Material Handling Management articles from April 2007

Material Handling Management archives from April 2007

One size might fit all, but it's costly.(Transport Packaging)
April 1, 2007... A reader called with a transport packaging frustration. She had ordered a 10-pack of her favorite pens from her big-box office supply store, along with four pens of another type. She was promised free shipping because the pens were not on the...

Lift truck driver training makes a comeback.(Guest Column)
April 1, 2007... Lift truck driver training is making a comeback, but it's not where it was nine years ago. That's when the Department of Labor first issued the Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training Standard (PITOT). If you were around at the time, PITOT...

RFID a la carte?(Data Intelligence)
April 1, 2007... The IT world is, or at least has been, abuzz with the whole notion of software-as-service--a trend that many see as being of more benefit to the software providers' bottom lines than it is to end users. However, the announcement on March 26...

Green: the new black.(Light Lifting)
April 1, 2007... The renewed attention to environmental issues reflects a growing consensus that the time for debate is over. It's time to really do something on a global level about carbon emissions and water, soil and air pollution. I recently had a chance to...

It's easy being green: current energy sources are finite, vulnerable and will never cost less. Here is how one distribution company found a better way.(Green Warehousing)(Cover story)(Company overview)
April 1, 2007... It takes a lot of energy to construct a building, and significantly more energy is consumed during its life for heating, cooling and lighting. According to a report issued in March by the United Nations Environment Program's (UNEP) Sustainable...

DURA Automotive to close four plants, sell businesses.(Industry News)(Dura Automotive Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... As part of its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy, DURA Automotive Systems (Rochester Hills, Mich., www.duraauto.com), is closing four more factories. The latest plant closures are located in Brownstown, Ind.; Bracebridge, Ont.; Hannibal South,...

Amazon UK to build 800,000-sq.-ft. DC.(Industry News)(Amazon.co.uk Ltd.)(distribution center )(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Amazon.co.uk announced plans to build a new 800,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Swansea, Wales. "We feel that the site's great location, coupled with the ability to draw from a pool of strong local talent, will make this an extremely...

On he job.
April 1, 2007... Maybe Johnson's productivity would improve if they made the pick-to-voice system sound a little less like his ex-wife.

Goodyear sells engineering products division.(Industry News)(Company overview)
April 1, 2007... Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group (Washington, D.C., www.thecarlylegroup.com) signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Engineered Products Division for $1.5 billion. Founded in 1898, Goodyear...

EPCglobal ratifies data sharing standard.(EPCglobal Inc. has released a new radio-frequency identification industry standard "Electronic Product Code Information Services")
April 1, 2007... EPCglobal Inc. (Brussels, www.epcglobalinc.org) has released a new radio-frequency identification (RFID) industry standard: EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services). It provides a standard set of interfaces for EPC data,...

Avery Dennison to acquire Paxar for $1.3 billion.
April 1, 2007... Avery Dennison Corp. (Pasadena, Calif., www.averydennison.com) has acquired Paxar Corp. (White Plains, N.Y., www.paxar.com) for $1.34 billion. The transaction will reportedly enhance Avery Dennison's ability to compete and grow globally,...

Chrysler awards material handling system contract for St. Louis factory to Jervis B. Webb.
April 1, 2007... Jervis B. Webb Company (Farmington Hills, Mich.), a supplier of material-handling systems, won a contract from Chrysler Group to install a new material handling system and renovate existing systems at the company's St. Louis Missouri South...

Nuvera supplies fuel cells to Toro.
April 1, 2007... Nuvera Fuel Cells (Cambridge, Mass.) will supply The Toro Company (Bloomington, Minn.) with its PowerFlow PFV-5 fuel cell system for integration into Toro Workman utility vehicles. The Nuvera-powered vehicles are being developed under a...

ODW logistics acquires Olson Company.(www.olsoncompany.com)(www.odwlogistics.com)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... ODW Logistics, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio, www.odwlogistics.com) has acquired The Olson Company (Waukesha, Wis., www.olsoncompany.com). With annual sales of $15 million and 120 employees, The Olson Company has facilities in Illinois, California,...

Plug Power acquires Cellex Power.
April 1, 2007... Plug Power Inc. (Latham, N.Y.), a provider of on-site energy products, has acquired Cellex Power Products Inc. (Vancouver, B.C.), a provider of fuel cell power solutions for lift trucks and other material handling equipment. Plug Power paid $45...

Numina Group builds new 'green' corporate headquarters.(www.numinagroup.com)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... The Numina Group (Woodridge, Ill., www.numinagroup.com), a material handling systems integrator and automation supplier, opened a new environmentally friendly office and Technology Development center. "Everyone can make a difference and needs...

Psion Teklogix to expand U.S. headquarters in Northern Kentucky.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... Psion Teklogix (Covington, Ky., www.psionteklogix.com), a provider of mobile computing, wireless data collection, imaging and RFID technology, will expand its U.S. headquarters in Boone County, Ky. The new 60,000-sq.-ft. facility will provide...

Barcoding supports lean at DH Pace.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... DH Pace (Kansas City, Mo., www.dhpace.com), a distributor of overhead doors with numerous facilities throughout the United States and annual sales of $140 million, selected Bridgelogix (www.bridgelogix.com) to help the company with its...

