High-tech company Trumpf and Jungheinrich will be collaborating on intralogistics solutions for connected manufacturing in sheet metal fabrication. Jungheinrich will supply driverless vehicles that autonomously transport sheet metal parts between various machine tools and storage positions. Trumpf will supply its production-control software, TruTops Fab, which helps manufacturers make their logistics more efficient. Trumpf will also provide personal consultation as well as commissioning, training and other services to help customers integrate the autonomous transport systems within their own manufacturing environment.

Thomas Schneider

"We're delighted that two such established German companies as Trumpf and Jungheinrich have teamed up to form a high-tech partnership," says Thomas Schneider, managing director, research and development at Trumpf Machine Tools.

"We'll be working together to deliver future-proof digitalisation solutions for sheet metal fabricators. By reorganising their logistics, sheet metal fabricators can substantially boost the efficiency of their operations."

The cooperation also brings benefits for Jungheinrich: "This partnership will take our logistics solutions right onto the factory floor of the manufacturing industry," explains Markus Heinecker, vice president - corporate automated systems AGV. "It means that sheet metal fabricators will no longer have to swap between different systems. Instead, they can have an integrated solution from a single source."

The companies' joint solution has already proved its worth at Trumpf's smart factories in Chicago and Ditzingen. Manual transport processes have been automated there, and storage times at machine tools have been substantially reduced.