Modern Materials Handling articles from December 2006

Modern Materials Handling archives from December 2006

60 seconds with...
December 1, 2006... By Staff Words of wisdom from your peers in 2006 Dave Asiala, Dow Chemical On RFID Providing leadership in our industry, improving safety and security and adding value are our goals for RFID. We narrowed 450 opportunities to...

Energy's impact on the supply chain.
December 1, 2006... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor During the next two decades, higher and more volatile oil prices may force changes in today's standard supply chain practices. As oil prices rise, many of today's supply chain practices may become...

Dock equipment basics.
December 1, 2006... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor Seals and shelters, dock doors, vehicle restraints and levelers combine productivity with improved ergonomics and safety. Reliable loading dock equipment is vital to the smooth flow of materials in...

Design Ambition.
December 1, 2006... By Jim Apple Tips for making your new year's resolutions for your facility come true. Is 2007 your year to plan for a new facility-or revisit the processes in the current one? If so, how high will you set your goals? Will you...

RFID: 6 key trends.
December 1, 2006... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large It's been nearly a year since the Gen 2 standard for passive RFID in the supply chain was finalized by EPCglobal. Since then, six leading trends in standards, technology and practices have emerged. ...

Outlook remains positive.(Statistical data)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Materials handling orders and shipments hit all-time highs in 2006. Growth in orders and shipments is expected to continue through 2007, though at a slower pace. The industry experienced considerable movement this year, with...

Happy early new year.
December 1, 2006... By Gary Forger, Editorial Director Like kids at Christmas, we just couldn't wait. So here's your fresh, redesigned Modern a month earlier than you may have expected. And how appropriate. This is our ProMat 2007 issue. And as you may...

End-of-line innovations from Pack Expo.
December 1, 2006... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor More than 1,600 exhibitors filled 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at Pack Expo International in Chicago this fall. Among them were suppliers sharing the latest advances in palletizing and...

Toyota launches 8-Series.(Toyota Material Handling U.S.A.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Calling them "the world's cleanest internal combustion lift trucks available," Toyota has unveiled its 8-Series lift trucks ( www.toyota8series.com ), which include 3,000 to 6,500 pound, internal combustion, cushion and...

RFID goes mobile.(LXE Inc.)(Lantech Technology Corp.)(Symbol Technologies Inc.)(radio frequency identification)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff RFID readers are moving to locations besides the shipping dock, getting reads at other critical points in the warehouse and factory. Two examples are: Symbol Technologies ( www.symbol.com ) and LXE ( www.lxe.com )...

Metrics are key to manufacturing success.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff In the manufacturing business, metrics matter. The better a company's system for measuring and tracking financial and operational performance, the more finances and operations improve. These are the conclusions of a study...

ProMat approaches.
December 1, 2006... By Staff When ProMat ( www.promatshow.com ) opens on January 8, attendees will find more than 750 exhibitors filling 300,000 square feet of exhibition space in Chicago's McCormick Place South (see page 62). The event, sponsored by...

2D gains popularity.(growth of bar code scanners )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff In a recent report, research firm Frost & Sullivan ( www.frost.com ) said it expects sales of one-dimensional bar code scanners to slow over the next few years and the market for two-dimensional bar code scanners to grow at a...

MHIA recognizes research papers.(Material Handling Industry of America )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA, www.mhia.org ) and the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) announced the winners of the biennial Outstanding Material Handling Research Paper Awards. ...

Embedding tags in containers.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff What's the biggest impediment to the adoption of RFID, especially at the item level? The cost of applying the tag. "As the price of tags comes down, the overall cost of an RFID solution is dominated by the process of...

SAP invests in MES supplier.(manufacturing execution system)(SAP America Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Software giant SAP has made a minority investment in manufacturing execution system (MES) supplier Visiprise. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The deal is SAP's third such investment since May, when the...

Invest in technology and training.(Survey)
December 1, 2006... By Staff The best warehouse operations invest in technology and employee training, according to researchers at Aberdeen Group ( www.aberdeen.com ). Researchers surveyed 180 warehouse managers and identified "Best in Class"...

On-demand ERP meets on-demand WMS.(warehouse management software)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Small to mid-sized companies have responded to software offered in an on-demand, software-as-a-service format. On-demand enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management, and customer relationship management...

People to know.(Zebra Technologies Corp. and Oracle PartnerNetwork)(Cognex Corp. appoints Eric Ceyrolle to executive vice president)(Psion Teklogix Inc. and Datatrac Corp. signs marketing agreements)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Cognex promoted Eric Ceyrolle to executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing- the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) gave its 2006 Distinguished Service Award to GENCO chairman and CEO Herbert...

Focus on automated storage.(Diamond Phoenix Corp.)(Remstar International Inc.)(Stanley-Vidmar Inc.)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Horizontal carousel stores large, heavy items Staff The Intermat heavy-duty horizontal carousel stores large goods such as cylinders, beams, rolls, cable reels and tubes. Built to accommodate unique load and facility...

NASA's workhorse: AGVs.(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(automatic guided vehicles)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Noël P. Bodenburg, Managing Editor Automatic guided vehicles more than doubled parts throughput at the Kennedy Space Center's fulfillment center. NASA's logistics complex at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.,...

ProMat 2007: Your path to productivity.(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Promat 2007, slated for January 8-11, will showcase more than 750 exhibits and include a comprehensive educational conference. This premier material handling and logistics event, held in McCormick Place in Chicago, will offer an...

ProMat 2007: Plan your education sessions now.(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... By Staff From rack storage to RFID, educational sessions on the show floor will cover a range of materials handling topics. Monday, January 8 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Faster than the Speed of Light: Solutions to Fit Your DC...

Fortune 500 rely on 3PLs.(third-party logistics )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies in the United States have relationships with third-party logistics (3PL) providers, according to research from consulting firm Armstrong & Associates ( www.3plogistics.com ). The larger the...

Trade associations form aid network.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Supply chain trade associations are collaborating to form the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). The network will assist government and relief agencies in providing humanitarian aid to prepare for and respond to disaster...

Baldor adds Dodge and Reliance brands.(Baldor Electric Co. acquires Rockwell Automation Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Baldor Electric Co. ( www.baldor.com ) is buying the Dodge and Reliance Electric motor businesses from Rockwell Automation ( www.rockwellautomation.com ) for $1.8 billion. Baldor CEO John McFarland says the acquisition will...

RFID tracks Hendrix memorabilia.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Add Jimi Hendrix's guitar strap to the growing list of items being tracked by RFID. In addition to tracking containers in shipyards and pharmaceuticals in the supply chain, RFID technology is now keeping track of celebrity...

Spirited distribution.
December 1, 2006... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large New picking, shipping and handling efficiencies are proof that Southern Wine & Spirits made the right move when it consolidated five DCs into one highly automated facility. The beverage industry is...