Modern Materials Handling June 2011 LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE P4T Mmh 11 06

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PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING

mmh.com

®
June 2011

febi:

Automation
success
16

German auto parts move faster than the speed of
light with automated equipment at febi bilstein.

BIG PICTURE

What is an AGV? 22
EQUIPMENT 101 SERIES: PALLETIZING

Build strong, stable pallet
loads 30
SPECIAL REPORT

Software reader survey 36
+ Exclusive Modern Webcast
Putting data to work in warehouse &
distribution operations
Thursday, June 30 @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Register for free: mmh.com/2011softwareusage

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Forgot which label
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labels absolutely anywhere. Explore our eBook and learn how a Zebra mobile
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UP FRONT

Breaking news you should know

Armstrong & Associates report says
3PL industry is growing
Gross revenue for U.S. thirdparty logistics (3PL) providers is
expected to be $141.2 billion in 2011,
a 10% increase from 2010, according
to estimates released last month by
Armstrong & Associates. U.S. 3PLs
had gross revenues jump 18.9%
in 2010 to $127.3 billion, slightly
exceeding the 2008 market result.
“The main takeaway here is
that 3PLs are taking advantage of
ongoing economic globalization,”
Armstrong & Associates chairman

Richard Armstrong told Modern.
Net revenue from 1995 through
2010 averaged annual increases of
12.7%—with 2009 the only negative
growth year since the company
began tracking the 3PL industry
in 1995. From 2009 to 2010, the
increase in 3PL net revenue was 4.7
times the rate of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth. One driving factor of 3PL growth was world
trade volumes, which increased
12.4% for 2010.

Kiva Systems opens new
world headquarters
Last month, Kiva Systems, a developer of mobilerobotic solutions that automate e-commerce order
fulfillment and warehouse operations, hosted an official
ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s new world
headquarters in North Reading, Mass.
The location boasts more than 120,000
square feet of manufacturing, engineering and demonstration space as well
as 40,000 square feet of office space.
Development of Kiva’s warehouse automation solution employs hardware and
software engineers, professional services
engineers and systems design consultants
with expertise in fulfillment operations.
The new location also serves as the
primary manufacturing assembly site
Kiva founder & CEO Mick
for the company’s high-tech hardware,
Mountz with president &
which includes robotic drive units, mobile
COO Amy Villeneuve
shelves, workstations and chargers.

Toyota doubles parts warranty
Toyota Material Handling USA, a leading lift truck
supplier, recently announced it has doubled the manufacturer’s warranty on new Toyota Genuine Parts purchased
through an authorized Toyota Industrial Equipment
dealer from six months or 1,000 hours to 12 months or
2,000 hours—whichever occurs first from the date of
sale. The warranty also applies on remanufactured Toyota
replacement parts at no extra charge and includes labor.
“This warranty is a testament to our confidence in Toyota
Genuine Parts and our reputation for providing the highest level of quality and durability,” said Terry Rains, vice
president of aftermarket sales. “Toyota’s industry-leading,
one-year parts warranty including labor is designed to
deliver to our customers Toyota parts and accessories that
help their lift trucks run at optimal performance.”
mmh.com

Dematic announces annual
conference keynote speakers
Dematic, a leading
systems supplier, recently
announced Dan Patrick and
Marcus Luttrell will serve as
keynote speakers for its 26th
annual Material Handling and
Logistics Conference to be
held Sept. 18-21 in Park City,
Utah.
Patrick is one of America’s
legendary sports journalists
and a revered member of
Dan Patrick
the national media industry.
Involved in the initial launch
of ESPN, he will discuss his
robust career as a sports
anchor/reporter and comment
on current sports news.
Luttrell, a former Navy
SEAL and author of the book
“Lone Survivor” will share
the story of how he and three
other SEALs journeyed into
the border of Afghanistan
and Pakistan on Operation
Marcus Luttrell
Redwing. A motivational
story of survival, his story is
an incredible account of teamwork, fortitude and
modern warfare.
The conference is a three-day educational event,
offering more than 60 classes, interactive workshops,
roundtables, and panel discussions addressing supply chain thought leadership, strategy, best practices
and emerging technologies.

Mo dern Mat eria ls Ha n dl ing / J

u n e

2011

TAKE A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD

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shrink wrap, plastic strapping, leather, sacks, bags and more, versus a
single-edge fixed blade.
A perfect example of OLFA engineering at its best.

Call your OLFA rep today, or 800-962-OLFA (6532) to learn more about our
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©2011 World Kitchen, LLC. OLFA is a registered trademark of OLFA Corporation Japan, used under license by World Kitchen, LLC.

VOL. 66, NO. 6

PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION,
WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING

PHOTO: JEFF FUSCO/GETTY IMAGES

German auto parts move faster than the speed of
light with automated equipment at febi bilstein.

COVER STORY
SYSTEM REPORT

16 To automate or not to automate
German auto parts manufacturer febi bilstein is reaping big gains from
automation. Here’s what the company learned when it automated
conventional distribution processes.

20 Automation in high gear
Febi’s new distribution center uses unit- and tote-handling automated storage,
conveyor and goods-to-person picking in an ergonomic work environment.

FEATURES
THE BIG PICTURE

22 What is an AGV?
If you think AGVs or automatic guided vehicles, are mature technology,
think again. Since 2005, the industry has seen an unparalleled level of
innovation.
EQUIPMENT 101 SERIES: PALLETIZING

30 Build strong, stable pallet loads
Forming a high-quality unit load is the goal of every type of palletizing
process. Here’s a look at how palletizing equipment puts the product into
a neat palletized load so it arrives at its destination safe and sound.
SPECIAL REPORT/READER SURVEY

36 Materials handling software usage
WMS, SCMP, WCS, LMS and more—Modern’s readers offer insights
into their use of software, from (alphabet) soup to nuts.
SURVEY RESULTS WEBCAST: Thursday, June 30 @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Register: mmh.com/2011softwareusage
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTION

35 No batteries, no downtime, no problem
Grocery co-op switches over to fuel-cell powered lift trucks to drive
its fleet’s uptime to 98%.

mmh.com

60 seconds with... Mark Longacre

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
3/ Upfront
7/ This month in Modern
14/ Lift Truck Tips: Fleet management
40/ Supplement: Warehouses & DCs
46/ Special Section: ProMat wrapup
51/ Focus On: Overhead handling
58/ 60 seconds with...

NEWS

9/ ISM reports manufacturing cooling off

11/ MHIA meetings: Are good times ahead
for materials handling?
11/ WERC announces 2011-2012 board
of directors
13/ Doosan establishes new forklift business
13/ U.S. pallet demand to reach 1.3 billion
units in 2015
Modern Materials Handling ® (ISSN 0026-8038) is published monthly by
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USA. Periodicals postage paid at Framingham, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Modern
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All rights reserved. © 2011 Peerless
Media, LLC.

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

U N E

2011

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THIS MONTH IN

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Take time for the big picture

oday, we’re consistently bombarded
with little bits and pieces of information that, by nature, are only capable
of telling a very small part of any story. We
IM, Tweet, and chat, but lost in the noise is
the broader context we seek to make true
business decisions.
In an effort to help materials handling
professionals cut through all this clutter and
gain true insight, Modern’s executive editor
Bob Trebilcok has rolled out a series that
we’re calling The Big Picture. In this body of
work, Trebilcock breaks out of the traditional “how-to” and “case study” mold to offer
an objective, broad-sweeping look at how
materials handling technologies and best
practices are making an impact on overall
business strategy.
Last fall, Trebilcock served up three
terrific Big Picture stories: one that offered
the market the closest look yet at how and
why robotics are being applied inside the
warehouse and DC; another that several
technology analysts called the best examination of RFID’s current and possible impact
on the materials handling market; and in
December, he took us inside the automation market to help managers make smart
decisions and build a stronger ROI case—if,
in fact, automation is the proper fit for your
operations. (Go to mmh.com to read all of
the Big Picture articles).
However, to take advantage of the
results of this hard work, The Big Picture is
going to force a Modern reader to sit back
and sink into the pages. So, as you’re making your way through this month’s issue, I’m
going to suggest you close your laptop and
shut down your smart phone for about 25
minutes.

