Things were hotting up at the largest logistics trade fair in the world in Munich at the beginning of June – and it wasn’t just because of the extremely high temperatures…

Things were hotting up at the largest logistics trade fair in the world in Munich at the beginning of June – and it wasn’t just because of the extremely high temperatures. Two newcomers to the GATX fleet were a hot topic of conversation for many of the trade fair visitors: the new Shimmns car with limegreen tarpaulin and the innovative CS2 chemical car, which was specially developed for the chemical production company Nouryon.

As transporting chemical goods – in this case carbon disulfide – requires special safety measures, the new chemical cars score points with customers thanks to their cleverly thought-out technical details. For example, in the event of an accident, the roll bar protects the overhead fittings and equipment parts, and there’s an intelligent safety catch for overriding buffers which helps to prevent serious damage in the event of a collision. In addition, the GATX 5560 is equipped with the most modern technology which allows an exact monitoring of the route of the vehicle at all times. In the event of an impact on the outlet, the shock sensors automatically register and measure the values. The trade fair visitors were able to see just how well this works with their own eyes, thanks to the exhibited telematics and sensor devices and a simulated collision.

The new Shimmns cars, which are primarily used to transport steel coils mainly in the automotive industry, win over customers with their smart ideas. For example, they are fitted with a foldable tarpaulin that ensures that the products remain completely dry during transport. In addition, GATX worked together with the customers to further improve the coil fixation and it can now be adjusted to fit various different coil sizes even better. Just like the new chemical cars, this model also has the most modern telematics devices and load sensors.

Lots of space for good discussions
In order to offer even more space for relaxed discussions, the size of the terrace of the GATX trade fair stand was increased this year. And it really paid off! Not only new interested customers, but also many colleagues from the industry and business partners came to enjoy stimulating and inspiring discussions. A special thanks to Thomas Hüttel from Amberger Kaolinwerke, Eric Marvy from Elkem Silicones, Arnaud Desmonts from ArcelorMittal, Ratislav Brablik from ZOS and Torben Knief from BP Europe SE who were ready to share their views.

The latter confirmed in an interview just how important rail freight transport is: “The advantage of this mode of transport is that it is relatively quick and flexible. In comparison to inland waterway vessels, rail freight transport has much shorter transport times.” This also results in shorter leads times, allowing us to plan from week to week, and it’s a much more environmentally-friendly method, which is of particular importance today as there is a growing focus on climate-related issues.

Something else on everybody’s lips, also in a literal sense, was the delicious ice cream that was handed out to our delighted guests from a retro ice cream bike – which contributed a touch of charm and fun to all the technical and innovative topics.