Cargo control system maker Kinedyne LLC noted that many of its latest products are going to be particularly well-tuned to dealing with the demands of e-commerce, according to Paul Wolford, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
“E-commerce is changing the way shippers move their goods and the delivery speed expectations of both consumers and commercial customers – and that’s creating new cargo challenges,” he explained during a press event at the North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show this week.
“In the beginning, e-commerce had the greatest disruptive effect on end-of-the-line, also known as ‘final-mile’ or ‘last-mile’ delivery activities,” Wolford added. “But now companies throughout the supply chain are looking for ways to minimize transportation costs for cargo as it moves more swiftly throughout multiple transportation modes.”
To that end, Kinedyne is bringing cargo control systems used extensively in Europe to North America as the firm feels those products will help supply chains optimize the "speed, cost, and efficiency" of controlling cargo as it transitions from its "original state" – as a raw commodity – to a” high-density” state in distribution centers and warehouses before finally reaching a “low-density” state as goods are delivered through the last mile to businesses and consumers.
Those cargo control offerings include:
Kinedyne noted that all of its curtain-side and retractable roofs are equipped with patented roller technology that makes opening and closing them faster, safer, and less ergonomically challenging.
The three-roller design includes a steel horizontal roller that ensures effortless sliding and prevents the curtain from binding even when being briskly opened and closed, it said.
Wolford added that Kinedyne tapped the resources of its sister company, Wistra Cargo Control, and one of its European suppliers, Versus-Omega, to develop and then bring some of those systems – especially the load-rated curtain-side system – to North America..
“Popular in Europe, load-rated curtains become part of a vehicle’s overall load securement system; saving time, weight and fuel, while providing sideways restraint to otherwise fully secured loads up to the curtain’s stated rating,” he explained.
“Our rated curtains will display their load rating as either allowable weight per pallet width, allowable weight per pallet space or total payload of evenly distributed pallets across the entire deck space,” Wolford added. “Forward and rear cargo restraint must still be provided by headboards, tailboards and other traditional load securement methods.”