Modern Materials Handling articles from October 2008

Modern Materials Handling archives from October 2008

Time to re-think your supply chain?
October 1, 2008... By Ken Ruehrdanz, market development manager, Dematic Corp. Think about being closer to suppliers and customers--in proximity as well as in relationship. It is the end of an era. A shift has occurred. Many companies may need to...

Peek behind the mask.(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Tom Andel, Editor in Chief Materials handling systems suppliers are going to heroic lengths to solve customer problems these days. Part of that is because companies like yours are cutting their vendor lists and those vendors are looking...

Order picking basics.(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Allison Manning, Associate Editor Master order picking and improve how you get product out of your building and into your customer's hands. You've heard the old saying: Those dishes aren't going to wash themselves. Distribution is...

When outsiders become insiders.(Recreational Equipment Inc.)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Tom Andel, Editor-in-Chief Materials handling systems suppliers and integrators are joining a new team: Yours. Recreational Equipment Incorporated--better known as REI to the outdoors enthusiasts this retailer caters to--likes to...

Lease or buy?(financial strategy )(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Tom Andel, Editor In Chief A company's financial strategy usually dictates whether it leases or purchases lift trucks. The decision should go deeper than that. Some companies don't want to tie up capital. The idea of having fixed...

Turn green with energy.(Column)
October 1, 2008... By Floyd Ankrum As a maintenance supervisor, one of my directives is to save money. Knowing that, you might find it puzzling that McMillan Electric Company air conditions and heats its dock. We have to. We're a motor manufacturer, and some...

Greater Boston Food Bank to open new DC.(The Greater Boston Food Bank)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... By Allison Manning With a dismal economy and more hungry mouths to feed, The Greater Boston Food Bank (www.gbfb.org ) is looking forward to the opening of a new 117,000-square-foot facility, slated for opening in February. ...

Toyota announces new president.(Toyota Material Handling of Northern California)
October 1, 2008... By Tom Andel After nearly a decade as president of Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Shankar Basu is stepping into the role of chairman and CEO of the company. He hands the reigns of president over to Brett Wood, formerly the company's...

Supply chain disruptions plague most companies.(Survey)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... By Allison Manning, Associate Editor Nearly all of the companies surveyed had a supply chain disruption in the past year, with more than half suffering financial losses as a result. When it comes to disruptions in the supply chain, few...

Focus on Ergonomics.
October 1, 2008... Staff Stainless positioner Staff Ideal for food, pharmaceutical and wash-down applications, the stainless steel EZ Loader captive air, self-leveling pallet positioner keeps the top of the load at a convenient working height. To...

Choosing Plastic.(Gatorade)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Allison Manning, Associate Editor After having its product refused, Gatorade switched to a plastic pallet and realized immediate improvement. Gatorade's Oakland facility ships nearly 300,000 pallets of sports drink each year. So...

Reinventing Heavyduty.(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large To support its manufacturing line, Detroit Diesel designed materials handling processes as innovative as its new engine. Last October Detroit Diesel, a division of Daimler, unveiled the DD15--a new...

Moving parts with tuggers.(Detroit Diesel Corp.)
October 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large Detroit Diesel turned to narrow-aisle storage, tuggers and carts to support lean processes on its new manufacturing line. Detroit Diesel's materials handling processes for the new heavy-duty diesel...

Top 20 ADC suppliers.(Automatic data collection systems)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large The 2007 market numbers may indicate status quo for data collection suppliers, but their offerings are transitioning from products to solutions. The market for industrial automatic data capture (ADC)...

Organizations join for disaster relief.(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Staff Getting supplies and donations to regions affected by national disasters can be a major logistical challenge. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) was formed to coordinate the channeling of...

Box prices rise as demand falls.(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Staff Prices of corrugated boxes have increased from 7 to 11%, following a price increase of $55 per ton for containerboard in July, according to an August survey of domestic box plant employees conducted by Longbow Research. Of those...

Forklift jockey whams LeBron.(LeBron James)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Staff Warehouse worker David Kalb of La Habra, Calif., won the opportunity to face NBA star LeBron James at a game of H-O-R-S-E, by uploading a video of his trick shot--throwing a basketball against a wall to bounce back and land in the...

CICMHE announces student design winners.(College Industry Council on Material Handling Education)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Staff Tasked with improving productivity while accommodating growth for a fictional distributorship, six student teams came up with real-world solutions as part of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education's (CICMHE)...