ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 17, 2025--
KNAPP, the reliable technology partner for value chain innovation, is proud to be showcasing the AeroBot at ProMat 2025. This North American AeroBot debut comes on the heels of winning the prestigious ‘Best Product Award’ at LogiMAT 2025, the International Trade Show for Intralogistics Solutions and Process Management in Stuttgart, Germany.
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KNAPP CEO Gerald Hofer proudly commented, “The AeroBot system is another milestone in our long line of innovations. As with any other development, the AeroBot is a result of contemporary market drivers and the needs of our customers. Currently, solutions that provide an easier start to automation and are flexible enough to adapt rapidly to market conditions are popular. It’s important to look at these needs on the basis of an overall concept instead of just isolated technologies. This is exactly what our main focus at KNAPP has been in the past years and we now have the broadest portfolio of technologies on the market.”
The AeroBot's capabilities in delivering high-density storage and retrieval solutions perfectly complement KNAPP’s industry leading Evo Shuttle, renowned for its high performance. Uniquely, the AeroBot seamlessly integrates with other technologies from the KNAPP portfolio, including ergonomic goods-to-person workstations, picking robots, pocket sorter systems, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
While the Evo Shuttle is the high-performance system designed to solve the most complex tasks, AeroBot’s 3D system offers exceptional flexibility, with a simple and modular setup that is optimized for storage density. Designed to operate at heights up to 12 meters, it leverages spec-built buildings and offers delivery within short lead times. It also utilizes simple floor guidance methodologies for product delivery to order pickers, avoiding the high maintenance and complex guidance systems currently on the market.
According to Jusuf Buzimkic, Chief Sales Officer of KNAPP North America, “The utilization of standardized components ensures easy installation, while its low space requirements and flexible rack construction options allow seamless integration into both new and existing buildings. It’s an ideal solution for businesses looking to scale their operations and accommodate peak seasons without compromising performance.”
Christoph Gailberger, Portfolio Manager of Storage Systems at KNAPP, added, “By leveraging innovative friction drive technology and multi-directional movement, AeroBot can efficiently navigate and operate within any storage environment. It operates independently, accessing all areas of the system autonomously without relying on lines for navigation. The latest battery technology and flexible charging configuration, together with fire regulation compliance, make our new AeroBot a highly competitive choice in this market."
KNAPP is the reliable technology partner for value chain innovation. Headquartered in Austria with 49 subsidiaries worldwide, KNAPP provides proven software and hardware solutions for intelligent logistics automation, from production and distribution to point of sale. A collaborative approach and excellent service position KNAPP as a trusted, stable partner for success in healthcare, retail, fashion and apparel, food retail, wholesale, manufacturing, or ecommerce.
ProMat 2025 is the premier event for manufacturing and supply chain professionals, offering a comprehensive showcase of the latest innovations in material handling, logistics, and supply chain solutions. Held from March 17-20, 2025, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, ProMat 2025 will feature over 1,000 exhibitors specializing in automation, robotics, AI, and sustainable logistics solutions. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore cutting-edge technologies, participate in expert-led seminars, and network with industry leaders.
AeroBot’s 3D system offers exceptional flexibility, with a simple and modular setup that is optimized for storage density.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The pothole outside Timothy Taylor's home was so deep, he could hear the clunk of cars hitting it from inside his house.
The Portland, Oregon, resident could sympathize with those drivers: He knew to avoid his own neighborhood pothole, but another one damaged his car's suspension to the tune of $1,000.
“Hearing that awful sound of your car bottoming out — it’s horrible,” he said.
Oregon transportation officials say that without more funding, residents like Taylor could see further declines in the quality of roads, highways and bridges starting this year. But revenues from gas taxes paid by drivers at the pump are projected to decrease as more people adopt electric and fuel-efficient cars, forcing officials to look for new ways to fund transportation infrastructure.
States with aggressive climate goals like Oregon face a conundrum: EVs can help reduce emissions in the transportation sector, the nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but they also mean less gas tax revenue in government coffers.
