Modern Materials Handling articles from October 2006

Modern Materials Handling archives from October 2006

60 seconds with...(Ellen Schiver of Calendars.com)(Interview)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff Ellen Schiver on how to manager rapid growth in an e-business DC. We haven't always been as good as we are today at filling orders. If you go back a couple of years, we were working 21-hour days and not being very...

Top 20 ADC suppliers.(automatic data capture)(Industry overview)
October 1, 2006... By Corrine Kator, Associate Editor Growth in the automatic data capture (ADC) market unexpectedly slowed in 2005. After a strong year in 2004, growth in the automatic data capture (ADC) market slowed to a more moderate pace in 2005....

Unitizing basics.(difference types of palletizers)
October 1, 2006... By Corrine Kator, Associate Editor A neatly palletized, tightly wrapped unit load is the goal of most any packaging operation. In this article, Modern offers an introduction to the range of equipment--from $800,000 automated palletizing...

Attacking the peak.(using part time employees)
October 1, 2006... By Jim Apple Being proactive now can save you when the busy season hits. It's that time of year again, when we start to worry about how we will make it through the peak season without disappointing customers or killing ourselves....

Wide arms, big hearts.(disaster relief centers and emergency assistance tips)
October 1, 2006... By Gary Forger, Editorial Director From the front lines of disaster relief, here are some tips on what can be done to maximize an emergency DC's efficiency and minimize the labor required. Just a year after Hurricane Katrina...

Born of necessity.(Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp.'s distribution facility and Camp Victor disaster relief center in Mississippi)
October 1, 2006... By Gary Forger, Editorial Director This month we have two opposite ends of the spectrum of warehousing and distribution. Both were born of necessity, but two quite different necessities. One is Burlington Coat Factory. The retailer...

Materials handling business on the move.(acquisitions and mergers in the industry)
October 1, 2006... By Corrine Kator, Associate Editor From ADC to AGVs, companies in the materials handling industry are making a number of acquisitions. A notable number of companies in the materials handling industry are in the midst of business...

Motorola acquires Symbol.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Mobile technology giant Motorola ( www.motorola.com ) is acquiring Symbol Technologies ( www.symbol.com ), the largest maker of bar code readers and other automatic data capture (ADC) products, for approximately $3.9 billion....

Metrologic goes private.(investors acquires Metrologic Instruments Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff Metrologic Instruments ( www.metrologic.com ), a leader in the automatic data capture market and a public company since 1994, is being acquired by a group of private investors. The sale is expected to close in the fourth...

HK Systems acquires AGV Products.
October 1, 2006... By Staff At its recent Material Handling and Logistics Conference in Park City, Utah, HK Systems ( www.hksystems.com ) announced its acquisition of AGV Products ( www.agvp.com ), a supplier of automatic guided vehicles (AGV). "We...

Linde spins off lift trucks.(Linde AG groups Linde, Still and OM brands into new company Kion Group )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff Linde ( www.linde.com ) has taken a significant step toward divesting itself of its materials handling business. The company has grouped its three materials handling brands--Linde, Still and OM--into a new holding company, the...

ITW buys Click Commerce.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Supply chain management software supplier Click Commerce ( www.clickcommerce.com ) will be acquired by Illinois Tool Works (ITW, www.itw.com ), a $13 billion manufacturer of industrial products ranging from metal fasteners and...

High Jump acquires GBG.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Supply chain execution software supplier HighJump Software recently announced plans to acquire Global Beverage Group (GBG), a provider of software for the direct-store-delivery of consumer packaged goods, including beverages and...

DHL becomes a contender.(DHL Express' market share)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff When considering carriers for overnight express packages, shippers may now have three legitimate options: FedEx, UPS and newcomer DHL Express. DHL commissioned a transit study this summer that demonstrates the carrier is...

People to know.(Avery Dennison Corp. appoints Philip Calderbank)(HighJump Software Inc.'s Chris Heim retires)(LINPAC Materials Handling GmbH appoints Kent Sides, and Matthew Schupp)(Applied Manufacturing Technologies signs contract with DENSO Robotics )
October 1, 2006... By Staff Philip Calderbank joined Avery Dennison as director of marketing for RFID and security--Chris Heim retired as president and general manager of HighJump Software--LINPAC Materials Handling welcomed Kent Sides , southeast...

Pack Expo preview 2006.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Pack Expo International will focus on the latest developments in industrial packaging. Here's a look at some of the automatic identification, load unitizing and materials handling equipment that will be on display. Wireless...

Powered by storage.(West Coast Chopper increases storage space)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Noël P. Bodenburg, Managing Editor Steel cabinets at West Coast Chopper, a high-end custom motorcycle maker, increase storage capacity 50%. When West Coast Chopper outfitted its research and development room, it not only...

Focus on lift trucks.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Compact electric reach trucks available in 4 models Staff The electric ETV Series 1 reach trucks that operate in confined spaces and lift loads to high heights are available in four models. The ETV 110 and 112...