Member

mmh.com

Member of

Starting on page 22, Modern dives into
the evolving world of automated guided
vehicles (AGVs), a market that’s been evolving faster than most over the past six or
seven years. In fact, both established and
new players to the AGV market are wrestling with just how to define their products
as they roll them out.
“We define an AGV as a computercontrolled mobile robot used to move
materials around a facility,” Mark Longacre,
marketing manager for JBT Corp. and chair
of the AGV product section at the Material
Handling Industry of America, tells Trebilcock this month. “The way AGVs look and
what they’re capable of doing may have
changed, but there’s nothing in that definition that didn’t apply 10 years ago.”
Some in the market may take exception
to Longacre’s point; but Trebilcock contends
that no matter what we call them, the new
technology driving today’s vehicles and
the innovative partnerships being forged
between the new guard and the established OEMs are putting AGVs on the brink
transforming warehouse and DC operations
in ways not dreamed of when they first hit
the market.
“I think this is an iPad moment for
AGVs, especially carts, mobile robots and
hybrid lift truck/AGVs,” Trebilcock told
me. “Tablets were around for years and no
one cared. Then Apple realized the time
was right for something different. Likewise, some of these AGV solutions have
been around for years; but, like the iPad, I
think the focus on reducing overhead and
grappling with labor issues means the time
could be now for them to take a greater
hold.”
Winner
Jesse H. Neal
Certificates of Merit
for Journalistic
Excellence

Official Publication of

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

U N E

2011

S U P P LY C H A I N E D U C AT I O N A L S E R I E S D E V E L O P E D B Y D E M AT I C

DEMATIC
UNIVERSITY

Fostering Supply Chain Education

Split Case Picking In
Overdrive
Goods to Person

When the piece picking function is optimized, it impacts everything. From
processing time, warehouse space, order accuracy to ergonomics and
speed, it’s an industrial engineering opportunity waiting for improvement. In
addition, today’s fulﬁllment operations are impacted by additional complexities:
wide variance in order proﬁles, larger swings in daily volume, and seasonal/
promotional peak periods that stress everything.
An industrial engineering solution that optimizes piece picking is the “goods to
person” method. Goods to person order fulﬁllment is all about efﬁciently staging
and then transferring SKUs to the order selector with speed and accuracy in
a comfortable work environment. This method is smarter, faster, and more
ergonomic than other piece pick systems.

Smarter

Operational Flexibility

The operator stays in one place while items are delivered
to the pick station in precise sequence. Heavy items ﬁrst,
fragile items last, by family group or in whatever sequence
that makes the most sense. It’s also, smarter because it
allows ultra high pick accuracy. Typically, only one SKU
is presented to the operator at a time so there is no
opportunity to pick the wrong item. The pick station design
allows the highest possible worker productivity. With a fast
tote exchange, the operator doesn’t have to wait for the
next item to be picked.

Staff can work in parallel, unaffected by each other’s pace.
Pick stations can be opened and closed according to
volume on a particular shift. And, there’s redundancy in this
conﬁguration since items can be processed at any location
as the workstations are completely decoupled. The system
is not affected by changes in order proﬁle. For example,
single item orders and multi item orders are accommodated
with equal efﬁciency. This means that trends, like
more orders with fewer order lines, don’t compromise
productivity.

Faster

It’s a high performance solution that creates logistics
results. Goods to person, the most productive way to
provide high rate piece picking in a compact and ergonomic
environment.

Product for picking ﬂows into the pick station smoothly
and consistently- that’s made possible by an automated
inventory staging buffer. This is the “engine” that supports
high picking rates. Furthermore, it is compact and typically
uses 30 to 65 percent less ﬂoor space than other systems.
There is no dedicated pick face. So slotting and re-slotting
the warehouse is unnecessary, and so is the complex and
ongoing churn of SKU velocity analysis.

Ergonomic
In addition to sustained productivity, the workstation is
designed for employee comfort. The operator only picks
in the “golden zone”. There is no need to move hands
above the shoulder or extend arms beyond a comfortable
reach. The operator screen adjusts for height and angle
to minimize neck strain. Since loads are automatically
delivered to and removed from the workstation, operators
never need to lift or push cartons and totes. The ergonomic
design and simple, icon-driven operator touch screen
allows the pick station to meet Universal Access guidelines.

For more detailed information about piece picking visit www.dematic.us or call 1-877-725-7500.

Di@blog
best of Modern’s blogs
Company Briefings | Bob Trebilcock
How to submit a column to
Other Voices www.mmh.com/blogs

ECONOMY

ISM reports manufacturing
sector cooling off
AFTER FOUR STRAIGHT MONTHS OF RAPID GROWTH IN THE
MANUFACTURING SECTOR TO KICK OFF 2011, THE INSTITUTE
FOR SUPPLY MANAGEMENT (ISM) REPORTED THAT OVERALL
ACTIVITY WAS DOWN SOMEWHAT IN MAY.
BY JEFF BERMAN, GROUP NEWS EDITOR

consecutive month economic activity
AFTER FOUR STRAIGHT MONTHS
in the manufacturing sector has ocof rapid growth in the manufacturing
curred, according to the report.
sector to kick off 2011, the Institute
for Supply Management
(ISM) reported on June 1
ISM manufacturing: PMI Composite Index
that overall activity was
(Index, above 50% indicates growth)
down somewhat in May.
65%
In its May Manufacturing Report on Business,
60%
the ISM reported that the
index it uses to measure
the manufacturing sec55%
May
tor—known as the PMI—
53.5%
was 53.5% in May, down
50%
6.9% from April, marking
the first time in 2011 that
45%
the PMI did not crack 60.
Any PMI reading 50
40%
or higher represents
economic growth. And
despite the sequen35%
tial decline, May is the
24th consecutive month
30%
economic growth has
2008
2009
2010
2011
occurred in the overall
Source: ISM and Peerless Media Research Group
economy and the 22nd
mmh.com

“This month’s
index…[is] the lowest PMI reported for
the last 12 months,”
said Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the ISM
Manufacturing Business
Survey Committee, in
a statement. “Slower
growth in new orders
and production are the
primary contributors to
this month’s lower PMI
reading. “Manufacturers
continue to experience
significant cost pressures from commodities

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

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2011

and other inputs.”
New orders were down 10.7% at
51.0, and production was off 9.8% at
54. Other notable readings include
employment down 4.5% at 58.2,
which Holcomb said reflects good
momentum. And inventories and cus-

tomer inventories were down 4.9%
and 1.0%, respectively at 48.7 and
39.5. Prices were down 9.0% at 76.5.
In an interview with Modern,
Holcomb noted that while the rate of
growth fell off in May, overall growth
in the manufacturing sector has been

occurring for nearly two years.
“It is an interesting correction,
although new orders and production are off the highs set from
earlier in the year,” said Holcomb.
“While we saw excellent numbers
for the first four months of the year
we are now inevitably seeing…
companies taking the foot off of
the accelerator.”
The silver lining
Even though the May data was down,
Holcomb said there were continuing
signs of cautious optimism occurring
including a solid employment index
that reached a 38-year collective high
through the first four months of the
year.
But the most influential factor in
the May numbers was pricing as it
relates to energy and commodities,
he said.
“Pricing was down 9%,” said
Holcomb. “There is some hope that
if additional softening continues,
especially on the energy side, we can
see that translate into growth for the
sector, as long as we see a continued
slowing down in pricing,” he said.
Looking at inventories, Holcomb
observed that at 48.7 in May they
are down for the third time in the last
four months and hovering around
the 50 mark. This, he said, shows
how companies are very carefully and
thoughtfully matching their inventories according to the demand of new
orders they have and are being very
successful at it.
Although staying on top of
inventories is often a difficult task,
he said companies are not getting
ahead of themselves and are doing a solid job of managing their
inventories effectively. Customer
inventories at 39.5 are considered
too low and this reflects a good
potential draw from the customer
base, with room for more restocking with customers, and is a positive
indicator in this mix, according to
Holcomb.

U N E

2 0 1 1 / MO D E RN MATE R IALS HAND L I NG

mmh.com

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

MHIA meetings: Are good times
ahead for materials handling?
BY BOB TREBILCOCK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

UNLIKE PROMAT, which is a showcase for our industry, much of what
goes on at the MHIA spring meetings
focuses on the mundane, like annual

budgets and marketing campaigns
for product sections.
At the MHIA meetings in Charlotte last month, I sat in on three
discussions that were fascinating.
The first was an overview of the

economy and the state of the materials handling industry by Hal Vandiver.
Now an executive consultant to
MHIA, Vandiver has been studying
the industry for years, calls it straight
and gets it right. Vandiver acknowledged potential clouds on the
horizon, but he’s looking for 11% to
12% growth this year, and continued
growth through 2013. Some good

WAREHOUSING

WERC announces 2011-2012 board of directors
THE WAREHOUSING Education and
Research Council (WERC) named its
board of directors for the 2011-2012
year recently at its 34th annual WERC
Conference held in Orlando, Fla.
WERC is the only professional
association focused exclusively on
distribution and warehouse management and its role in the supply chain.
Members are experts from all facets
of the distribution industry who come
together to share practical knowledge
and professional expertise to improve
individual and industry performance.
Board members include:
President: Lawrence Dean
Shemesh, president, OPSdesign
Consulting, Marlton, N.J.

Secretary-treasurer: Gregory J.
Javor, senior VP of supply chain
operations global logistics,
Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, Wash.

Director of industry relations:
Michael B. Wohlwend, VP, SAP
Americas, St. Charles, Ill.