“We now find ourselves right now in a position where we want to address fuel use and drive down reliance on gases and internal combustion engines. But we need the funds to operate our roads that EVs need to use as well,” said Carra Sahler, director of the Green Energy Institute at Lewis & Clark Law School.
Motor fuel taxes are the largest source of transportation revenue for states, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers’ most recent report on state expenditures. But the money they bring in has fallen: Gas taxes raised 41% of transportation revenue in fiscal year 2016, compared with roughly 36% in fiscal year 2024, the group found.
In California, where zero-emission vehicles accounted for about a quarter of car sales last year, legislative analysts predict gas tax collections will decrease by $5 billion — or 64% — by 2035, in a scenario where the state successfully meets its climate goals. California and Oregon are among the multiple states that will require all new passenger cars sold to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
The downward revenue trend is already playing out in Pennsylvania, where gas tax revenues dropped an estimated $250 million last year compared with 2019, according to the state’s independent fiscal office.
Inflation has also driven up the cost of transportation materials, exacerbating budget concerns.
The Oregon Department of Transportation — citing inflation, projections of declining gas tax revenues and certain spending limitations — has estimated a shortfall topping $350 million for the next budget cycle.
That could mean cuts to winter snow plowing and the striping and paving of roads, as well as layoffs of as many as 1,000 transportation employees.
Republican lawmakers say the gas tax revenue issue has been compounded by the department mismanaging its money. An audit released in January found the department overestimated its revenue for the current budget cycle by over $1 billion and failed to properly track certain funds.
“It really is about making sure that the existing dollars that are being spent by the department are being spent efficiently and effectively,” said state Sen. Bruce Starr, GOP co-vice chair of the joint transportation committee.
To make up for lost revenue, 34 states have raised their gas tax since 2013, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California has the highest gas tax at over 69 cents a gallon when including other taxes and fees, while Alaska has the lowest at 9 cents a gallon, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In Oregon — which in 1919 became the first state to implement a gas tax — it is 40 cents a gallon.
The federal gas tax of 18 cents a gallon, which isn’t adjusted for inflation, hasn’t been raised in over three decades.
In Oregon, where there is no sales tax and tolling has met fierce opposition, lawmakers are debating next steps.
Oregon is among the states that have already raised registration fees for EVs.
Other states have taken such steps as indexing their gas tax to inflation, raising registration fees for EVs and taxing EV charging stations.
To bolster transportation dollars, some have reorganized their budgets. In Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was first elected using the slogan “Fix the Damn Roads,” some revenues from marijuana taxes and personal income taxes now go toward transportation. In Connecticut, the sales tax now brings in more money for its special transportation fund than gas tax revenues, a 2024 fiscal report shows.
Another concept that could provide a long-term solution is what are often known as a road user charge. Under such a system, drivers pay a fee based on the distance they travel.
In 2023, Hawaii established a road usage charge program for EV drivers that will phase in starting this July. In 2028, all EV drivers will be automatically enrolled, with odometers read at annual vehicle inspections.
Three other states — Oregon, Utah and Virginia — have voluntary road usage fee programs. Drivers can opt to use GPS tools to track and report their mileage.
The name of the National Association of State Budget Officers has been corrected to include the word “State.”
FILE - Rebecca DeWhitt charges her electric vehicle in the driveway of the Portland, Ore., home she rents on Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)
A worker walks by a safety barrier as construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Cars drive along W Burnside Street as cracks are seen in the road on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
A car drives by a pot hole filled with rain water on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Timothy Taylor poses for a photo by pot holes outside his home on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. Taylor said a pot hole broke part of his car's suspension and cost him $1,000 to fix. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Workers talk as construction continues on Stark Street Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
A sign is seen for the Stark Street Bridge as construction continues on the bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
The Sandy River runs under the Stark Street Bridge as construction continues on the bridge on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Troutdale, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
A car drives past along César E. Chávez Boulevard, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
In this image taken through the reflection of a car window, a person walks along W Burnside Street near a repaired patch in the road on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
