Material Handling Management articles from October 2005

Material Handling Management archives from October 2005

30 minute heavy duty concrete floor joint & crack repair polymer.(CRACK FILLER)
October 1, 2005... Metzger/McGuire's Spal-Pro 2000 is a rapid setting, heavy-duty polyurea polymer product for repairing joints and cracks in industrial concrete floors. Spal-Pro 2000 comes packaged in easy-to-use dual-component cartridge kits. This means no...

The Legacy Low Maintenance Battery delivers power.(BATTERY)(Douglas Battery Manufacturing Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Legacy Low Maintenance Battery has a new internal design that takes advantage of optimized grid metallurgy and new technology to give true Low Maintenance performance and unquestionable quality. Our new separators and internal construction...

Qcon-24.(Supplier SOURCE: New Products, Equipment & Services Showcase)
October 1, 2005... Quiet, Intelligent, Modular, Safe, 24V Brush-less DC Roller, Belt, and Pallet Conveyor. Designed to meet your demands of 21st Century's. 3-5 weeks Delivery. We offer Minimum of 14" B.F. and 1" increments thereafter. Custom designs are also...

Modular conveyor systems offer versatility.(Supplier SOURCE: New Products, Equipment & Services Showcase)(Dynamic Conveyor Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Dynamic Conveyor's light- to medium-duty DynaCon[R] modular conveyor systems offer true versatility. DynaCon's modular conveyor systems can be reconfigured in less time, in ever-changing manufacturing or workflow environments. Made from...

Precision lifting.(LIFTING DEVICE)(Gorbel Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... More precise than a hoist, more efficient than an air balancer. Gorbel's new Easy Arm[TM] lifting device gives you the speeds you need to increase productivity, the precision you need to decrease product damage, and the strength to protect your...

Has "material handling" lost its sex appeal?(Light Lifting)
October 1, 2005... At a recent industry meeting one of the college professors in attendance said, "There's no way I would put 'material handling' in any course title." No students would sign up, he said. Material handling is just not sexy. "Logistics" still...

ISPM-15 for real this time--sort of.(International Phytosanitary Standard For Wood Packaging)
October 1, 2005... According to my sources at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shippers sending product outside the U.S. on wooden pallets, are getting some breathing room for complying with ISPM-15. This is the international regulation governing the use of...

Katrina, Rita and engineering: what media, politicians need to know.(engineering solutions for hurricane disaster in New Orleans)
October 1, 2005... Nowhere in all of the media attention on the tragedies in the Gulf region, especially New Orleans, can you find anything about the engineering issues central to it all. The way these two hurricanes have been followed by the hordes of reporters...

It's showtime! Get the most out of industry events.(trade shows participation for material handling industry)
October 1, 2005... Ah, yes! It's that time of year again--no, not football season tradeshow season. It seems as if there's one every week that's clamoring for our attention and dollars. And, of course, each one is touted as the material handling industry's...

Playing well together: bar code & RFID: bar coding has proven its worth, and the data collection infrastructure it created won't soon be replaced by radio frequency identification.(radio frequency identification device use in material handling)
October 1, 2005... The critical issue of data collection is not the collecting technology, it's how the data gathered is used. Bar coding will not go away because not everyone is willing to spend a lot of money to move to a new technology when the old one works....

Saint-Gobain Container breaks ground on new DC.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc., a producer of glass packaging began construction on a 1,020,000 sq.-ft. distribution center in Fairfield, Calif. The center will serve the bottling and distribution needs of the California container markets. ...

Bombardier inaugurates new worldwide distribution center in Chicago.(News)
October 1, 2005... In early Sept. Bombardier Aerospace officially opened its high-volume 238,000 sq.-ft. aircraft parts distribution warehouse in Chicago. The new facility will reportedly offer Bombardier business jet operators and regional airlines greater...

Industry events.(News)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2005... * Oct. 23-26--Council of Supply-Chain Management Professionals Annual Meeting, San Diego. * Oct. 29-Nov. 1--Industrial Truck Association Fall Meeting, Palm Springs. * Nov. 11-15--CeMat, Hannover, Germany * Nov. 13-16--FABTECH,...

Supply Chain and Logistics Consultants Directory.(News)
October 1, 2005... The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) published the Supply Chain and Logistics Consultants Directory. Written by Dr. Paul Zinszer from Syracuse University, the directory helps supply-chain management and logistics...

Prologis completes $5.5 billion merger with Catellus.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... In September, ProLogis (Denver), a global provider of distribution facilities and services, closed its merger with Catellus Development Corp. (San Francisco) for $5.5 billion, including assumed liabilities and transaction costs. The combined...

Conveyor industry reports strong sales growth.(News)(Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) (Naples, Fla.) reports that new conveyor orders for the first 6 months of 2005 increased 8.8% compared to the same period in 2004, with total new orders of $2.6 billion and industry...

On the job.(Cartoon)
October 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Okay, Fred, let's go over the term 'data capture' again."

