Trailer manufacturer Krone has won the “European Transport Prize for Sustainability 2024” in the “Telematics and Automation” category. The coveted industry award is presented by the trade magazine “Transport“, which is published by Huss-Verlag.
The “European Transport Prize for Sustainability“, which has been established for over a decade, encourages companies in the commercial vehicle industry to act sustainably and supports their strategies in this area. Krone won this year’s competition with its AI-based “Krone Smart Capacity Management” loading space recognition system, which detects and utilises free loading capacity. The intelligent system enables optimum capacity utilisation, saves empty runs and thus protects the environment in the long term.
Smart Capacity Management uses Smart Scan technology to monitor the loading space in the trailer by camera and transmits the images in real time to the Krone Telematics Portal via the Krone Smart Collect (KSC) telematics unit. Here, the dispatcher can view the loading area, determine free parking spaces and check the interior before and after loading or unloading. In this way, damage, improper load securing and people are also visible to the dispatcher – even when it is dark and the trailer is closed. All loading and unloading processes are documented with a location and time stamp.
Ralf Faust, Managing Director Service at Krone Commercial Vehicle SE: “Our innovative technology not only makes free parking spaces visible, but also does much more with the help of AI. Enriched with weight information, the further expansion stage Krone Smart Load enables real-time connection to freight exchanges and can automatically book additional freight that matches the route and empty capacity. The system also reliably detects irregularities in the loading space, such as unauthorised persons or overturned freight, so that appropriate alarms can be set up.“
Maximilian Birle, Head of Krone Telematics & Digital Services, is delighted with the award: “My team is delighted that our Smart Capacity Management has won the European Transport Award for Sustainability 2024. This award impressively confirms the high value of our years of development. We have now achieved our goal: Smart Capacity Management gives transport companies the opportunity to operate even more economically and competitively while making a significant contribution to the sustainability of the transport industry.“