Lavelle becomes president of Doosan Infracore U.S. Lift Truck Division.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... Michael J. Lavelle is the new president of Doonsan Infracore's U.S. Lift Truck Division (www.doosanlift.com). Tom Yoon, the president for the past five years, has moved up to become managing director for overseas sales and marketing. Lavelle...

Tootsie Roll Industries partners with DSC Logistics.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... Tootsie Roll Industries (Chicago, www.tootsie.com), one of the largest candy companies in the United States and maker of Tootsie Roll, Charms, Dots, Andes Thin Mints, Double Bubble and Junior Mints, has signed a two-year contract with DSC...

Serec to install Motek WMS.(warehouse management system)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Serec (www.Serec.com), a national retail distributor, selected the Priya MSWindows warehouse management system (WMS) from Motek (Beverly Hills, Calif., www.motek.com) for its 100,000-sq.-ft warehouse in City of Industry, Calif. "Priya's...

Fish out of water.(5-D Tropical has partnered with DHL Airways Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... 5-D Tropical (www.5dtropical.com), a Florida-based producer and importer of tropical fish, has partnered with DHL (Plantation, Fla., www.dhl.com) to deliver fish in the United States. 5-D Tropical imports fish from Asia, Africa, and South...

Dematic supplies another automated system for The Children's Place.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Secaucus, N.J., www.childrensplace.com) will install an automated material handling system from Dematic Corp. (Grand Rapids, www.dematic.us) at its new 700,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Fort Payne,...

Alien earns accreditation for RFID Test Center.(Vendor News)
April 1, 2007... EPCglobal Inc. (Brussels, www.epcglobalinc.org) awarded its Performance Test Center Accreditation mark to Alien Technology Corp.'s (Morgan Hill, Calif., www.alientechnology.com) RFID Solution Center in Dayton, Ohio...

Raising the platform: dock bridge trims costs for fitness equipment manufacturer.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... ICON Health & Fitness Inc. (Logan, Utah, www.iconfitness.com) gets Americans out of their seats and onto their feet with a well-known array of fitness brands including NordicTrack, HealthRider, Proform, Reebok, Weslo, Image, Weider and...

Stand-up end control truck.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... New FBC15NS--FBC20NS series of electric counterbalanced stand-up end control lift trucks from Mitsubishi have capacities ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 lbs. Series is designed for fast-moving applications requiring extensive shuttling, frequent...

Dock control panels.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... Master control panels integrate operations for dock levelers, vehicle restraints, inflatable dock shelters, overhead doors and safety gates, into a single control box. Controls can be interlocked so that each piece of dock equipment can be...

Web-based shipping tool.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... MySeko version 2 is a Web-based shipment management tool that gives users greater shipment visibility and better tracking, tracing and reporting improvements. Customers can now contact Seko representatives via an Instant Messenger service, to...

Cost-effective container/cart.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... Returnable distribution container was designed for the food processing, food service, beverage, logistics, manufacturing, computer, auto parts, electrical supplies, airfreight and airport maintenance industries. Heavy-duty polyethylene...

Lean order picking.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... SafePik system is designed to improve lift truck order picking operations in warehouses and distribution centers. When lift operators raise the system's platform to the desired level for inventory retrieval, an enclosed cargo cab protects both...

Dock equipment manual.(Product Focus)
April 1, 2007... Choosing the right dock equipment for the right application can be a difficult task. This new resource manual contains information on loading bay equipment, dock levelers, vehicle restraints, seals, shelters, telescopic conveyors and parcel...

A fair day's pay for a fair day's work: think you deserve to be paid more? Join the club. See how your salary and bonus compares to your peers based on job title, age, experience, company size and other key factors.(MHM 2007 Salary Survey)
April 1, 2007... Many factors contribute to job satisfaction. Pay tops the list, but it's closely followed by benefits, job stability, individual recognition, challenging work and opportunities for advancement. Then there's the basic satisfaction that comes...

Using compensation data to win the war for talent.(MHM 2007 Salary Survey)
April 1, 2007... As firms try to win the war for talent and find "A" Players to fill critical roles, there are several important findings from the current Material Handling Management 2007 Salary Survey that should be considered for effective recruiting, hiring...

The safety mosaic: facility managers need to pull together a variety of tools to keep their facilities safe for everyone.(Labor Management)
April 1, 2007... Creating safe warehouses and distribution centers is a team effort that includes communication, training programs, safety incentives, and safety products. Safe operations are clean, organized and more productive. Employees know where to put and...

Dock and load: as the start and end point for material movement within a facility, docks offer many opportunities for speeding product flow that can have a positive impact throughout the supply chain.(Process Excellence)
April 1, 2007... Too often, the dock represents the black hole of the logistics universe. Or, to bring it down to earth and closer to home, it can be as messy and disorganized as a kid's closet. However managers picture the place where their company shakes...

Making the leap to manager: it takes awareness to be a good teacher; a skill that is seldom taught to supervisors.(Training)
April 1, 2007... The scenario is all too familiar: The best lift truck operator in the building is promoted to supervisor and he's a failure. The same thing happens for the best order picker, or the best shipping clerk. A person who was superior on a prior job...

Survival instincts: 2007 MHM Value-Added Award: this year's Value-Added Award could be renamed the Survivor's Award for this Shreveport material handling equipment distributor.(Value-Added Award)
April 1, 2007... Each year Material Handling Management selects a member of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA, Vernon Hills, Ill., www.mheda.org) to receive its Value-Added Award. This year's honoree is Nelson Equipment Company...