Innovative and tech-focused

Innovative and tech-focused

Automation has been a byword for Hactl since its birth. From those early days, the company invested in automated handling systems at Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak Airport, to meet its brief and make optimum use of the airport’s severely restricted cargo space. Along the way, it set new standards in productivity and put Hong Kong firmly on the road to global renown as the efficient cargo hub it is today.

But it was the transition to the new airport at Chek Lap Kok in 1998 where  Hactl really made strides: opening its stunning new facility, SuperTerminal 1, at the staggering cost of US $1 billion. Designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster, it featured a fully-glazed exterior, roof gardens and the industry’s largest automated handling system.

The system stored 3,500 fully-loaded ULDs on six levels, served by 14 driverless container cranes, and controlled by a computerised logic system that decided where to store each United Load Device (ULD), and recorded that data in Hactl’s cargo management system COSAC (now COSAC-Plus), for subsequent retrieval. 

Alongside the Container Storage System (CSS) was a similarly elaborate Box Storage System (BSS) which stored loose cargo in 10,000 stillages and delivered it to the pallet building area on demand as pallets were being prepared for their flights.

26 years later, both systems remain in constant round-the-clock use, supported by meticulous maintenance. Constant hardware and software upgrades have made them more productive and efficient than ever – enabling Hactl to achieve vast throughputs on relatively small footprints. And, as recent visitors to SuperTerminal 1 found when the International Air Transportation Association’s World Cargo Symposium recently came to  Hong Kong, they still leave observers spellbound, as their balletic movements and huge scale drive the biggest independent general cargo handling operation in the world. 

Scale of the operation

To put it in context, if Hactl were an airport, it would rank inside the world’s top 20 for cargo throughput. Its annual record is 2.9 million tonnes, and its daily record over 10,000 tonnes. Hactl has been known to handle over 100 widebody freighters in a 24-hour period and up to 16 at the same time. And the CSS makes up to 6,000 movements every day.

So you might ask – with such a leviathan of girders, nuts and bolts, cables, bearings, electric motors, sensors, conveyors and computers at its disposal – what is left to automate? That question is one of the daily motivations for Hactl’s Performance Enhancement Team – highly-experienced operatives whose task is to seek out any remaining inefficiencies in the operation, and resolve them with high-tech solutions.

Hactl’s first foray into the world of robotics was in 2021. Its giant machinery requires round-the-clock maintenance, which often takes place during the slightly less frenetic night-time. Engineers often need urgent spares, which they once collected from a manned parts store that stayed open only during the day; although a selection of the most-often-used spares was available from a locker outside hours. 

So Hactl opened a new, robotic Automated Parts Store (APS) where the engineers simply input their order, which is then picked from over 200 storage bins by a robot and delivered back to the front desk. The robot also orders new parts to replenish stocks, replaces these in their correct bins, and automatically generates periodic stock reports. The APS is open 24/7/365, saving labour and providing around-the-clock spares. The APS may be a modest application, but it has been very useful in teaching Hactl about available technology and how to work with outside partners to achieve the required solution. 

For Hactl, robotics really came into its own during Covid, when it needed to minimise staff presence at its premises, avoid unnecessary human contact and ensure constant disinfection took place. The answer came in 12 sanitisation robots which performed the task automatically.

The next step in Hactl’s robotic journey was the introduction of security robots to complement its human guard patrols, operating on pre-set routes around the terminal site and feeding live video to Hactl’s CCTV monitoring suite. Equipped with GPS and anti-collision systems, the robots also capture images of cargo conditions.

Most recently, Hactl has begun using driverless Autonomous Electric Tractors (AETs) to tow pallet dollies between its ULD staging centre and waiting freighter aircraft. The AETs navigate the best route with collision avoidance systems and are speed-limited to 20kph for safety.

 All these robotic applications help Hactl counter the constant challenge of recruitment, utilising precious staff resources for duties that require their skills and knowledge. But one repetitive, labour-intensive task has so far eluded an effective robotic solution: pallet building. This requires achieving maximum pallet weight and volume simultaneously, profiling to the aircraft’s contours, loading heavy cargo before delicate shipments, and doing this all at speed. Hactl typically builds 400 pallets per day, so there is no time for second attempts. Picking cargo in the optimum order for palletisation takes years of experience.

  “It’s like a giant three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, with the added dimensions of density and time,” Hactl Chief Executive Wilson Kwong declared. 

“So it’s little wonder that nobody has really solved this problem yet. However, the  technology and components now exist, and the potential rewards are huge, so this will be our next focus.

“Whoever solves this riddle will revolutionise the entire industry.” 

Picture of Edward Hardy

Edward Hardy

Having become a journalist after university, Edward Hardy has been a reporter and editor at some of the world's leading publications and news sites. In 2022, he became Air Cargo Week's Editor. Got news to share? Contact me on Edward.Hardy@AirCargoWeek.com

Newsletter

Stay informed. Stay ahead. To get the latest air cargo news and industry trends delivered directly to your inbox, sign up now!

related articles

What’s behind Asia’s growth?

Flexibility is Key

Robust growth and global connectivity

Wait...Before you go

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Logo Air Cargo Week