Past-president: Catherine L.
Cooper, executive VP & CIO, OHL,
Brentwood, Tenn.

• Paul M. Avampato, VP, Catalyst,
Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill.

Vice president: Lawrence G.
Corrigan II, VP of operations,
Medline Industries, Mundelein, Ill.

Director of web services:
Sylvia Spore, technology manager,
RightSourceRx, Tempe, Ariz.

mmh.com

Director, 2012 annual conference:
Sheila Benny, executive VP, Optricity
Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Director, 2013 annual conference:
Chad W. Autry, PhD, associate professor of Logistics, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, Tenn.
Director of marketing membership:
Andrea Velasquez, VP of business
development, Epstein, Chicago, Ill.

Directors at large:

• Stephen (Andy) Smith, president
& COO, Kenco Logistic Services,
Chattanooga, Tenn.
• J. Randolph (Randy) Lewis, senior
VP of supply chain and logistics,
Walgreens Co., Deerfield, Ill.
• Stan Danzig, executive director,
Cushman & Wakefield, East Rutherford, N.J.
Chief executive officer:
Michael J. Mikitka, CAE, CMP, CEO,
WERC, Oak Brook, Ill.

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

U N E

2011

things are happening.
The second was the membership
meeting of the group that represents systems integrators. During the
product meetings, members fill out a
sheet that addresses business conditions like their backlog of orders, their

pipeline of inquiries, whether they’re
hiring in manufacturing and engineering and whether wages are going up.
No one shares actual figures. Rather
they use a scale that ranges from –2
(business is bad) to 0 (business is flat)
to +2 (business is good). Here’s what

technology that moves the world

Efacec Products
l

AS/RS Stacker Cranes
(for pallets or rolls;
single, double and
multiple depth storage)

AS/RS Miniloads
(for totes and cartons)

Aisle Switching for
both Stacker Cranes
and Miniloads

Conveyors and Transfer
Cars (for pallets, totes,
cartons and rolls)

Rail Guided Vehicles
(RGV)

Automated Guided
Vehicle (AGV)

Handling Control
Systems

Warehouse
Management Systems

2755 Northwoods Parkway l Norcross, GA 30071
Tel: 770.446.8854 l Email: usa.logistics@efacec.com
www.efacecusa.com
12

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2 0 1 1 / MO D E RN MATE R IALS HAND L I NG

I noticed, with one or two exceptions,
every member reported that their
backlog of orders and inquiries was
a +1 or a +2. Most companies were
looking to add hourly and engineering staff. No one was popping the top
on their Budweisers, but confirming
Vandiver’s outlook, the view from the
ground ain’t bad.
So, what’s driving that growth?
In a sense, that was part of a roundtable discussion by the group that
represents supply chain software.
Here are some key takeaways:
We’ve gone global: Whether you
chalk it up to a cheap dollar that
makes exports more attractive or
emerging markets embracing technology to mitigate rising wages, global
markets are as important to our industry as domestic markets. One domestic provider of automation technology
pointed out that more than half their
business now comes from overseas.
It’s all about China: But not in
the way you think. Wages are going up in China, and that’s leading
our customers—the manufacturers
who use materials handling solutions—to look elsewhere to locate
their factories. While its still unclear
whether near-shoring is a point
solution for some or a broad trend,
some manufacturers are relocating
to North America. If so, and it’s still
an if, that should be good news for
materials handling automation and
supply chain software as manufacturers and distributors look to mitigate
their labor costs. As one participant
put it: “No one wants to hire, and I
hear that from everyone.”
Rethinking just-in-time: The
earthquakes and tsunami in Japan
are causing some of our customers
to rethink just-in-time strategies.
There’s a sense that we got way
too lean during the recession. The
question is: What role can materials
handling and supply chain software
systems play as manufacturers craft
new strategies?
mmh.com

RESEARCH STUDY

LIFT TRUCKS

Doosan establishes
new forklift business
Doosan has announced the formation of a new affiliate company, tentatively named Doosan
Industrial Vehicle Co., Ltd. The
move effectively separates the
forklift business from the construction, engines and machine
tools operations.
The existing forklift management teams, dealership and sales
networks currently structured
within Doosan Infracore will be
absorbed by the new company
on July 1, 2011.
Managing director of the new
company, Kun H Lee, said the
move would also allow the business to react quickly to market
requirements.
“As our business has matured,
we believe that the challenges we
have faced have also changed,”
he said. “And while we feel our
approach is one of the most
flexible and responsive around,
we believe that by setting up a
company focused solely on materials handling, we will be able to
respond even more quickly.”

U.S. demand for pallets to reach
1.3 billion units in 2015
U.S. DEMAND FOR PALLETS is forecast to rise 6.1% per year to 1.3 billion
units in 2015, valued at $15 billion. The
increase will be driven by a rebound in
manufacturing output. That’s the conclusion of “Pallets,” a new study from
The Freedonia Group, a Clevelandbased industry market research firm.
This pace will represent a dramatic
turnaround from the 2005-2010 period,
when demand fell to fewer than 1 billion pallets in response to a decline in
manufacturing output between 2007
and 2009 and a partial rebound in
2010. Through 2015, demand gains will
be driven by an expected advance in
manufacturing from the low 2010 base.
Some key points of the study are:
• Manufacturing will continue to account for the largest share of pallet
demand, totaling 75% of the market
in 2015, according to Freedonia.
• Demand will be supported by continued recognition of the suitability
of pallets as an inexpensive way of
shipping and hauling goods while
avoiding product damage.
• Providers of warehousing services will
purchase new pallets and expand
pallet refurbishing operations to add
to their pallet stocks and more effectively serve existing customers.

• Pallet stock growth will be driven by
the increase in manufacturing activity as the U.S. economy rebounds
from the 2007-2009 recession.
• Growth in shipping activity will spur
demand for pallets to transport
and store goods.
• Plastic pallets will account for a larger
share of the U.S. pallet stock in 2015.
Plastic pallet demand is projected
to advance at a double-digit pace
through 2015, rising to 34.5 million
units. Demand will be driven by consumer interest in the use of plastic
pallets because of their performance
qualities. Plastic pallets are also seen
as being environmentally friendly, as
they can be recycled.
• Plastic pallets will represent just 2.65%
of the overall pallet market in 2015.
Despite an increase in the market
for plastic pallets, pallets made from
wood—primarily lumber—will continue
to account for nearly 95% of the U.S.
market. Demand will be driven by the
new pallet market, as manufacturers’
shipments rebound and more pallets
are needed to ship and haul products.
However, refurbished wood pallets,
which accounted for 65% of the wood
pallet market in 2010, will continue to
lead the market in 2015.

We’ll handle it.
www.bulkpak.com

mmh.com

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

U N E

2011

lift truck TIPS

Read the data, then act
Fleet management reveals sometimes startling
realities in companies of all sizes.
By Josh Bond, Contributing Editor

t’s easy to think of fleet management as something that should only
concern companies with dozens of
lift trucks at DCs across the country.
But according to Jim Gaskell, director
of Global Insite Products for Crown,
that’s just not true.
“Even if you have one truck, everybody benefits from fleet management,”
says Gaskell. “The guy with a few trucks
has a small problem, and the guy with a
lot of trucks has a bigger problem.”
At a basic level, fleet management involves using data to modify
operational and purchasing practices
with an eye toward flexibility and efficiency. However, there’s a difference
between reading data and acting on
the data, says Gaskell.
“It’s two different skill sets,” he
says. “You either read data or you use
it to change the architecture of an
operation accordingly.”
But for companies without detailed
fleet management practices in place, simply reading the
data can be enough to inspire significant changes. Even the
most general utilization analysis can reveal stark differences
between gut feelings and reality.
“I tell my customers, ‘Don’t be shocked if you find
you are only using your trucks about 30% to 40% of the
time,’” says Gaskell. “And they say, ‘What do you mean?
We don’t have enough trucks!’ Before they had the
knowledge, they didn’t know they had the problem.”
With data in hand, what decisions come next? Fleet
reductions or expansions? Is it possible to make labor
more efficient? Are three shifts really necessary? Some
simple changes can yield returns in utilization figures, says
Gaskell, from 40% to 50%, for instance.
“The design of the warehouse or the user’s business
dynamics might create a ceiling that limits the customer
from reaching a work cycle beyond 50%,” he says. “And,

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2 0 1 1 / M ode rn M at e ri als H an d li n g

that’s okay as long as you’ve optimized the utilization of
your fleet given these circumstances.”
Some of the most difficult changes have nothing to do
with numbers. “People say, ‘That’s the way we’ve always
done it,’ or ‘Our goal is this or that,’” says Gaskell. “I tell
them to make a list of all these examples of traditional
thinking and then title it ‘Stinking Thinking.’ Then ask
yourself, after reviewing the data, whether you really want
to keep thinking this way.”
No piece of technology can help a company cross
that bridge, says Gaskell, but the first step is to create an
environment where constant change is expected.
“That’s when you start the raindrop that starts the
wave that changes the organization,” he adds.
Josh Bond is a contributing editor to Modern and can be
reached at josh.d.bond@gmail.com.
mmh.com