General Hydrogen orders fuel cells for lift trucks.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... General Hydrogen Corp. (Richmond, B.C.) ordered more than 100 fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems (Vancouver, Canada). The fuel cells will range in power from 4.8 kilowatts to 21.1 kilowatts, and will be integrated into General Hydrogen's...

Packaging machinery sales climb.(News)
October 1, 2005... U.S. packaging machinery shipments reached $5.3 billion in 2004, a 9.3% increase over 2003, according to the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI, Arlington, Va.). Double-digit growth was recorded in 7 of the 17 categories that...

SanMar to build $25-million warehouse near Cincinnati.(New & Improved)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... SanMar to Build $25-million Warehouse Near Cincinnati--Seattle-based SanMar Corp., broke ground on a $25 million warehouse off Interstate 75 in West Chester Township, Ohio. When it opens next summer, the 770,000-square-foot warehouse will be...

R.C. Willey Home Furnishings signs lease for new DC in Calif.(New & Improved)
October 1, 2005... R.C. Willey Home Furnishings Signs Lease for New DC in Calif.--R.C. Willey Home Furnishings signed a lease for a 495,000 sq.-ft. distribution center in Roseville, California. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, the furniture company selected the...

Chinese auto parts maker opens DC in L.A.(New & Improved)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Chinese Auto Parts Maker Opens DC in L.A.--SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (Zhejiang, China) opened the company's first U.S. distribution center in Los Angeles. The facility will support expansion and increased exports to North America, adding to company...

Z Gallerie opens new distribution center in Georgia.(New & Improved)
October 1, 2005... Z Gallerie Opens New Distribution Center in Georgia--Z Gallerie opened a 216,000 sq.-ft. distribution center in McDonough, Ga. The center will supply the California-based retailer's home furnishings to 22 stores for the remainder of 2005 and...

Target to locate new import warehouse in Savannah.(New & Improved)
October 1, 2005... Target to Locate New Import Warehouse in Savannah--Target announced that it will build a 2 million sq.-ft. import warehouse in Savannah, Ga. The new import warehouse will be located at the Savannah River International Trade Park, four miles...

SICK laser sensors guide driverless vehicles.(to test state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle technology)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... SICK Laser Sensors Guide Driverless Vehicles--Laser measurement system sensors manufactured by SICK (Minneapolis) were used by 40 out of 43 teams during the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, including this year's winning vehicle from Stanford...

FKI Logistex sells White Systems unit.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... FKI Logistex Sells White Systems Unit--FKI Logistex (St. Louis) sold its White Systems unit in a management buyout in conjunction with Management Capital, LLC. The sale is "part of the global realignment of our products and markets. It became...

Twinlode companies merge.(Twinlode Manufacturing merges with Twinlode Racking Systems )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Twinlode Companies Merge--Twinlode Manufacturing (Salinas, Calif.), an agricultural storage products supplier, and Twinlode Racking Systems (South Bend, Ind.), a beverage industry storage products supplier, announced plans to merge and form a...

Name change at UNOVA/Intermec.
October 1, 2005... Name Change at UNOVA/Intermec--With the divestiture of its last industrial automation business unit planned by year-end 2005, the UNOVA (Everett, Wash.) board of directors approved a corporate name change to Intermec, Inc., effective January 1,...

UPM Rafsec starts operations at high-volume RFID tag factory.
October 1, 2005... UPM Rafsec Starts Operations At High-Volume RFID Tag Factory--UPM Rafsec (Tampere, Finland) opened a new radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag production facility in Fletcher, N.C. The factory will make EPC (electronic product...

ITG acquires Tag Technology.
October 1, 2005... ITG acquires Tag Technology--ASSA ABLOY Identification Technology Group (Walluf, Germany), a manufacturer and supplier of identification components, acquired Tag Technology (Milan, Italy), a distributor of radio-frequency identification (RFID)...

DoD RFID deadline nears.
October 1, 2005... DoD RFID Deadline Nears--In less than 30 days (November 14), the Department of Defense (DoD) will require suppliers to affix radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to cases and pallets shipped to its Defense Distribution depots in...

OSHA fines BP $21 million, it's largest penalty ever.
October 1, 2005... OSHA Fines BP $21 Million, It's Largest Penalty Ever--BP Products North America, a division of BP plc (London), agreed to pay $21 million in penalties for safety and health violations following the explosion that killed 15 workers and injured...

50th anniversary of containerized cargo.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... 50th Anniversary of Containerized Cargo--The History of Containerization (HOC) Foundation, in conjunction with the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII), will host an official gala honoring the 50th anniversary of containerization on...

Packaging protects what you produce; General Douglas MacArthur said, "There is no security on this earth, only opportunity." Here's how to be sure opportunity favors the good guys.(Security)
October 1, 2005... Security is all about perceived threat, or reacting to misfortune that has befallen someone else. To safeguard what has been produced, manufacturers can rely on transport packaging as the first line of defense against terrorists' activities and...