Wal-Mart continues RFID expansion.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to increase the usage of radio frequency identification technology at its stores)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff Wal-Mart plans to incorporate another 500 stores into its RFID initiative by the end of the year, bringing its total number of RFID-enabled stores to more than 1,000. "Recent internal analysis of our ongoing efforts, along...

Growing market for handheld RFID readers.
October 1, 2006... By Staff Handheld RFID readers accounted for just 9.2% of RFID reader sales in 2005, according to analysts at Venture Development Corp. (VDC, www.vdc-corp.com ), while fixed-position readers accounted for 81.4% of the market. The...

Modern sponsors NASCAR race truck.(Modern Materials Handling)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff On Saturday, Sept. 23, driver David Starr raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with sponsorship from Modern . Starr's orange and black Toyota Tundra carried a Modern Materials Handling decal...

Scholarships honor future industry leaders.(Modern Materials Handling offers scholarships to supply chain students)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... By Staff Brook Richardson will graduate next spring with concurrent industrial engineering and MBA degrees from Iowa State University, thanks in part to a $2,500 scholarship from Modern . Richardson is ranked in the top 2% of his...

Burlington Coat Factory builds a distribution network.(Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp.)(Company overview)
October 1, 2006... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large Retailer Burlington Coat Factory found one DC couldn't handle its varied distribution needs. So it built a network of four DCs, each with its own distinct capabilities. At Burlington Coat Factory,...

Balancing customer service and productivity.(Dot Foods Inc.)(Company overview)
October 1, 2006... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large Dot Foods uses wireless technology, automated storage and an RFID-based yard management system to manage aggressive growth and maximize customer service. Dot Foods may be a 46-year-old company with...

Dock seal protects tissue from the elements.(Cascades Tissue Group Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Paper goods producer saves money by eliminating water damage at the dock and on trailers. Paper products and water don't mix. Cascades Tissue Group, a maker of napkins, bathroom tissue, paper towels and facial products, was...

Wind-fortified dock doors withstand Katrina.(Millard Refrigerated Services Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Built to pop-out for lift trucks, knock-out dock doors at a refrigerated facility kept the cold in and the storm out. When considered in relation to the destruction all around it, the Millard Refrigerated Services' DC, located...

Throughput doubles at wine and spirits distributor.(Peerless Importers Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Extensive conveyor system reduces damage and improves accuracy. To stay competitive as a wine and liquor distributor in New York City's fast-paced market, speed is essential. Peerless Importers has supplied bars,...

General Electric streamlines packaging process.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Automatic guided vehicles improve efficiency by moving products and saving labor. General Electric's two plastics plants in Mount Vernon, Ind., were almost entirely automated--except for transporting finished products from...

Flexibility improves with mobile storage/retrieval.(Preferred Freezer Services Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff High operating speed, AC power and extended lifting height are critical to new efficiencies at Preferred Freezer Services. When John Galiher, president of Preferred Freezer Services, looked for a storage/retrieval machine for...

Baker rises to occasion with conveyor and robots.(King's Hawaiian Bakery West Inc.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff When baked goods maker King's Hawaiian decided to expand to the mainland after 50 years making bread exclusively for Hawaii, it knew it would need a modern production and distribution facility to compete. As a result, King's...

Automatic parts delivery saves time and labor.(automated guide cart system)
October 2, 2006... By Staff For automakers, there's a close relationship between the assembly line and the bottom line. So when a leading vehicle maker saw a way to improve moving staged exhaust systems to its vehicle build line with an automated guide...

Conveyor keeps wheels rolling.
October 2, 2006... By Staff When attached to the axle of a motor vehicle, rim and tire wheel assemblies roll in a fast, controlled, almost effortless manner. But during the manufacturing process, those same assemblies can pose a time and labor consuming...

Publisher's conveyor manages large volume returns efficiently.(Penguin Publishing Company Ltd.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Book publishers are typically associated with the large number of books they print and ship to national and international retailers, not with all the books that are returned and end up back in the publisher's warehouses. But...

OfficeMax improves accuracy with voice.
October 2, 2006... By Staff The company's Las Vegas DC uses the technology to improve picking productivity. When it came time to upgrade its paper-based picking system, OfficeMax, a leader in both business-to-business and retail office supply, tried...

Inventory software warms up BC Hot House.
October 2, 2006... By Staff BC Hot House, which was formed in 1973 by a group of British Columbia greenhouse growers, has grown right along with the rest of the hydroponic vegetable industry in the last 20 years. But that meant the Surrey, British...

Retailer moves lane labels overhead.
October 2, 2006... By Staff One of the nation's leading retailers replaced the more than 4,500 floor labels that identified each bulk storage lane in the warehouse with ceiling-mounted labels. Previously, the company had maintenance personnel on three...

Voice system eliminates costly mistakes.
October 2, 2006... By Staff For the pharmaceutical distributors that provide prescription medicines to the public, mislabeling, misplacing or misdirecting drugs can be catastrophic. "Errors in picking pharmaceuticals are very expensive," says Randy...