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modern system report

To automate
or not to automate
German auto parts manufacturer febi bilstein
is reaping big gains from automation. Here’s
what the company learned when it automated
conventional distribution processes.
By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor

o automate or not to automate,
that is the question.
With apologies to William
Shakespeare, the decision to automate conventional materials handling processes may not be as profound as Hamlet’s soliloquy on life’s big questions,
but for companies like Ferdinand Bilstein, which
goes to market as febi bilstein, that decision was
every bit as important.
“Logistics is a core competency for us,” says
Frank Boecker, logistics director for the German
aftermarket auto parts manufacturer and distributor
based in Ennepetal. “Our order fulfillment systems
must be very fast. It is our competitive advantage.”
To maintain that edge, febi invested nearly
$50 million in a new logistics center with a highly
automated storage and order fulfillment system
(Witron Integrated Logistics, www.witron.com).
The new distribution center in Ennepetal consolidated two DCs separated by 35 miles into one
363,000-square-foot campus, which was opened
at the end of October 2008 and has been fully

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

operational since March 2009.
The new system features high-bay automated
storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) featuring
21 stacker cranes, 40,000 pallet storage positions,
and 136,000 tote storage positions along with a
goods-to-person order fulfilment system. The system manages 24,000 stock keeping units (SKUs)
and more than 100 million parts while processing
1,000 orders per day.
More importantly, the new system has allowed
febi to increase throughput while simultaneously
reducing head count from more than 400 employees to 350 in operations. Most of that savings was
the result of operating two shifts per day instead of
three shifts per day with the old system.
In all, febi saw a 20% increase in productivity
in the first full year of operation, followed by an
additional 20% increase in productivity in 2010.
“Automation has been an unqualified success for
us,” says Boecker.
At the same time, like Hamlet, febi bilstein
took time to consider the question of whether to
automate or not to automate.
mmh.com

The new system at febi includes
a mini-load AS/RS (shown)
and a unit-load AS/RS. The
units enable goods-to-person
piece- and case-picking order
fulfillment solutions.

A history of market leadership
A family-owned company, Ferdinand
Bilstein has been in business since
1844. Today, the company is one of
the world’s leading manufacturers of
after market car and truck parts, with
subsidiaries in 11 countries and distribution capabilities in five of those
countries.
A key selling point of febi’s go-tomarket strategy is a high availability of
parts—the company stocks more than
100 million parts at all times—combined with market-leading delivery
times and the ability to dispatch stock
orders within one day. For instance,
from the Ennepetal facility, febi delivers orders to customers in Germany
within 24 hours, to Europe within
three days and within five days to the
rest of the world. The company can fill
and pack a new order in as little as two
hours.
Over the last decade, febi faced
business challenges similar to many
distribution operations in North
America.
• Business growth: Despite a
global recession, febi’s business was
growing by more than 10% per year in
recent years.
• Complex order fulfilment
requirements: As a global company, febi was confronted by increasing customer requirements, such as
country-specific legal requirements
that dictate special individual labels
to goods in several markets. “This is
a major prerequisite for breaking into
new markets,” says Boecker, “but without the capabilities of our automated
system, it would have entailed a disproportionately high amount of money,
labor and effort.”
• Smaller and more frequent
deliveries: Febi’s customers no longer
want to stock inventory. Instead, they
mmh.com

rely on febi to deliver smaller but frequent reorders. Compared with 2008,
the company has seen a rise in small
volume orders of almost 20%.
• An aging workforce: Febi was
focused on increasing productivity so
that it could retain jobs in a tough
economy. At the same time, as with
North America, febi was confronted
by an aging workforce that could
benefit from ergonomic solutions.
“We needed productivity improve-

ments but we also knew that ergonomics was one of the solutions that
would allow us to achieve productivity gains with changing demographics,” says Boecker.
Finally, febi was running out of
space in its existing conventional DCs.
In 2005, the company was operating
a 131,000-square-foot conventional
distribution center in Ennepetal and
a second facility about 35 miles away.
“We had storage capacity for 20,000

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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2011

modern system report

Totes are delivered from the mini-load AS/RS to workstations. Febi employees
played a role in the ergonomic design of their work areas.

the items. Today, that system is primarily used to aggregate slow moving
parts.
But this wasn’t just about swapping a manual order picking process
for an automated system. Febi also
realized that an effective change
management strategy was critical
for the system to gain acceptance by
febi’s workforce.
For instance, febi associates helped
design the interfaces and displays on
the screens that direct picking. Their
input was also critical in the design of
the workstations themselves to accommodate an aging workforce.
One of the changes was to install
some 30 lift tables that allow the associate to adjust the height of their work
space. “They really helped us design
the area, and we have other initiatives
to improve working conditions in the
facility today,” Boecker adds.
When the system went live in 2005,
febi trained key employees on the use
of the system. Those employees, in
turn, trained the rest of the staff.
“What we learned is that we were
much more efficient and productive
with automation, and we could turn
orders much faster,” says Boecker.

pallets and we were shipping pallets from one logistics center to the
other location,” says Boecker. “We
determined that we would run out of
logistics capacity in about two years
and our chairman told us we needed
to come up with a solution that would
meet our needs until 2015.”

processes and how a larger, more automated system might work, so we began
with the first investment.”
That first system included a goodsto-person picking solution. The system
delivers totes from a mini-load AS/RS
to an ergonomic workstation in the
sequence that the associate will pick

Automation implementation
At first glance, automation appeared
to provide an answer for each of those
challenges. However, febi did not leap
directly from conventional warehouse
processes into automation. Instead,
the company made the move in two
steps.
The first step was to implement a
semi-automated order picking system—what febi refers to as an Order
Picking System or OPS—in the existing facility in Ennepetal. This featured
38,000 tote storage positions and a
four-aisle, goods-to-person order picking system.
“We knew that automation was
going to be a big step and a big investment,” says Boecker. “Before taking
that step, we wanted to understand
what automation would mean to our

Orders are prepared for delivery in the packaging area. Febi can assemble an
order in as little as two hours.

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mmh.com

modern system report

The febi logistics center
also handles over-sized
items (left) and custom
packs items in a valueadded processing area
(below).

Going live with
automation
With the first system a success, febi began planning for
the new distribution center.
The new facility was
constructed next to the
facility in Ennepetal at the
end of October 2008 and
has been fully operational since March
2009. After three and a half months
of parallel operation, the new DC was
linked up to the existing semi-automated pallet warehouse and four-aisle
order picking system that was opened
in 2005.
The new system includes a 10-aisle
automated small parts warehouse
with 98,000 tote spaces. In addition,
a seven-aisle, high-bay warehouse
includes some 40,000 pallet storage
positions. The two systems combined
cover the vast spectrum of febi’s portfolio of spare parts.
With the new distribution center,
febi is able to store more than 24,000
different articles with minimal space
required. According to the output plan,
the system can process more than
230,000 picks, which corresponds to
27,000 order lines per day.
The order picking system integrates
an automated small parts warehouse
with a distribution loop and upstream
picking stations. The system stages the
articles for a given order at the picking
workstations in the correct sequence
according to the goods-to-man principle. They are then picked and packaged
mmh.com

into the shipping carton. The optimal
size of the shipping carton is determined using a prior volume calculation.
Heavy, voluminous and bulky articles are stored and picked with the
pallet picking system, which is also
a goods-to-person system. The warehouse control system directs all necessary pallet movements from the high
bay warehouse and signals the stock
removal quantities to employees with
pick-to-light displays.
The dynamic picking front is generated for a given order by transfer
cars. The order pallet is staged centrally at the picking front between
the individual warehouse pallets. As
a result, the paths that the employees have to take, as well as their lifting duties, are minimized and the
work can be performed ergonomically
despite an article range of many different sizes.
The two buildings are connected by
a bridge. That allows the warehouse
management system (WMS) to synchronize orders that are filled across
the two systems. Consequently, the
customer is always supplied with the
ideal package size.

