Transporting with a triple quality promise

As a practical and safe premium solution for manually transporting cartons, beverage crates, and other goods, the EXPRESSO hand truck has proven its worth in many supply chains worldwide, particularly in the courier, express, and parcel logistics sectors. It differs from many similar products in one crucial aspect: it is designed as a highly flexible, weight-optimised, and ergonomic modular system that offers maximum freedom for functional adaptation to almost any industry, business, or product-specific task. “Whether it involves largely standardised or highly specialised requirements, in the end, it is always the specific logistics task of the customer that largely determines the design of our hand trucks. We also place particular emphasis on ensuring that all details are tailored to individual needs, aimed at providing the customer with an optimal and efficient solution for their transport challenge,” says Karsten Grötecke, who heads the business unit Manual Handling Equipment at EXPRESSO. Visitors to this year’s Parcel+Post EXPO, taking place from October 22 to 24 in Amsterdam, will be able to gain a tangible impression of this highly successful product concept. EXPRESSO will present itself in Hall 10 at Stand 10.123 as a premium manufacturer of modern transport solutions, showcasing various exhibits that demonstrate the possibilities of the modular system for postal and parcel hand trucks

Maximum modularity

At the Parcel+Post EXPO, CEP professionals will learn that the tubular footplates of EXPRESSO postal and parcel hand trucks – indispensable for transporting cartons, crates, and baskets – can be folded away to save space, are available in various lengths and widths, and come equipped with support feet that keep goods off the wet ground and dirt. Their optimised tilt angle secures the cargo in the parked position. Crossbars between the upright tubes prevent small packages from slipping through, and all EXPRESSO hand trucks can be fitted with additional crossbars to ensure that stacked cartons and crates are reliably supported against the frame. A rear-hung net provides safe storage for smaller parcels, and weatherproof accessory bags make it easy to deliver leaflets and magazines quickly. “Another important quality feature of our postal and parcel hand trucks is the loop handle, with its ergonomic, slip-resistant plastic coating. It allows for many different, ergonomically optimal gripping positions. Additionally, the upper crossbars of our hand trucks serve as extra handholds, ideal for safely navigating steps and stairs. Made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic, they have a curved design that provides a protective safety gap between the user’s hands and the load,” explains Karsten Grötecke.

These product features alone illustrate that the design of EXPRESSO hand trucks is thought out down to the last detail. To ensure the customer benefits from them for as long as possible, the company also guarantees long-term spare parts availability. Wear parts can be easily replaced, and every part of an EXPRESSO hand truck can be reordered later. With original spare parts and guided by the videos on the company’s YouTube channel, an experienced user can modernise a decades-old hand truck with just a few simple steps.

Over 2,000 variants to date

The now 70-year-long market success of the EXPRESSO hand truck can be traced back to a patent application filed by engineer and entrepreneur August Manss in July 1953. While the large skids were initially seen as an advantage, simplifying stair navigation, it was in 1967 that EXPRESSO’s engineers made the decision to turn the rigid truck design into a flexible aluminium modular system, unlocking the tremendous development potential of this manual transport device. “To date, over 2,000 variants of the EXPRESSO hand truck have emerged from this basis – and this trend continues. Today, we attach a triple quality promise to every customer-specific hand truck: Product excellence at the level of Made in Germany, optimal individualisation through constructive modularity, and longevity thanks to our spare parts guarantee,” emphasises Karsten Grötecke.

According to the business unit head, the future of the EXPRESSO hand truck is currently shaped by the perfection of the modular system, adherence to high-quality standards, and the expansion of service offerings. The company’s engineers continually receive suggestions for technical improvements, additional modules, or new accessories from users and sales partners. “These are valuable innovation impulses for the further development of our hand truck as an ergonomic, safe, and economical transport tool for the CEP industries,” says Karsten Grötecke.

By the way: The EXPRESSO hand truck is not only in use millions of times worldwide, but it has also become a part of Germany’s “Brands of the Century.”