Revamped wireless network pays for itself.
October 2, 2006... By Staff Because of the age of its wireless computer system, persistent terminal failure was impacting Dayco Products' ability to meet customer commitments. The aftermarket supplier of auto parts was racking up overtime costs resulting...

Overhead wrappers speed packaging at Sheetz DC.
October 2, 2006... By Staff Convenience store operator protects products and increases productivity with stretchwrapping. When buying groceries, getting items packaged quickly is considered a convenience. But when shipping those items to stores from a...

Foam-in-bag cushioning protects frames.
October 2, 2006... By Staff No matter how prestigious the name of the institution that issued it, a diploma in a chipped, cracked or bent frame is not going to impress. So for custom frame manufacturer Framing Success, a 20-year-old business...

The New York Times cuts costs with presswood pallets.
October 2, 2006... By Staff With one of the largest circulations and widest distribution areas in the world, packing, storing and shipping newspapers and newsprint is a large part of The New York Times ' business. Expensive, flimsy or bulky pallets aren't...

Newspaper benefits from AS/RS in printing plant.(Knight-Ridder Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff High-density automated storage systems for newsprint minimize inventory space and reduce labor costs. Declining newspaper circulation has been well-documented in recent years. So it may have surprised some when publisher...

Manufacturer stores more by going vertical.(Bauer Compressors Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Vertical lift modules reduce storage footprint, allow manufacturing expansion. Bauer Compressors had enjoyed four straight years of double digit growth. That said, the company recently increased its parts inventory by 50%,...

Subdivided shelving improves DC's inventory accuracy by 50%.(Pierce Distribution Services Company)
October 2, 2006... By Staff A distribution services provider switched from a rack system and saved storage space. Third-party contractors must meet customer demand if they are going to grow. Two years ago, executives at Pierce Distribution Services...

Giant fans beat the heat.(Babcock and Wilcox Co. Insulating Products Group)
October 2, 2006... By Staff For employees, the workspace in Babcock and Wilcox's production facility during the summer often felt like the inside of one of the company's boilers. The 230,000-square-foot manufacturing plant was not air conditioned and...

Gravity flow rack boosts throughput 30%.(Wilson Sporting Goods Co.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Just as important, Wilson Sporting Goods' storage system saves precious space. It was a common but challenging problem: The number of stock keeping units (SKUs) being shipped was growing and the available storage space in...

Borders gets a productivity bump.(Borders Group Inc.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Borders Group, one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world with more than 1,200 stores, knows the strong link between profitability and supply chain efficiency in retailing. Borders' DC in La Vergne, Tenn., recently...

Flow system keeps dairy fresh.(Grassland Dairy Products Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff As crucial as floor space use, labor savings and transport efficiency are to warehouse design and planning, they take a backseat to moving the oldest materials first when those items could turn sour if they sit too long. ...

Organization improves with move to cabinets.(RDO Equipment Co.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff RDO Equipment, a tractor parts dealer, was merging its store specializing in agricultural and consumer products with its store specializing in construction into one Moorhead, Minn., location. The move was an opportunity to...

Throughput climbs with AC-powered trucks.(Luster Products Co. to make use of electrical powered trucks)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Picking times are reduced by 5 to 10 seconds per pallet with electric turret trucks. Since Chicago-based Luster Products acquired four, three-phase AC turret trucks for its 17-acre manufacturing and distribution site a year...

Freezer warehouse productivity rises 30%.(Newark Refrigerated Warehouse Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Narrow aisle lift trucks outfitted for the cold improve efficiency and reliability. Before they appear on shelves or beds of ice in local specialty stores, exotic imported foods from Asia, Europe and South America appear at...

New DC solves the challenges of growth.
October 2, 2006... By Staff A custom fleet of lift trucks maximizes efficiencies. When California-based clothing manufacturer Jerry Leigh Inc. planned its move from a 10,000-square-foot DC to an 80,000-square-foot facility, the focus was entirely on...

Switch to electrics reduces energy costs 80%.(Setco Inc.)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Setco's move also reduces maintenance and financing costs. Plastic container manufacturer Setco's lift truck fleet is literally humming now that the company has switched from propane to electric-powered vehicles in its...

New trucks solve old problems.
October 2, 2006... By Staff With new trucks and improved fleet management, GI Joe's is keeping its DC humming 24 hours a day. GI Joe's, a sports and auto retailer with 22 stores in the Northwest, needed a lift truck fleet to keep up with its busy...

New Balance runs faster with new trucks.(New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff The athletic-wear company doubles throughput while reducing repair costs in three distribution centers. When New Balance first started making athletic shoes in 1906, the company didn't have to dedicate a lot of thought to how...

Handling long, awkward loads with ease.(MACSTEEL)
October 2, 2006... By Staff Large industrial steel distributors have materials handling demands that are quite different from companies that handle palletized loads. Macsteel USA's Fontana, Calif., service center, which provides structural steel to the...

Lift trucks hold up to harsh conditions.(Pilgrim's Pride Corp.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... By Staff When Pilgrim's Pride, the second largest poultry company in the United States, opened a state-of-the-art frozen food warehouse, its management knew choosing lift trucks would be one of the most important decisions it would have...