Adding automation has also
allowed febi to redesign its picking
process. In the past, one worker was
in charge of filling an entire order for
a customer, everything from picking
the parts to printing out the labels
and paperwork. Today, the components of an order are distributed
among employees.
“One employee is tasked with picking parts of the boxes for an order, and
another packs the parts and compiles
the paperwork,” says Boecker. “What’s
more, our employees are cross-trained
on each step and rotate jobs so that
they don’t get bored—and make mistakes—doing the same job over and
over.” Cross-training also allows Febi
to move staff between departments as
demand shifts.
Finally, the old pallet and tote warehouses have been reintroduced into
the total logistics concept to provide
further storage capacity.
“With the capacity of the new facility we are ideally equipped for the
future even as our business continues
to grow,” says Boecker.
Lessons learned
Febi has been working with the two systems for more than two years. Over that
time, automation has delivered some
significant improvements. In the first
year that both systems were in operation, productivity improved by 20%. In
2010, febi experienced another 20%
productivity improvement.
The company is now looking at
whether to add automation to its warehouse operations in other countries as
well. More importantly, febi believes it
can meet its goal and maintain its market-leading logistics position well into
2015. “We now have an entirely futureproof logistics system that combines
maximum effectiveness, cost efficiency
and flexibility,” says Boeker. “This further strengthens our service and cost
leadership ambitions within the industry and provides us with a sustainable
competitive advantage.” M

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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modern system report

Automation in high gear
Febi’s new distribution center uses unit- and tote-handling
automated storage, conveyor and goods-to-person picking
in an ergonomic work environment.

Ferdinand Bilstein,

By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor

building/231,425 square feet in new
center for a total of 362,275 square
feet

high-bay, unit-load automated
storage and retrieval system (AS/
RS) and tote-handling mini-load
storage systems are the primary components of febi bilstein’s logistics center
in Ennepetal. The logistics center is
comprised of two buildings completed
in two phases. In Phase 1, febi converted its original conventional warehouse into an automated logistics center. Phase 2, which is connected to the
original building by a bridge, was built
later and is responsible for the majority
of the order fulfillment.
The system uses sophisticated order
fulfillment software to deliver pallets

and totes to order selectors in sequence
with a goods-to-person order fulfillment
scenario. The result is a system that can
handle increased order volume, higher
throughputs and improved customer
service levels without adding labor.
Receiving: Inbound pallets are typically received (1) in the Phase 1 building. Pallets are staged in the receiving
area and scanned into the warehouse
management system (WMS) and
checked by the quality assurance
department. The WMS then determines a storage location.
Putaway: From the receiving area,
slow-moving pallets are stored in a pal-

Ennepetal, Germany
Size: 130,850 square feet in existing

Products: Car and truck parts for the

independent aftermarket
SKUs: 24,000
Throughput: 1,000 orders per day
Shifts: 2 shifts/5 days
Employees: 350 to 400 in operations

let rack in the manual area in Phase 1.
The remaining pallets are placed on a
pallet handling conveyor (2). Pallets
that remain in Phase 1 are inducted
into the unit-load AS/RS (3). Pallets
destined for the Phase 2 building
travel by conveyor across a connecting
bridge (4), where they are received and

Unit-load
AS/RS
5

Phase 1

Mini-load
AS/RS
8

Phase 2

Pallet
rack
2 Pallet conveyor

Manual
bulk

7 Depalletizing

Mini-load
AS/RS

Value-

Unit-load
work area

Pallet
conveyor

Receiving

15 added

services

Buffer
13
AS/RS

Picking
14
area
11 Staging area

Packing 16
12

Shipping
20

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mmh.com

Partnership. Innovation.
Creating Supply Chain Solutions.

inducted into the unit-load AS/RS (5).
Oversized pallets that may not fit in either AS/RS are
stored in pallet rack in a manual bulk area (6). In either case,
once pallets have been putaway into storage, they are available to promise.
Replenishment: Items that will be piece picked or
placed in an inner pack are stored in one of two tote-handling mini-load AS/RS systems. To replenish the mini-load
systems, pallets are delivered from the unit-load AS/RS (5)
to a depalletizing area (7). There items are depalletized and
placed into totes. Once complete, the totes are inducted into
the mini-load AS/RS system in Phase 1 (8) or Phase 2 (9).
Picking: Orders may include full pallet or mixed pallet
shipments. Either way, pallets are delivered by the AS/RS to
a workstation (10). Full pallets are picked up and transported
directly to a staging location in the shipping area. Otherwise,
an order selector will be directed by the system to pull cases
from the pallet and place them on a shipping pallet. Once
the pallet is complete, it is delivered to a staging location (11)
in the shipping area (12).
Totes required for piece picking are delivered from the
mini-load AS/RS (9) to smaller mini-load systems (13) in the
picking area (14). These are used as buffer storage and to
deliver totes to the picking stations in the right sequence to fill
orders. A display at the workstation tells order selectors which
items to pick and in which totes to place them.
Packing: Once a tote is complete, it may be conveyed
to a value-added service area (15) for kitting, for customerrequired labeling or for any special packaging requirements.
Once any value-added services are complete, the items are
transported to the packing area (16). There, a cubing algorithm will determine the optimal shipping carton for that
order. Once the carton is erected, the packer will place the
item into the shipping container.
Shipping: In the staging area (11), parcels and pallets will be married together if they are part of an order.
Then, they will be loaded onto an outbound truck in the
shipping area (12).

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System suppliers
Systems integration, WMS and WCS: Witron, www.witron.com
Tote conveyor system: FAS Forderanlagen Systeme GmbH
(division of Witron), www.fas-saarbruecken.de
Pallet conveyor system: Binder,
www.binder-foerdertechnik.de
Mini-load AS/RS cranes: TGW Systems, www.tgw-group.com
Unit-load AS/RS pallet cranes: Dambach Lagersysteme,
www.dambach-lagersysteme.de
Totes: Georg Utz, www.utzgroup.com/en/6
Pallet rack: SSI Schaefer, www.ssi-schaefer.us

mmh.com

www.modula-us.com
www.systemlogistics.com

the big picture
Where Business Meets Materials Handling

What is an AGV?
If you think AGVs, or automatic guided
vehicles, are a mature technology, think
again. Since 2005, the industry has seen
an unparalleled level of innovation.

By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor

ecent ProMat and North
American materials handling
shows have seen the introduction of automatic guided
carts (AGCs), mobile robots and, more
recently, hybrid lift trucks to the AGV
portfolio. What’s more, new players have
entered the market, such as Kiva Systems,
RMT, Seegrid, SI Systems, INRO and
Kollmorgen. Lift truck manufacturers
are also getting into the game, including
Toyota Material Handling USA, Crown,
Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America
(MCFA) and The Raymond Corp.

All these new vehicles may have you wondering: Just what is an AGV? Look closer, however,
and you find that each of these disparate vehicles
shares something in common: They open up
potential new opportunities for the market if end
users embrace them. That last caveat is a big if.
In some respects, the definition of an AGV
has not changed in years, argues Mark Longacre,
marketing manager for JBT Corp. and chair of the
22

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

automatic guided vehicle product section at the
Material Handling Industry of America (See 60
seconds with Mark Longacre, p. 58). “We define
an AGV as a computer-controlled mobile robot
used to move materials around a facility,” Longacre
says. “The way they look and what they can do has
changed, but there’s nothing in that definition that
didn’t apply 10 years ago.”
In fact, Longacre contends that even the interest of lift truck manufacturers in the AGV space
is a blast from the past: In the late 1990s, FMC
Technologies, JBT’s predecessor, teamed up with
Hyster to develop the HyBot, an automated walkie
pallet truck.
Longacre may have a point. Conventional AGV
providers like Murata Machinery USA and Savant
Automation are busier than ever: “There are still
plenty of pallets around, and we’re seeing plenty
of demand for conventional fork-style AGVs that
interface with our automated storage and retrieval
systems (AS/RS),” says Tom Meyers, national sales
manager for Murata’s logistics and automotive
division.
“There are a lot of great new developments out
there from other companies,” adds Garry Koff,
mmh.com

president of Savant Automation. “But
in my world, most end users can’t justify them. They can justify an AGV that
is user friendly, non-intimidating and
easy to maintain.”
Still, these new developments are
hard to ignore. It is a story told through
the product introductions at the materials handling shows, going back to 2005.
ProMat 2005:
Automatic guided carts
At the 2005 ProMat, Jervis B. Webb
introduced a new type of vehicle to the
broad market: the automatic guided
cart or AGC. Webb had been toying
with the design since 2002, according
to Brian Stewart, president and coCEO of the Daifuku Webb Holding
Co., which now owns Webb. An AGC
was basically an AGV stripped down
to its core: A simple, light-duty platform designed to follow magnetic tape
and deliver relatively light loads of
around 1,200 pounds from point A to
mmh.com

point B. Where an AGV used a roller
bed or forks to carry a load, a cart was
designed to move a frame that held the
product it was moving.
Carts didn’t make much of a splash
at the show. Conventional AGV makers dismissed them as a novelty. But
Webb believed there was a market.
“We believed we had come up with a
low-cost solution that reduced customers’ costs for getting into AGVs,” says
Stewart.
Webb initially promoted them to
the auto industry as an alternative to
tuggers to deliver parts to the line.
Over time, AGCs have evolved into
flexible, moving production lines.
“With the right kind of frame, the
cart can move an assembly from one
workstation to another without bolting
conveyor to the floor,” says Stewart. “If
your production needs change, it’s very
easy to move the tape and create a new
layout for the line.”
Today, carts are a significant reason

for the rise in the number of
AGV units being produced every
year. “A smart cart is now in the
$15,000 range,” says Stewart.
“And, with production volumes
rising, we’re getting to the point
where we will be able to go into
mass production mode, like a lift
truck, and bring the price down
to a point where you can’t ignore
them in distribution environments.” That includes carts that
can move loads of up to 5,000
pounds, Stewart adds. “Our goal
is to have a world-class mass production line within the next seven to 10
years,” he says.
NA 2006: Automatic truck loading
Webb was back with another innovation in 2006. Set up at its booth was
a mini-warehouse, including a pallet
pick up station, pallet rack for putaway
and picking, and an enclosed space
the width of a trailer with a dock plate.
During the demonstration, the AGV
automatically picked up a palletized
load from the staging area and then
loaded it into the pallet rack or onto the
back of the trailer.
Two years of research and development with Anheuser-Busch led up to
that moment. “There were conveyorized
systems for automatically loading trailers, but the conveyor was bolted down
and you needed to own your own fleet
of customized trailers,” Stewart says.
“Anheuser-Busch challenged us to come
up with a vehicle that could replace
fixed hard automation. We thought we

