Material Handling Management articles from November 2006

Material Handling Management archives from November 2006

Hanesbrands takes steps to streamline supply chain: apparel company moves to fewer, larger DCs, acquires new factory in Thailand. Earnings hit takes a bite out of its stock price.(Industry News)(distribution centres)(Sara Lee Corp.)
November 1, 2006... Hanesbrands Inc. (Charlotte, www.hanesbrands.com), which was spun off from Sara Lee Corp. (Chicago, www.saralee.com) in September, has announced plans to close several distribution centers and purchase a new sewing plant 50 miles southeast of...

Industry reacts positively to new port Security law.(Industry News)
November 1, 2006... President George W. Bush recently signed the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (SAFE Port) into law after the bill passed the House of Representatives on a 409 to 2 vote and by unanimous consent of the Senate. Paul Kelly, senior...

Wal-Mart sees green in being green.(Industry News)
November 1, 2006... Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark., www.wal-mart.com) recently released its "packaging scorecard," detailing its commitment of reducing packaging across its global supply chain of 60,000 worldwide suppliers. The goal is a reduction of 5%...

New edition of popular 3PL outsourcing guide.(Industry News)
November 1, 2006... The 14th edition of the 3PL outsourcing guide, Who's Who In Logistics, has just been released by Armstrong & Associates (Stoughton, Wis., www.3plogistics.com). The new edition, in two volumes, features in-depth profiles of 192 third-party...

Peak season demand below previous years.(Industry News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Equity analyst firm Morgan Stanley (www.morganstanley.com) reports that current truckload supply and demand register only marginally above the same period in 2002. Morgan Stanley's Truckload Freight Index tracks real-time changes in the...

Linde sells forklift division for $5.1 billion.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (www.kkr.com). and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (www2.goldmansachs.com) acquired the Kion Group lift truck division (www.kiongroup.com) from Linde AG (Wiesbaden, Germany) for $5.1 billion. The medium-term...

CHEP launches RFID pallet track and trace program.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... CHEP (Orlando, www.chep.com), a pallet and container pooling supplier, has developed a worldwide system to provide trading partners with real-time visibility of products shipped on the company's pallets and containers. The new solution, built...

Jungheinrich chairman steps down.(Vendor News)
November 1, 2006... Dr. Cletus von Pichler, chairman of the board management of Jungheinrich AG (Hamburg, Germany, www.jungheinrich.com) left the company by "mutual consent" at the end of October. The company's supervisory board appointed Mr. Wolfgang Kiel in his...

RedPrairie updates labor software.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... RedPrairie (Milwaukee, www.redprairie.com), unveiled an updated"workforce management" suite. Users will reportedly benefit from a workforce management solution that optimizes all retail and supply chain workforce processes. RedPrairie's...

Dematic expands Southwest operations.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... To serve customers in the Southwest region of the United States, Dematic (Grand Rapids, Mich., www.dematic.us) opened a new office north of Dallas. The new office for the supplier of automated logistics solutions is located in Lewisville,...

Savi RFID Technology approved for use in China.(radio frequency identification device)(Savi Technology Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Savi Technology, (Sunnyvale, Calif., www.savi.com) received official approval from the China State Radio Regulation Committee (SRRC), a division of the China Ministry of Information Industry, to use its family of active radio frequency...

Ballard may sell drives division.(Vendor News)(Ballard Power Systems Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Revenues of fuel-cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems (Burnaby, B.C., Canada, www.ballard.com) for the third quarter were $14.1 million, down from $16.1 million for the same period in 2005. The fuel-cell developer's net loss for the quarter...

SPX sells Dock Products business.(Vendor News)(SPX Corp. Dock Products Div.)(Wynnchurch Capital Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Managers at SPX Dock Products with support from Wynnchurch Capital, Ltd. (www.wynnchurch.com), a Chicago-based private equity firm, acquired SPX Dock Products, Inc. (Carrollton, Texas) from SPX Corp. (Charlotte, www.spx.com). In connection with...

White Systems and Talyst join forces.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... White Systems (Kenilworth, N.J., www.whitesystems.com), and Talyst (Bellvue, Wash., www.talyst.com) have reached a long-term agreement that gives Talyst rights to market White Systems carousels. Talyst provides central packaging, labeling,...

Oshkosh Truck acquires JLG.(Oshkosh Truck Corp.)(JLG Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Oshkosh Truck Corp. (Oshkosh, Wis., www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com) signed a definitive agreement to acquire JLG Industries, Inc. (Mcconnellsburg, Pa., www.jlg.com), a manufacturer of aerial work platforms and similar vehicles. The total...

