Material Handling Management articles from January 2008

Material Handling Management archives from January 2008

From manual handling to automation--quickly: when your customer is Wal-Mart, speed, cooperation and productivity are top priorities. This supplier turned to a system integrator when it needed help.(Automation)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cousin Corporation of America (Largo, Fla.) is a major wholesaler of arts and crafts supplies to large retailers. It employs more than 100 people and does several million dollars in annual sales. Recently, it was...

Climate control: a new type of dock seal has unexpected benefits for a frozen-vegetable distributor.(Facility Operations)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Facility temperature control is a delicate science. Whether it's for employee comfort or product quality, controlling climate is critical--and costly. Soaring energy costs have led to the development of various...

Seeing is believing: as machine vision systems become more affordable and intuitive, more manufacturers are eyeing them for quality control.(Information Management)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They can tell if bottles have sealed caps and accurately printed labels. They can detect smudges and differentiate items by color. They are a key part of sortation in processing lines. Machine vision systems are...

Death toll in warehouse fire rises.(Industry News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... SEOUL, South Korea -- According to Associated Press Writer Kwang-Tae Kim, the death toll from a fire that tore through a South Korean warehouse Jan. 7, rose to 30, a local fire official said, as rescuers searched for 10 missing people. At least...

UPS launches global air freight portfolio.(Industry News)
January 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- UPS has launched a simplified global portfolio for shipping air freight, including a substantially expanded express freight option with guaranteed door-to-door service. The new air freight portfolio features a greatly expanded...

MATTECH 2008 offers global experts.(Industry News)
January 1, 2008... SARASOTA, Fla. -- The International Material Handling, Manufacturing and Packaging Technology, Logistics and Supply Chain Expo (MATTECH) 2008 is coming to Miami Beach, Fla., Aug. 20-21. Material Handling Management is a media sponsor of the...

Army creates logistics branch.(Industry News)
January 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Beginning Jan. 1, the U.S. Army created a Logistics Branch and will give a new primary military operational specialty--90A--to captains that will indicate multifunctional competence in transportation, quartermaster and ordnance...

MHM adds sales veteran to staff.(Industry News)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CLEVELAND -- Bob Eck, well known to folks in the material handling industry, is returning to the sales staff of Material Handling Management and Logistics Today as a regional manager within the state of Florida....

Plans set for annual auto ID summit.(Industry News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... WARRENDALE, Pa. -- AIM global announced that the 20 08 AIM technology Leadership Summit will be held Apr. 27-29 at the Capital Hilton in Washington. The summit, themed, "think Forward," will feature presentations by industry analysts and AIM...

Big industrial renovates plant for warehousing.(Industry News)
January 1, 2008... OKLAHOMA CITY -- Big Industrial LLC (Prairie Village, Kan.) has purchased the now-vacant Bridgestone/ Firestone industrial plant and will renovate the property and lease it to companies for warehouse, distribution or general manufacturing use....

AHS becomes TriFactor.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... LAKELAND, Fla. -- Advanced handling Systems (AHS) Inc., a provider of integrated material handling systems, announced the company has changed its name to TriFactor. In making the announcement, Jack Phelan, president, explained, "As a leader in...

JLG expands local aftermarket services.(Vendor News)
January 1, 2008... MCCONNELLSBURG, Pa. -- JLG Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Oshkosh truck Corp., announced it has opened its fourth major U.S. ServicePlus Center to provide local aftermarket support for JLG customers in California, Nevada and Arizona. JLG's...

Jungheinrich builds new plant in Germany.(Vendor News)
January 1, 2008... HAMBURG -- Jungheinrich Ag, one of the world's larger material handling equipment and logistics solutions suppliers, is expanding its production capacity. The Hamburg (Germany)-based company will construct a new plant for the manufacture of...

Komatsu builds plant in Russia.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... TOKYO -- Komatsu Ltd. announced it will build a $61 million plant in Russia, about 186 miles Northeast of Moscow. Production is slated to begin in June 2010, and Komatsu said that, by the following year, the plant will produce 3,000 hydraulic...

Toshiba introduces quick-charge battery.(Vendor News)
January 1, 2008... TOKYO -- Toshiba Corp. said it will introduce a quick-charge battery for lift trucks, construction machinery and other industrial vehicles. The Super Charge Ion Battery, expected to be released in March, will be able to recharge to 90% of its...

Fidelitone acquires dedicated.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... WAUCONDA, Ill. -- Fidelitone Logistics, a provider of third-party logistics services, announced its partnership with Dedicated Logistics LLC. Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA., Dedicated Logistics provides warehouse management and outbound...

Pon North America acquires Forklifts Inc.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... CINCINNATI -- Forklifts Inc. is now a member of the Pon North America Group of material handling firms. The lift truck and aerial lift distributorship, headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pa., an $82 million company, was founded in 1955. It...

Lift trucks get cleaner and greener: thanks to ultra-low emissions, reduced waste and productivity benefits, electric, clean IC and fuel-cell-powered lift trucks are coming of age.(POWERED VEHICLES)(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a world in which the word "green" is splashed all over newsstands, broadcasted over radio waves and projected into every living room with a television set, it's hard not to be aware of environmental issues. The...

10 steps to reducing inventory: excess inventory takes up valuable space, is expensive to maintain and may become obsolete or spoiled. However, insufficient inventory leads to lost sales and unhappy customers.(Technology Toolkit)
January 1, 2008... Most companies have two challenges: too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right goods. Knowing where to begin making inventory improvements is not easy. Then, sustaining such improvements sometimes seems impossible. Here are 10...

Returns on RFID, reusables tests encouraging: the viability of RFID for use with reusable containers in material handling is now under scrutiny during extensive field tests.(Transport Packaging)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Someday, when people look up the meaning of the odd-sounding word "coopetition," they'll find the story of how a group of competitors, through their association, banded together to find a solution for the common...

The future begins today: material handling and logistics education does not recognize political boundaries. Here is how common causes can be linked by a river.(Voices of Industry)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Quad-City region, located on the Mississippi River in western Illinois and eastern Iowa, is comprised of a population of nearly 750,000. Based on its proximity to Interstates 80, 88 and 74, the region is an...

Back to the future and the greening of RFID.(Witt's End)
January 1, 2008... Last month, I had a thought-provoking conversation with Steve Ackerman, president of FKI Logistex, and several members of his executive team. The talk centered on how his company does things and what's on tap for the future. After 45 minutes or...

A way with words.(Transport Packaging)(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... The first part of January brings with it a plethora of accolades and awards. I figure this is because most people have little to do in December and can devote time to this kind of trivia. Since I don't have the time, I'll just steal their stuff...

Don't become a statistic.(World of Difference)(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... About a month ago, I met with a financial advisor. No, it wasn't just for kicks. It was part of my semi-annual, financial gut-check ritual. As the suit poured over facts and figures, my mind drifted--until I heard him utter a startling fact....

Everything old is new again.(Data Intelligence)
January 1, 2008... One of the advantages of being an "old guy" in the industry is that I know a lot of the background and standards that were developed over the past 20-plus years. One of the disadvantages (other than being an old guy) is that, what I assume is...