Warehouse moving day: planning, and lots of it, makes the difference for Diebold's move into a new distribution center.(New Facilities)
October 1, 2005... Diebold, Inc. needed to move, as quickly as possible, 24,000 SKUs valued at $50 million to a new 165,000 sq.-ft. Global Service Logistics Center 30 miles away. "We were committed to moving our facilities without losing shipping time or...

Bringing value to the table: how today's logistics service providers stay one step ahead; logistics service providers make a living by responding to the supply-chain needs of multiple customers in multiple industries. These wide and varied demands have made them some of the most sophisticated and flexible warehouse and distribution center managers in the country.(Industry Trends of logistics)
October 1, 2005... Logistics service providers are responding to the same demands that are forcing changes within the internal distribution networks of retailers and manufacturers. Customer cries for end-to-end supply-chain solutions and ever better inventory...

Marketing moves the beverage industry; brand extensions, innovative packaging, and lightweight bottling materials are driving innovations in beverage handling equipment.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... United Brands Company (La Mesa, Calif.) recently unveiled its new 3SUM line of fruit-flavored beers in 16 oz. and 8.3 oz. cans. The new product release included a trial pack for retailers. For the bottler, this meant more sizes and shapes, more...

No more broken glass.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... A major U.S. brewer is using FKI's bumpless case turner to handle cases of thinglass bottles. The brewer thought conventional turners would cause breakage. Bumpless turners turn packages or containers without hitting them. Packages are turned...

No product damage.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... Columbia Machine, Inc.'s (Vancouver, Wash.) HL8000 high-speed palletizer features a soft-turning conveyor section that uses variable frequency drives to turn and arrange beverage cases with no product impact. The modular layer accumulation...

Rapid changeover, reliable servo drive technology.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... The Cartojet C IV automatic packaging machine folds, loads and closes a variety of different sizes and types of trays and cases, including display trays, with and without covers, and wraparound cases. Servo-controlled drives allow unit speeds...

High-speed shrink sleeve label applicator.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... EZ-Seal 600SL high-speed shrink sleeve label applicator has a production rates in excess of 600 containers per minute. It operates in either single or dual-head mode. The system, which includes the applicator and heat tunnel, will integrate...

Multiple labeling solutions.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... Clamshell and container labeling systems and "print & apply" labeling systems are easy to set up and operate and have minimal moving or wear parts. The company works with customers to integrate its labelers/inserters into existing or new...

Simple, hand-held graphic interface.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... The SmartLase 100i Series coder's hand-held device with a graphic user interface (GUI) supports complex graphic characters. The GUI uses simple icons for operation and programming. The interface supports graphic character sets and meets the...

Managing the flow.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... The Filamatic Integration System unscrambles, cleans, fills and caps containers. System uses servomotors that can be programmed to smooth the fill/finish process. Operators input the parameters needed for a particular product size and the...

Palletize more products in less time.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)
October 1, 2005... The modular adjustable vacuum palletizing (AVP) system is easily expandable and accommodates different product sizes without the need for end effectors. It is simple to configure and features a vacuum gripper system and suction cup in a single...

Palletizing robots.(Technology Spotlight / Beverage Equipment)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... At the recent PACK EXPO show in Las Vegas 2005, FKI demonstrated how its new articulated-arm robot can palletize and depalletize cases of empty bottles by layer using a four-sided compression tool. The layer was placed onto an unscrambler to...

Narrow aisle stock picker.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... The new turret stockpicker from Crown Equipment Corp. (New Bremen, Ohio) offers fast travel speeds, superior stability and innovative controls for optimum operator comfort and productivity. Crown's 3,000-lb. capacity, three-wheel TSP 6000...

Plastic spiral conveyor belt.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... KVP's PR620SPS versatile plastic spiral belt conveys a range of small products. It reportedly has a radius strength (570 lbs) more than 1.5 times greater than conventional spiral belts, even at narrower widths. It's available in widths from 12...

RFID in a box.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... The SIMATIC RF600 family of radio frequency identification (RFID) products is a coordinated system of matched hardware and software components using UHF technology. Easily integrated into existing automation and IT systems, the components...

Motor energy savings brochure and software.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... New 14-page, four-color brochure describes paybacks and methods of reducing electricity costs using Super-E premium-efficiency motors and adjustable speed drives. BE$T (Baldor Energy Savings Tool) software, version 2.0, comes with the brochure....

Mobile PC for DCs and lift trucks.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... The Industrial Mobile PC DNeT MPC 5/110 is a touch-screen PC for use in warehouses and on forklifts. Housed in a coated aluminum frame with external dimensions of 9 x 11 x 3.3 in., the unit weighs 10.6 lbs. Highly shock and vibration resistant,...

Conveyor gap control package.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... GapLogix control package was designed for Hytrol's Gapper. GapLogix will set a specific gap or pitch independent from product length. Controls can be quickly and easily customized to a product. It features easy setup, hand-wired interlock...

Laser light safety scanner.(Product News)
October 1, 2005... OptoShield OS3100 Laser Light Safety Scanner can adapt to dynamic and irregular hazardous environments. Area laser scanner has two detection zone sets that can be externally selected to monitor changing hazardous areas, without the need for...