The aviation industry has ambitious sustainability targets with IATA aiming at Net Zero by 2050.
All areas are looking at how they can contribute to meeting this target, and significant investments are being made in ground operations.
Wilcox GSE offers a product to help companies meet their targets by developing an aluminium baggage cart, which is 500lb lighter than a typical steel baggage cart.
David Dick, Vice President and General Manager of Wilcox GSE says other divisions of the company have been working with aluminium for around more than 40 years, which means they have the knowledge to manufacture with this material, which requires different processes than manufacturing with steel.
Experience from manufacturing truck bodies out of aluminium meant the team knew the material could withstand anything steel could.
Dick wondered if baggage carts can be made from steel, why can’t they be made from aluminium if you make suitable adaptations such as thicker materials or stronger tubes.
Dick said: “I looked at the industry and didn’t see anyone else doing it. For me that’s opportunity, if you don’t see anyone else doing it, well, OK, let’s take a shot, we have knowledge of this, let’s be the first and bring out a product that is a fully recyclable, sustainable product.”
The first goal was to see if it was possible and whether it would last, so they took the existing steel baggage cart design, added some reinforcement for the aluminium material and then asked customers if they would like to try it.
GTA dnata in Toronto and other customers started using it and giving Wilcox GSE feedback so they could modify it before presenting it to the wider industry.
Since the project started four years ago, 50 aluminium carts have entered service, which includes units used by Alaska Marine for ferries between Washington and Alaska.
They were selected for their light weight and resistance to corrosion.
Costs are a challenge as aluminium is more expensive, coupled with Wilcox GSE not buying the same volume as steel.
More material is required to produce the aluminium cart so they will always be more expensive than the steel cart, admits Dick.
Making improvements
The first aluminium unit was very rigid and on solid wheels.
The feedback received indicated the design would not last in the harsh airport environment because it would crack due to being too rigid.
It never cracked but rubber isolating shock absorbers were developed for both axles, which proved so successful it has been rolled out to Wilcox GSE’s other products.
The first re-designed unit went to Utah and the second one to Toronto.
To understand how the units were performing once in use, and the team would go and inspect them onsite, which led to an amusing situation when they were inspecting the one in Toronto.
Dick said: “They brought it in, I was mad because I thought they didn’t use it as I was standing far away. As I got closer, I could see it had been used and there were scuffs on it. Even our customer who hadn’t seen it when it came back in from being used thought it looked brand new and it had been in used for about a year and a half. Even our customer was pretty shocked.”
From then on, they knew the product worked and aluminium would last, so the next challenge was to bring the cost down to an attractive level.
The cart has a tube frame and is being assessed by the Wilcox engineering team to reduce tubing in the structure, as well as studying the floor to make one specifically for the cart.
The cost has come down, but it is not yet to Dick’s satisfaction, so more work needs to be done.
The aluminium cart has not been around long enough to know how long it will last but based on the last four years, Dick believes it would last 15-20 years, and that it is stronger than the steel cart.
The inside is an aluminium tubular structure, with Dick saying you could take off the top and sides, and you would have a skeleton inside, which gives it strength.
“We can modify and lighten the side panels as they don’t really do anything, so we took a different design concept of having the internal frame and that’s what gives it the strength the steel doesn’t,” he explained.
The 100% rubber tyres assist with sustainability because as they have less rolling resistance than synthetic tyres, so tugs do not have to work as hard.
When the tug is pulling four baggage carts, which are around 500lb lighter than steel carts, they have to pull 2,000lb less weight, putting less stress on the tyres, hubs and axles, meaning electric tugs need less energy, and internal combustion engine units use less fuel. Less energy or fuel means lower costs for operators.
Safety is the first point customers raise, followed by sustainability.
Aluminium is the most recycled material in the world so the baggage cart, which is already made from recycled aluminium and left in a natural finish so there is no powder coating or paint, can be recycled again.
Customers are eager for sustainable products because they need to demonstrate their commitment to the world, but if the product is too expensive, they will not buy it.
Appearances are also important, with Dick saying one airline customer told him if a baggage cart is rusty and looks bad, the airline looks bad. This will not happen with aluminium because it does not rust.
To show aluminium baggage carts are robust, Dick took the cart that had been in use in Toronto to the International GSE Expo in Las Vegas last year.
He did not clean it, and he made a sign saying it had been in use for a year and a half because customers needed to be convinced it would last.
Dick has confidence in his product but how does he convince the sceptics?
“My best way, and I said this to the customer, is the product will tell you. I can tell you everything I want but let me get one to you, go use it and then you can make your own judgement whether it will last, be more sustainable and save you money because I know it will,” he said.
This article was published in the October 2024 issue of Ground Handling International, click here to read the digital edition and click here to subscribe.