Boise Cascade Materials Division builds new DC on Gulf Coast.(Boise Cascade L.L.C.)(distribution centres)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Boise Building Materials Distribution (Boise, Idaho, www.bc.com), a division of Boise Cascade, LLC, is building a new 80,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Milton, Florida, near Pensacola. BBMD is a wholesale distributor of building materials...

Inmate stretch-wraps his way to freedom.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A 36-year-old Bosnian escaped from an Austrian prison by getting himself stretch-wrapped on a pallet with some street lamp parts made by inmates at the facility and trucked out. The man had been serving a seven-year term for burglary in the...

FKI Logistex wins contract for British National Library.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... FKI Logistex (www.fkilogistex.com), the St. Louis-headquartered supplier of integrated material handling solutions, won a contract to provide The British Library (www.bl.uk) with a new storage-and-retrieval system. The new facility will house...

Airtrax reports sales decline, names new CEO.(Vendor News)
November 1, 2006... Airtrax, Inc. (Blackwood, N.J., www. airtrax.com), the developer of unique omni-directional lift trucks, named Robert M. Watson as the company's new president and CEO. From 2001 until October 2006, Watson was president and CEO of Hartz &...

Myers Industries sells European Material Handling Group.(Vendor News)
November 1, 2006... Myers Industries, Inc. (Akron, Ohio, www.myersind.com) will sell its European Material Handling Group to Birmingham, U.K.-based Linpac Materials Handling (www.lmhglobal.com). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject...

EnerSys Cleveland Plant celebrates 100 years of battery charger manufacturing.(Vendor News)(Company overview)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The EnerSys Cleveland Charger Plant, formerly known as the Hertner Electric Company, recently celebrated 100 years of manufacturing battery chargers, motors and related products. For the past 80 years the operation has been located in the same...

Veri-Tek acquires assets of Liftking Industries.(Vendor News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Veri-Tek International Corp. (Wixom, Mich., www.veri-tek.com) acquired Liftking Industries, Inc. (www.liftking.com) for $8 million. Headquartered in Woodbridge, Canada, near Toronto, Liftking makes rough terrain forklifts, special vehicles and...

German pallet maker enters U.S. market.(Vendor News)(Craemer )(Granville Composite Products Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... One of Europe's larger plastic pallet manufacturers has announced plans to offer its products in North America beginning this fall. Headquartered in Herzebrock-Clarholz, Germany, Craemer (www.craemer.de) is establishing North American...

RedPrairie and Babush open RFID tech center.(Vendor News)(Babush Material Handling Systems )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... RedPrairie (Milwaukee, www.redprairie.com) and Babush Material Handling Systems (Sussex, Wis., www.babush.com) (Sussex, Wis.), have opened a joint RFID technology center in Milwaukee that allows managers to learn about and test the...

Toyota Europe to market gold edition lift trucks.(Vendor News)(Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Toyota Indusrial Equipment Europe (www.toyota-tiee.com) is producing a "gold edition" of is most popular forklift, the 7IC Series, which has sold over 250,000 units worldwide. The industrial trucks will feature a unique gold and black design...

Excess baggage: external demands have radically altered how airports and airlines handle passenger baggage.(Baggage Handling Update)
November 1, 2006... On August 10, 2006, British police foiled a terrorist plot to blow up 10 trans-Atlantic flights to the United States. That was the good news. The bad news for travelers all over the world was an immediate ban on all liquids and gels in carry-on...

Stop load damage: in-transit product damage, and related safety hazards, can be prevented at the loading dock.(Warehouse Basics)
November 1, 2006... In 1991 a 46-year-old truck driver was delivering freight from a distribution center to one of Wal-Mart's Sam's Club stores in Fayetteville, N.C. When he arrived at the store, he opened the trailer's right rear door to begin unloading the...

Productivity starts and ends with people: improving productivity depends on people knowing what the goals are and what is expected of them.(Labor Management)
November 1, 2006... Jon Petticrew, v.p. operations, ODW Logistics Inc. (Columbus, Ohio) has more words of advice for improving productivity than a travel guide has lists of restaurants. Regarding the need for measuring productivity, one of his favorite...

A warehouse manager's best friend: new warehouse control software automates order fulfillment processes for Sergeant's Pet Care Products.(Information Technology)
November 1, 2006... Shipment volumes at the 150,000 sq.-ft. Memphis distribution center of Sergeant's Pet Care Products had doubled. As the number of shipments increased, so did the number of picking and shipping errors. Managers of the Omaha, Neb.-based...

Supply-chain security update: a quick look at U.S. government programs and technology monitoring today's global supply chains.(Security)
November 1, 2006... At the beginning of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin said, "Two people can keep a secret, but only if one of them is dead." Today, over 250 years later, with electronic communication and multiple, intertwining partnerships across...