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

u n e

2011

the big picture
AGVs

Lift truck manufacturers like Raymond and Toyota have plans to introduce
hybrid lift trucks/AGVs aimed at the distribution market.

could do it, and they had some creative
people who worked with us.”
Webb was not alone. At that same
time, Egemin and Transbotics were
also touting automatic trailer loading
technology, or ATL as it’s now known,
and JBT had vehicles in development.
Five years later, ATLs are still a niche
vehicle, but customers are adopting
them. JBT, for instance, has installed
ATLs at three plants for one major soft
drink bottler with plans to roll out five
more plants.
What’s more, the capabilities have
evolved beyond simply loading pallets
one at a time. Egemin, for instance, can
also unload trailers, work with pallets or
slipsheets, and adapt to multiple sized
pallets and loads on the same truck. In
addition, one of Egemin’s customers is
using an ATL to load pallets 20 deep in
a pushback rack system. “That’s a direct
result of ATL technology,” says Mark
Stevens, vice president of business
development for Egemin.
But what automatic truck loading
has really done is expand the business
case for AGVs.
“Truck loading is an enabler,”
Stevens says. “Not the end game.”

n e

ProMat 2007: Mobile robots
In 2007, RMT Robotics, Kiva Systems
and Seegrid introduced mobile robots
to the industry. They were to AGVs
what go karts are to Formula 1 race
cars: small vehicles designed to move
small loads. But what really distinguished them is that they had unique
guidance systems that didn’t require
fixed paths, such as magnetic tape on
the floor or reflectors and lasers, to find

their way around the facility. Instead,
they could learn to find their way to
almost any spot in a facility.
Like ATLs before them, they were
the buzz of the show, even if no one
quite knew what to do with them.
Initially, at least, all three vendors
resisted the term AGV, although each
makes a vehicle that fits Longacre’s
definition. Part of the reason is that
they didn’t want to be identified with
the baggage that went along with early
AGV systems. “Back in the 1970s, AGVs
were touted as a technology that would
revolutionize the way materials handling
was done,” says Bill Torrens, director of
sales and marketing for RMT Robotics.
“Many of those early vehicles never lived
up to the hype and some early adopters
had negative experiences.”
While each has taken a different path
to the market, all three used their small
size and navigation capabilities to their
advantage. Kiva, for instance, doesn’t
think of itself as a vehicle company at
all, says Mitch Rosenberg, vice president
of marketing and product management.
Instead, “We are a warehouse control
software company,” he says. “We’ve
created a software platform for goodsto-person picking that happens to have
these devices that are part of a broader

Mobile robots, like this one from Kiva, are taking AGVs into new applications,
like goods-to-person order fulfillment.

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mmh.com

As an executive from
Seegrid explained, “Supply
chain professionals want
the ability to integrate
unmanned
distribution
activities with their warehouse management system
(WMS). A vision-based
guidance system gives
you the flexibility to easily
send the robot wherever
you want it to go so that it
can be interwoven with the
WMS just like a lift truck
operator. That’s where you
add value.”
ProMat 2009:
New players
Think Toyota Material
Handling USA and you
probably think world’s largest lift truck manufacturer.
Think SI Systems, and you
probably think manufacturing systems, including tow
line vehicles.
Automatic trailer loading AGVs, or ATLs, can now
But if you attended
load and unload trailers and interface with deep- ProMat 2009, you saw
lane pushback rack systems.
something different at both
companies’ booths: automatic guided carts.
order fulfillment solution.”
The technology was not new.
RMT, like Kiva, saw an opportunity for a low-cost, flexible vehicle that However, the entrance of two new playcould do more than move a heavy pal- ers not previously identified with AGVs
let from point A to point B. “We saw or carts said something about how the
the benefit of AGVs in promoting the market was evolving. And while diflean direction of manufacturing,” says ferent catalysts sparked the interest of
Torrens. “We developed a vehicle with these two companies in automatic vehia navigation system that lets the vehicle cles, at the end of the day, both comgo anywhere it needs to go based on panies entered the field because the
what it sees in real time. That lets us needs of their customers were evolving.
SI Systems, for instance, realized that
deliver what’s needed at the line, when
it’s needed and in the quantity that’s in some assembly applications, a fleet of
AGCs was more economical than a towneeded in an expedited fashion.”
And while Seegrid began by carv- line assembly system. “When you have
ing a niche for itself by enabling case- a vehicle-intense system, few decision
picking solutions, the company is now points and a lot of work in process, a tow
licensing its vision-based navigation line system makes a lot of sense,” says
system to lift truck manufacturers, executive account manager Craig Sleep.
including Raymond and Linde, which “But in smaller assembly systems, we
will use the technology to transform lift were losing business to carts.” What’s
trucks into automatic guided vehicles.
more, they began to see other compammh.com

WAREHOUSE

MANAGEMENT

SOFTWARE

www.interlakemecalux.com

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

u n e

2011

the big picture
AGVs

nies installing carts for line-side delivery
in plants where SI Systems was installing a towline. “We had never gotten into
line-side delivery before, but we saw an
opportunity to offer a more complete
solution.” There were even opportunities to combine the two technologies, for
instance, using a cart to pick up a fixture
at the end of the towline and deliver it to
a kitting area.
Toyota, meanwhile, had exhibited
its first AGV at ProMat in 2007. The
Toyota Tug-Cart Mouse AGV was
already being used throughout Toyota
manufacturing plants to take subassemblies from one part of the plant
to the main assembly line. By 2009,
Toyota had expanded the product line
to include the L-Cart, a system that
allows an end user to use a variety of
components to create a cart that fits its
needs, almost like an erector kit. Toyota
devoted more floor space and offered
AGV demonstrations at its booth in
2009, sending a message that it was as
serious about AGVs as it is about lift
trucks.
In Toyota’s view, AGVs are a complement to its lift truck business, not competition. “We do not believe it’s enough

First introduced at ProMat 2005, automatic guided carts have proved
themselves in lineside delivery of parts and as an alternative to fixed
path assembly lines for many manufacturers.

to just be a lift truck salesperson,” says
Martin Boyd, vice president of marketing and product planning. “We want to
help you apply the Toyota Production
System philosophy to your plant and
see where you might benefit from automation. AGVs allow us to get our foot
in the door to start that conversation.”

Carts have also attracted new providers into the market, like Toyota Material
Handling and SI Systems. Both are now offering carts as an extension of their
traditional product portfolios.

n e

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

In 2009, Toyota also began working
with AutoGuide Systems, which developed a plug-and-play kit that converts a
Toyota Class III tugger vehicle into an
AGV. At the end of the lease, the kit can
be removed and installed on the next
leased tugger. “We now have plans in
motion to apply that technology to more
models in our product line,” says
Boyd.
“To say that we’re optimistic
about this is an understatement,”
Boyd adds. “We see big things on the
horizon for lift trucks and AGVs.”
ProMat 2011:
Turning lift trucks into AGVs
Toyota may have started the
conversation about turning lift
trucks into AGVs, but the discussion continues.
That was made clear at ProMat
2011, where the talk of the show
was the new vehicles introduced
by Dematic and Egemin. Both
vehicles are aimed squarely at the
distribution center.
Built in conjunction with
Crown, Dematic took a solutionsbased approach to case pick-

