Bhaskar Chopra introduced us to Chris Schikevitz and Leilani Birkmire at the booth for Siemens Logistics at Promat 2019 in Chicago. After we explored the booth, Chris joined us for his first interview with IndustrialSage!

The full name of this company branch is actually "Siemens Postal, Parcel, & Airport Logistics". As that title implies, they focus heavily on the postal market. They work with letter-sorting machines, reading and coding, and USPS postal software. It was specifically their parcel team that we met at Promat. That branch of Siemens Logistics handles automation equipment for material handling, like automated bagging systems and telescopic unloaders.

The booth's central display was hard to miss. A larger-than-life Remote Under Belt Unloader System, or RUBUS®, filled nearly half of their space on the trade show floor. Siemens Logistics actually submitted the RUBUS® for the 2019 MHI Innovation Awards.

Siemens has been perfecting the system for around two years, and this year they finally decided to introduce it to the entire world.

Conventional methods of unloading a 53-foot truck trailer full of 3,000+ parcels can take two workers multiple hours. The RUBUS®, on the other hand, was designed with a telescopic conveyer that can unload that same amount in ten minutes.
Needless to say, Siemens Logistics already has several customers with a RUBUS® or two under their roofs.

Of course, the system is not for everyone. It was designed with loose-loaded trailers in mind. It isn't necessarily ideal for palletized loads. But for anyone who has ever had to deal with unloading an trailer full of piled-up, unorganized boxes…the RUBUS® can be a lifesaver.

"The RUBUS® really is ideal because you can…get [truckloads of] boxes into the network in minutes, rather than hours."
This also means that a delay in the supply chain won't be as devastating for parcel handlers. If a drop-off is running late normally, it could mean that the unloaders have to put in extra work to keep from missing delivery deadlines. But now, if a drop-off is delayed by an hour or two, no one has to worry. The RUBUS® can load everything into the system in a matter of minutes.

If you didn't get a chance to see Siemens Logistics at Promat, don't worry– you can still get a RUBUS® of your own by visiting their website! And if you're concerned about remembering what to call this branch of Siemens, you needn't be. As it happens, "Siemens Logistics" is a fairly new (but legitimate) title for this division of the company. Effective April 26th, Siemens Postal, Parcel, & Airport Logistics will be called simply "Siemens Logistics" in Germany. Other regions will pick up the brand overhaul over time.

It looks like shortening complicated things…is just what these guys do.

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