Welcome to the 15 July Warehouse & Logistics News. There are plenty of winners to cheer for in our summer of sport, but the warehousing and logistics industry has its own champions too, as seen at this month’s UKWA’s Annual Awards for Warehousing 2013 ceremony, supported by Warehouse & Logistics News as main media partner. You can read the full write-up in this issue and on our web site.

To inspire you to achieve excellence in your corner of the warehouse and logistics business, we have features in these pages on Warehouse IT and Storage solutions. As our Warehouse IT feature makes clear, you need to have your wits about you when choosing a WMS system and be totally clear about what you expect from it. Similarly, as ‘Storage Solutions’ indicates, there are various simulation tools to help select the right racking and shelving options. But they don’t take away the need to weigh such factors as the goods you are handling, the speed of operation and the energy implications.

Innovation often comes from unexpected places. In our interview Grant Amor, Technical Director of Aqualuma, the Australian-based manufacturer of LED lighting products for the marine, commercial and industrial sectors, explains how he and his brother Carl originally wanted underwater lights for their boat and did not like what was available. They decided to develop their own, starting with a blank sheet of paper, and the rest is history, with Aqualuma winning awards as the Australian Marine Industry’s ‘Best Exporter. They have since gone on to develop the world’s most energy efficient and long lasting range of commercial and industrial LED lighting products. These have been proven in numerous warehouse lighting projects in Australia and around the world for major clients including global logistics company Toll and large warehouses and shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand and North America. Now Aqualuma has teamed up with Poole-based Tides Marine International, its European distributor, to supply its innovative range of Industrial LED High Bay Lights and Commercial LED Down Lights to the global market, including the UK.

Aqualuma finding success in the marine world first then emerging onto dry land echoes what the early vertebrates did during evolution. That thought would certainly ring bells with Ian Veitch, MD of Yusen Logistics and President of the Freight Transport Association, who was chosen as the 2013 UKWA Chairman’s Award winner by UKWA Chairman John Maguire of Flexi Narrow Aisle. After studying biology at university, where he no doubt studied the survival of the fittest, Ian’s CV shows an extraordinary evolution of its own – he developed into a top logistics expert over an outstanding career, taking him to NYK, where he was the first European to be appointed to the Board of Corporate Officers of NYK Group in Japan.

Congratulations again to Ian and all the other UKWA winners, and here’s to many more success stories to inspire us.