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Each topic provides you
with the news, information,
and resources you need —
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• Conveyors & Sorters
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the big picture
AGVs

ing similar to what Kiva
is doing with piece picking. The solution combines a pallet truck with
voice recognition technology and order fulfillment
software to automate the
case-picking process: A
voice-directed order selector picks cases to a pallet
on the pallet truck; once
the pallet is full, the pallet truck is automatically
directed to the next step in New navigation systems, like image-based navigation
the process, which could from Seegrid, are enabling flexible AGVs that
be another pick zone or can easily find their way to any spot in a plant or
a drop-off location in the distribution center.
shipping area.
Egemin, meanwhile, teamed up with the Conventional” approach to warehousMCFA to create a hybrid pallet-handling ing. “We can focus on the controls, the
AGV. Turn the key one direction and it smarts and the order fulfillment solucan be operated like a traditional lift tions while the lift truck manufacturer
truck. Turn the key in the other direction, can lower the manufacturing and service
and it operates as a fully automated, con- cost,” says Hinke. “We think the cusventional AGV with trailer loading and tomer will see this as less of a risk.”
unloading capabilities.
If the market now consists of two
While they were designed for differ- classes of vehicles—conventional AGVs
ent purposes, the two vehicles share a as well as carts and mobile robots reprecommon vision: The AGV OEMs are sented by Seegrid, Kiva and RMT—some
providing the navigation technology and in the industry, like Claude Imbleau,
automation software while the lift truck chief financial officer for Transbotics, see
OEMs are bringing to bear the quality, the potential for a third class of hybrid
reliability and economies of scale that vehicles. “There will always be a market
come from mass production along with a for specialized vehicles that will be made
nationwide dealer network that can ser- by AGV manufacturers like Transbotics,”
vice the mechanical systems of the lift Imbleau says. “However, if we can protruck.
vide the software and the lift truck manu“Flexibility is a selling point,” says facturers can deliver the quality that we
Egemin’s Stevens. “But the value is need, it makes sense to have them make
the lower total cost of ownership that every day vehicles, like a fork vehicle.”
comes from a mass produced lift truck,
In fact, it seems as if nearly everyone
using off-the-shelf parts that can be in the AGV and lift truck industry has
serviced by a local network of dealers.
simultaneously had a similar idea.
Dematic sees this as an entrée into the
Kollmorgen, a provider of navigation
distribution market. “We are all trying to and automation software to AGV manumove AGVs from manufacturing into dis- facturers now offers the technology to
tribution,” says Scott Hinke, vice president end users who can have the solution
of product sales. “That’s where we believe installed on their lift trucks at the factory
there is a good return for our customers.”
or retrofit an existing fleet of lift trucks.
While Dematic is beginning with case
INRO, a New Zealand-based
picking, it has plans to roll out other auto- startup, is taking a similar approach,
mated lift trucks as part of its “Automate with software and technology to auto-

n e

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mate conventional lift trucks.
In May, Raymond signed a sales
agreement with Seegrid to develop
an automated lift truck powered by
Seegrid’s navigation software in North
America. At CeMat, Linde was promoting similar vehicles for Europe.
JBT’s Longacre is right when he
points out that the two industries did
this dance 10 years ago to no avail. At
the same time, a number of computer
manufacturers, including Microsoft,
tried to introduce tablets a decade
ago without success. Today, thanks to
a confluence of events, including the
iPad, tablets are the hottest piece of
technology on the market.
Whether this is the AGV market’s
iPad moment and these new vehicles
will be embraced by the market is yet
to be seen. But it’s clear that the evolution of the AGV market will not stop
any time soon. M

Companies
interviewed for this
article
Crown, www.crown.com
Daifuku Webb Holding Co., www.
daifukuwebb.com
Dematic, www.dematic.com
Egemin Automation, www.
egeminautomation.com/en
JBT Corporation, www.jbtc-agv.com
Kiva Systems, www.kivasystems.com
Kollmorgen, www.pick-n-go.com
Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift
America, www.mcfa.com
Murata Machinery USA, www.
muratec-usa.com
RMT Robotics, www.adamrobot.com
The Raymond Corp., www.
raymondcorp.com
Savant Automation, www.
agvsystems.com
Seegrid, www.seegrid.com
SI Systems, www.sihs.com
Toyota Material Handling USA,
www.toyotaforklift.com
Transbotics, www.transbotics.com

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modern Equipment 101: Palletizing
A primer for warehouse/DC managers

Build strong,
stable

n e

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mmh.com

Forming a high-quality unit load is the goal of every type
of palletizing process. Here’s a look at how palletizing
equipment puts product into a neat palletized load so it
arrives at its destination safely and in good condition.

pallet loads
By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor

Strong, stable, secure. These are important qualities in a
palletized load. While palletizing is the science of placing
and securing units or containers on pallets, it can be somewhat of a materials handling art form.
“If product is going to move, it has to be in an easy to
handle unit load,” says Fred Hayes, director of technical services for the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers
Institute (PMMI, www.pmmi.org). “If it’s not on a pallet,
it’s not going to go very far,” Hayes adds.
Of course, product is moving all the time and often has
to go very far before reaching its destination. But getting it
there is only half the battle; the other half is getting it to
the final consumer in an appealing, salable condition. Enter
palletizing equipment.
From basic assist equipment that works in manual
operations to sophisticated robotic technology, here’s a
look at a few palletizing solutions.
MANUAL PALLETIZING
Manual palletizing can be done by people and without any
mechanical assistance at all. However, there are simple
solutions that can aid in the process.
Backboard: Since product placement on a pallet is
important to the load’s structure, a backboard can be used to
guide the loading process. Typically about 4 feet long and 6
feet high, a backboard is made of steel and welded together
in a 90 degree angle, explains Dan Johnson, product line
manager for palletizing for Brenton, a division of Pro Mach.
It’s a simple alignment aid that means workers spend less
time lining up the product as they build the load, he adds.
Lift assist and positioning: Manual palletizing can also be
facilitated with assist devices like powered lift tables or work positioners that are specifically designed for palletizing functions.
Using calibrated springs or pneumatic devices, pallet
positioners automatically adjust the height of the pallet load.
Pallet positioners can be topped with turntables so that oper-

mmh.com

ators can stay in one place and rotate the load rather than
waste time and steps walking around to build the pallet.
In some palletizing stations, when a pallet layer is complete, the operator lowers the work surface as required to
maintain a comfortable working height.
Because positioners can hold up to 4,500 pounds, lift
trucks are required for depositing and retrieving pallets.
SEMI-AUTOMATIC PALLETIZERS
There are physical and ergonomic challenges when you are
palletizing manually. In addition, it’s difficult to attract and
retain enough labor to keep an operation moving smoothly.
Semi-automatic or automatic palletizing, with machines or
robots, can eliminate the risk of ergonomic injuries to workers and reduce operator error.
Semi-automatic palletizing equipment, which is popular in niche markets where products are heavy and difficult to palletize manually, can handle up to 20 bags or cases
per minute. This equipment is well suited for low-speed
operations that can’t justify the cost of full automation but
require a solution to help prevent worker injury.
In one style of a semi-automatic palletizer, a conveyor delivers product to an operator who arranges it into a layer on a plate.
Then, with the press of a button, the plate surface retracts,
allowing the layer of items to drop onto the pallet just below. The
plate can be made of smooth metal, slippery polyethylene, rollers or even an air table for especially heavy products.
In another example, an operator receives product on a
conveyor at an ergonomic workstation. A mixed-case pallet
is built on a lift that the operator lowers as required to maintain a comfortable working height, explains Ken Ruehrdanz,
warehousing and distribution market manager for Dematic.
AUTOMATIC PALLETIZERS
Fully automatic palletizing machines are the most ergonomic,
fastest and most efficient type of palletizing equipment. They
MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

U N E

2011

modern Equipment 101: Palletizing
A primer for warehouse/DC managers

are also the most expensive, with costs
depending on the speed of the machine
and the sophistication of the accumulators, conveyors, pallet dispensers and
other ancillary machinery needed to perform the total palletizing process.
Two types of automatic palletizers
are available: conventional and robotic.
Conventional
Conventional palletizers are a good
choice for many operations, says Jason

Bennett, director of sales and marketing for vonGAL. That is because they
cost less than a robotic machine and
have a broader range of speeds, anywhere from 10 to 200 cases per minute.
There are several conventional palletizers on the market, including highand low-level varieties, with the basic
difference being where product is fed
into the machine.
Low level: Low-level machines
receive product from the floor level

and are usually put right in packaging
area where product comes downstream
from the case packing equipment and
is ready to be palletized.
High level: High-level palletizers
receive product that is already available at ceiling level or use incline or
spiral conveyor to elevate product to
the right height. The machine forms a
layer of products on a plate, it positions
the plate above the pallet, and then
it retracts the plate, letting the layer

Palletizing equipment manufacturers
SemiConventional
Robotic Articlulated
automatic High-speed Mid-range Gantry
arm
Hybrid

Company

Web site

ABB

abb.com

A-B-C Packaging Machine Corp.

abcpackaging.com

Bastian Solutions

bastiansolutions.com

Beumer

beumer.com

Brenton Engineering

brentonengineering.com

C&D Skilled Robotics

cdrobot.com

Columbia

palletizing.com

Dematic

dematic.com

FANUC Robotics

fanucrobotics.com

FleetwoodGoldcoWyard

fgwa.com

Fuji Robotics

fujirobotics.com

Intelligrated

intelligrated.com

KUKA

kukanao.com

Lambert Material Handling

lambertpalletizers.com

Möllers North America

mollersna.com

Motoman

motoman.com

Newcastle Co.

newcastleco.com

Okura

okura-sing.com.sg

Ouellette Machinery Systems

omsinc.net

Powell Systems

powellsystems.com

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

Schneider Packaging Equipment Co. schneiderequip.com

T-TEK

t-tek.com

Thiele Technologies

thieletech.com

Top Tier

toptier.com

Uni-Pak Corp.

unipak.com

vonGAL

vongal.com

Westfalia Technologies

westfaliausa.com

Whallon Machinery

whallon.com

x
x

This table represents a sampling of leading palletizing equipment manufacturers.

