Solutions provider Dematic is continuing to focus on ecological product and pro-duction design and contribute to the new VDMA sustainability initiative "Blue Competence".

Dematic has joined forces with the new "Blue Competence" sustainability initiative that the VDMA started in July last year as a leading initiative for ecology and environmental technology in plant and machinery construction. The aim of the initiative is to continue to strengthen and expand the long-term role of plant and machinery construction in Germany as a worldwide technology leader. In parallel, the intention is to highlight the sector's high level of creative innovation in terms of energy-efficient products and solutions to a wide section of the public.

"This means that Dematic and VDMA are following the same goals", according to Hubert Kloß, CEO of Dematic Europe GmbH. "For many years already, Dematic's range of products and solu-tions has featured the use of the latest technologies and a high level of resource efficiency. With early participation in "Blue Competence", we are once again strengthening our commitment to development and production in line with the principles of sustainability."

The high importance that the issue of resource efficiency holds for Dematic is reflected in numer-ous developments that the solutions provider has established in the marketplace over the past two decades in particular. For example, as early as 1995, Dematic was the first provider to include energy recovery in shelf-servicing devices as standard, develop the patented, low-energy double-zone warehouse for the storage of temperature-sensitive goods, and in 2006 was the first provider to introduce the highly energy-efficient Multishuttle.

The latest example is the "Dematic Ecodrive" energy efficiency software on show at CeMAT 2011 - software for improved energy efficiency for process control in automated warehouses. The software permits an additional reduction in CO2 emissions in automated warehouses of 10 to 15 percent, improves the ecological balance by up to 20 percent, and meets the protocol requirements for tax savings in line with ISO 16001.

"We are convinced that market-oriented energy concepts, consistent resource conservation and the use of environmentally friendly technologies will shape the future of intralogistics", summaris-es Kloß. "In joining forces with the Blue Competence sustainability initiative we are clearly de-monstrating our commitment to increasing sustainability in the form of energy, efficiency in raw materials and equipment, as well as our intention to actively shape the development of sustainable concepts for the future."