Picture perfect AGV application: Fuji Photo Film uses automated-guided vehicles to increase DC throughput.
November 1, 2006... While Fujifilm's green boxes of film are instantly recognized around the world, demand for its electronic imaging products is growing rapidly. The company is using automated-guided vehicles (AGVs) at its 500,000 sq.-ft. automated distribution...

Follow the green.(Transport Packaging)(Sustainable Packaging Coalition)
November 1, 2006... Fall tends to signal the hunkering-down time of the year. For packaging, however, this autumn seems to foretell a global rejuvenation of recycling issues and sustainable packaging products. Pack Expo International, held at the end of...

Sysco's superstars.(Andel on Lift Trucks)(SYSCO Corp.)
November 1, 2006... LeBron James made news when he negotiated a $60 million three-year contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers that would keep him on the team through the 2009-2010 NBA season. Is anybody worth that? The Cavs obviously think so. He shows up...

"Black sky" thinking.(Data Intelligence)(automatic identification and data capture system)
November 1, 2006... When advising companies on how to go about planning an automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) system, I always encourage them to engage in some "blue sky" thinking. That is, I suggest they generate a list of "must have," "like to...

Two bags per passenger.(Light Lifting)
November 1, 2006... No doubt I'm about to jinx myself. I travel a fair amount, a little more than once a month if you average it out, which usually takes me through quite a few airports. On all of those trips over the years not once have the airlines lost my...

On-board lift truck computers: mobile devices streamline inventory management, improve productivity.(Lift Truck Accessories)
November 1, 2006... Warehouse managers know that conducting a physical inventory can be a cumbersome, labor-intensive and disruptive process. "We used to hire 35 people to come in on a Saturday, once every quarter, to do an inventory," says Thom Raddatz,...

On-board lift truck computer.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... The CV30 flexible, rugged, fixed-mount computer features Microsoft Windows CE.NET 5.0 or Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems. Rugged units have multiple mounting options and are designed to operate in dirty and dusty environments, freezing...

Fork range detector.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... In situations where operators are driving lift trucks with 60-in. forks unloading a truck with 48-in. pallets, they can run through the first pallet and grasp a portion of the second pallet, tipping the second pallet over. Range Alert allows...

Wireless fleet management system.(Product News)(Crown Equipment Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Crown InfoLink wireless fleet management system features a user-friendly, on-board operator interface that wirelessly communicates lift truck data to a central server using the network that most warehouses and factories already have in place....

Mobile RFID reader.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... The RD5000 mobile RFID reader can be integrated with lift trucks, pallet jacks, stretch wrappers and other material handling equipment. Compact Gen 2 RFID-compatible devices can be utilized in various space-constrained environments. By...

Rugged, vehicle-mounted computers.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... Rugged, half-screen VX6 vehicle-mount computers ship with Intel XScale processors and the Microsoft Windows CE .NET operating system. Users can easily run CE .NET applications on both handheld and vehicle-mount computers, reducing user training...

Lift higher, carry more.(Product News)(Raymond Corp. )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Updated 7000-Series reach trucks now perform storage and retrieval tasks at greater lift heights and with heavier load capacities. Model 7420 lifts 421 in. and has a 4,500-lb. capacity (3,200-lb. double-deep reach capacity). Model 7440 lifts...

Intelligent carton clamps.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... The ETX-G3S Intelligent Carton Clamp is designed for applications where variations in clamping pressure can produce significant damage claims. Microprocessor-controlled devices automatically adjust clamping force based upon product and load...

Small safety laser scanner.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... S300 laser scanner provides an economical option for smaller scanning ranges. Ultra-compact housing and low power consumption make it well suited for providing oncoming fork detection on automated guided vehicles or safeguarding workers in the...

AGV control platform.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... The NDC8 control platform for automated-guided vehicles (AGVs) offers flexibility and user friendliness. Control can be used for a combination of guidance and navigation processes, including laser, spot magnet and pilot line guidance. The...

End-Rider Walkies.(Product News)
November 1, 2006... The WR6000-WR8000 series of AC-powered electric end-rider walkie lift trucks feature walk-behind and ride-on versatility. The two models have capacities of 6,000 and 8,000 lbs. The walkies are well suited for food packaging, general stocking...

Air-powered dock leveler.(Product News)(Nordock)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Nordock low-pressure air-powered dock leveler is designed to improve loading dock efficiency and performance. It features a reinforced and balanced single chamber air bag that will operate efficiently in extreme weather conditions. Single...

Modular conveyor.(Product News)(Dematic Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The C-L series, modular low-voltage motorized conveyors are available in belt-on-roller, belt-on-slider bed and roller accumulation versions. Each self-contained module has its own onboard controls, networked communications and mechanical...