service provider handles gigantic quantities of goods day in and day out.
“Within 24 hours, we sometimes handle 800 to 1,000 tons. Everything from deckchairs to toys to hydrants that fits on a pallet is included,” explains Gundel in his role as terminal manager. “We are a real logistics hotspot in Schweinfurt – also thanks to the quite central geographical location!”
Time for a Turn
Friday, 3 PM: It becomes evident what Gundel means by “hotspot,” as we are currently in one of the two particularly busy phases of the day.
Gundel: “The first one we have during the early shift when our vehicles return from the 40 system branches and deliver the incoming goods for the area.”
The Schenker people then unload the trailers and swap bodies with forklifts and place the palletized goods in two unloading zones. There, employees with fast mover devices take over and transport the goods to the appropriate relations. While the driving personnel mostly handle the loading of vehicles themselves in the so-called small local transport, the DB Schenker team processes the loading of heavy local transport again with forklifts.
In the afternoon, a similar process takes place, “only now there is even more turning to do,” Gundel emphasizes. And where there is a lot to turn, the equipment should of course keep up – in terms of performance as well as safety.
Seeing is Believing
Performance and safety: With Linde Material Handling forklifts (Linde MH), the logistics professionals of DB Schenker have already had the best experiences in these two disciplines.
Gundel: “Our location has been an exclusively Linde territory for many years. As loading forklifts, we use
eleven electric forklifts Linde E16. So, we were naturally curious about the next generation of our workhorse,” the terminal manager reports.
Since September 2024, the operation has been testing the successor to the established 386 series in the turbulent day-to-day business. And already after the first weeks, it was clear: the new one brings everything that a loading forklift needs. Shift supervisor Sarah Benz is especially enthusiastic about the improved visibility, which is largely due to the narrower A-pillar and the nested mast profiles:
“When I have a better view of the forks, it makes working, especially at night or when many people are around, just less stressful and safer. The new Linde forklift is really great.”
The maneuverability of the 3-wheel forklifts with Linde's turntable steering axle is also convincing according to Benz:
“The vehicle gives you the feeling that it implements every steering movement exactly as you want it. The driving performance is, of course, equally top.”
Thanks to its asynchronous motors, the new Linde E16 reaches a top speed of up to 20 km/h – which additionally contributes to the transshipment performance.
Continuous Power Thanks to Lithium-Ion
When talking about transshipment performance, the question of the appropriate energy system is not far off. In this respect, Schweinfurt takes a clear line, as Thomas Gundel emphasizes. The location has already completely switched from lead-acid energy storage to modern, highly efficient lithium-ion batteries since the end of 2023.
“That’s the be-all and end-all for us. In the lead-acid days, we had to change the batteries three times a day – far too much valuable time was lost, not to mention maintenance effort. Now we can get through all three shifts effortlessly with one lithium-ion battery even under high workload,” reports Gundel.
Plug-and-Play Principle Brings Flexibility
For regular intermediate charging, several Linde chargers have been installed in the hall, where employees can supply the devices with new energy during work breaks. Roberto Truthän, who looks after the Schweinfurt transshipment terminal at the responsible Linde MH network partner Ernst Müller Fördertechnik, emphasizes another advantage of the new Linde E16:
“With the forklifts, you can simply
switch between lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries without any changes.”
The flexibility that this entails is a strong argument for DB Schenker, highlights terminal manager Thomas Gundel:
“We have to react very quickly depending on the order situation and regularly lend equipment to a second location in the region that still uses lead-acid. Thanks to the Linde concept, the battery can then simply be swapped with plug-and-play on the new Linde E16. Lithium-ion out, lead-acid in – and on we go.”
Driving Like on Clouds
Just now, a forklift driver has steered his Linde E16 into a swap body. Thomas Gundel comments:
“The wedge at the loading ramp is made of steel and slightly inclined. If you drive over it at speed, it sometimes makes quite a rattle.”
Even more astonishing then, that shift leader Johnnie Wilson shows himself completely unimpressed by this shock:
“In the new forklift, the impacts don’t reach the driver’s seat anymore – you hardly feel anything. You’re glad when your back doesn’t pinch after a six, seven hour shift.”
This is mainly due to the smart damping concept of the new Linde forklift generation. Both mast and drive and steering axle are now fully decoupled from the chassis via elastomer ring bearings. Additionally, the models can be ordered with an air-suspended driver’s seat (as in the case of DB Schenker), which further improves ergonomics.
Speaking of which, DB Schenker also benefits from Linde MH’s long-standing know-how in this important area with the fast movers – namely the Linde D12 HP SP: The latest version of the electric double stackers features a fully decoupled and suspended driver platform.
“The device is much easier to move now, nothing wobbles and you feel very secure when working,” comments DB Schenker apprentice Evelyn Grigorjev.
The team is very pleased with all this, adds Thomas Gundel. In the meantime, the Linde D12 HP SP has also attracted attention at other locations.
“There are definitely certain desires,” says the terminal manager with a wink.
Everything Secure!
Back to the “deckchair” topic or rather to the topic of tranquility. The clock now shows 3:30 PM, about 15
people are on the move in the terminal. Thomas Gundel remains relaxed and points to a small device on his safety vest:
“We have also been using the Linde Safety Guard since 2023. Absolutely everyone receives such a portable unit, including drivers of external transport companies; the counterparts are installed in the vehicles with the truck units.”
If vehicles and people or vehicles come too close to each other, the Linde system triggers a mutual warning. Additionally, the maximum speed is automatically reduced when entering trailers and swap bodies. Last but not least, a fixed BlueSpot is triggered at the passageway between the two hall sections if a material handling vehicle approaches.
“Since the Linde system has been running here, we haven’t had a single material handling vehicle accident in the hall,” says Thomas Gundel with delight.
In the meantime, evening has fallen in Schweinfurt. The hall has gradually emptied and is being prepared for the upcoming shift. Thomas Gundel’s workday also comes to an end. Time for a conclusion:
“As you have seen, things are quite turbulent here. It's good to know that with the equipment: nothing goes wrong here, everything fits perfectly together. The service quality matches the device quality and the performance of the devices matches our standards. The new Linde E16 exemplifies this perfectly.”
DB Schenker
With around 71,100 employees and approximately 1,850 locations worldwide, DB Schenker is one of the leading international logistics service providers. At the logistics terminal in Schweinfurt, around 35 employees handle 800 to 1,000 tons of goods daily in three-shift operations. The company exclusively relies on material handling technology from Linde Material Handling.
On site, among other things, eleven electric forklifts Linde E16 with lithium-ion batteries as well as eleven fast movers of the type Linde T20 or T20 SF and D12 HP SP are in use. The lead dealer for DB Schenker has been the Linde network partner Ernst Müller Fördertechnik, based in Nuremberg, for many years. The team there provides full support to DB Schenker nationwide. Maintenance and servicing at the Schweinfurt site are carried out by the local Suffel Fördertechnik GmbH &