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mmh.com

Robotic or
Conventional
Palletizing?
Scan to download Intelligrated’s
white paper to decide, or visit:
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modern system report

expenses, and increasing
availability and throughput.
Robotic systems can also
offer several advantages over
conventional machines. Pickand-place robotic palletizers
often have a smaller footprint, and they can simultaneously build multiple pallets
from multiple product lines.
Robotic speeds are measured according to how
many cycles per minute they
perform.
“The only way to accommodate the higher throughput rates is to pick multiple
cases at a time,” says John
Schwan, director of sales
and marketing for QComp
Technologies.
Typically located in the packaging area of an
Articulated arm: Most
operation, floor level palletizers range in speed
robotic palletizing systems
from 10 to 200 cases per minute. This one is
use a jointed, or articulated,
palletizing cases at the rate of 10 cases per minute.
arm to pick products from
an infeed conveyor and
descend onto the pallet. “It’s like the place them on a pallet. The arms are
old tablecloth trick where you pull the typically a four- or six-axis configuracloth out and leave the dishes behind,” tion, with each axis providing a point of
says Pat O’Connor, product manager movement. With this type, the machine
stays still and the products move.
for palletizing systems at Intelligrated.
Gantry: With gantry style robotic palThe machines repeat the cycle,
sometimes changing the product place- letizers, the opposite happens—prodment pattern, until the load is com- ucts stay still while an overhead bridge
plete. The varied patterned layers make crane moves back and forth, picks up
product and places it in the designated
a stronger unit load.
“Almost all conventional pallet- location. Spanning about 150 feet, a
izers on market will come with a pat- multi-gantry system can pick 300 contern utility or offer it as an option,” current SKUs at more than 250,000
says O’Connor. “You can create new cases per day.
patterns right at the operator interface,
which makes a conventional palletizer
“Almost all conventional
very flexible.”
Robotic
Robotic palletizing has been coming
on strong in low- to medium-speed
operations.
While the initial investment in
equipment is higher, robotic palletizing solutions can save you money by
reducing your labor costs and inventory
34

n e

Robotic gantry systems eliminate
100% of the labor involved with building a mixed SKU pallet. “For safety reasons, you can’t have people in a robotic
cell because of the unexpected motion
of the robot,” explains Brian Keiger,
technology sales leader of supply chain
logistics at KUKA. “The motions are
logical to robot, but not to the operator. The area is surrounded by an 8-foot
fence with conveyor getting pallets
in and full loads out without operator
involvement.”
End effectors: Robot end-of-arm
tools, or end effectors, that manipulate
product can include heavy-duty claws
for high-speed bag palletizing, vacuum
grippers for light and medium weight
cases, and clamp grippers for handling
heavy cases.
In one example, an end-of-arm tool
on the robot consists of fingers which
support the product as well as a clamp
mechanism which holds the product
during the robot move. The fingers of
the tool are inserted under the carton products and lifted then the clamp
mechanism is activated to hold the products. When the layer is positioned over
the placement location the fingers are
pulled out from under the cartons and
they drop slightly onto the stack. The
clamp acts as a support while the fingers
are stripped out from under the cartons.
In another end-of-arm tooling example, a head comes down and covers the
entire area of the product, rollers inside
the head engage the product at the bottom and use friction rollers to lift it up
and move it. M

palletizers on market
will come with a pattern utility or offer it as an
option, you can create new patterns right at the
operator interface, which makes a conventional
palletizer very flexible.”

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

—Pat O’Connor, product manager for
palletizing systems at Intelligrated

mmh.com

modern productivity solution

no batteries, no
downtime, no problem
Grocery co-op
switches over to
fuel-cell powered
lift trucks to drive
its fleet’s uptime
to 98%.

By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor

t Central Grocers in Joliet, Ill., it’s all about
power. Central Grocers, a member-owned cooperative wholesale food distributor, was spending too
much time in its 970,000-square-foot DC on battery maintenance issues. So, the distributor, which
supplies 200 independent retail grocery stores in
Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, joined a yearlong trial of fuel cell-powered lift trucks.
“Manually changing batteries was quite an
ordeal,” says John Coari, Central Grocers’ vice
president of distribution, “and we were only getting
about three to four years out of each battery.”
Looking to decrease the time spent on nonvalued added tasks and increase uptime, Central
Grocers incorporated a fuel cell-powered fleet
consisting of 234 vehicles. Throughout the year,
the company used and tested 51 reach trucks, 38
stand-up counterbalanced units, five sit-down
counterbalanced units and 140 center control pallet trucks (Yale Materials Handling Group, YES
Equipment and Services, www.yeslifts.com). When
mmh.com

the year was over, the results showed that the fuel
cell-powered lift trucks had an impressive uptime
rate of 98%.
In addition to the uptime benefits that fuel
cell-powered trucks provide, there’s no decrease in
power as a battery runs low. The fuel cell-powered
units run at full capacity until they need to be refueled. And, with five hydrogen pumping stations
located throughout the facility, there’s plenty of
opportunity to refuel.
Refueling takes between 2 and 3 minutes. Not
only is it quick, it’s clean and safe. Distilled water,
which is the byproduct of the hydrogen fuel cell, is
stored in fuel cell and emptied during the refueling process. Because there’s no exhaust, fuel cellpowered vehicles are an environmentally friendly
solution.
The results of the study were so good that Central
Grocers will continue to operate a fuel cell-powered
fleet, and Coari says the company has just purchased
eight more fuel-cell powered lift trucks. M
Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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2011

MODERN special report

READER SURVEY:

Materials handling
software usage

WMS, SCMP, WCS, LMS and more—Modern’s readers offer
insights into their use of software, from (alphabet) soup to nuts.
By Sara Pearson Specter, Editor at Large

D
Modern Materials Handling Webcast
Results of Modern’s 2011 Software Usage Survey
Putting data to work in warehouse and
distribution operations
Thursday, June 30, 2011 @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Register: mmh.com/2011softwareusage

N E

2 0 1 1 / MO D E R N MATE R IALS HAND L I NG

Data, data everywhere! For companies in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, there’s no shortage
of information available about products and processes
throughout a facility. Indeed, it’s widely accepted that
the information about the movement of goods is every
bit as important as the actual movement of those
goods. The tricky part is harnessing that information
to its fullest competitive advantage.
That’s where software comes into play. Software
implementations seek to address key challenges, including automation integration, labor optimization, billing,
fleet management, accuracy improvement, inventory
control and loss prevention, material synchronization,
order prioritization and supply chain visibility.
Supply chain management and planning (SCMP),
warehouse management systems (WMS), labor management software (LMS), warehouse control systems
(WCS), asset tracking software, yard management
software (YMS) and slotting optimization software
all help users make sense of information collected by
automatic data capture (ADC) technologies like bar
code scanning, voice recognition and RFID.
In January, Modern readers were surveyed regarding their deployment of ADC technologies. As a companion to that study, we surveyed e-mail subscribers of Modern in May about their use of materials
handling software. We received responses from 175
mmh.com

qualified readers—defined as someone
personally involved in the use, evaluation or purchase of such software.
Survey respondents represented 23 different industries, including industrial
machinery, computers and electronics,
chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and
wholesale trade.
Nearly half (49%) of respondents
described their companies as being cautious to embrace change when it comes
to adoption of technology for materials handling procedures, with another
22% classifying their organizations as
either innovators or early adopters. In
light of the current economic climate,
37% are scrutinizing their current software investments and intend to spend
with caution, while 30% are definitely
investing in new software before the
end of this year. Instead of buying new,
16% will upgrade existing systems while
20% are postponing their investment.
In the next 12 months, 54% indicate
they’ll spend less than $100,000 on

software (including license, integration
and training) and 39% plan to spend up
to $1 million.
Here’s what we learned across each
of the major software categories.
Warehouse management software
A warehouse management system
(WMS) controls the movement and
storage of materials within a facility and
processes the related transactions, such
as shipping, receiving, putaway and picking. Because it is so ubiquitous, our survey indicates that WMS is the most-used
software in a facility, with 60% of respondents currently using a WMS; 36% plan
to evaluate, purchase or upgrade that
software in the next two years.
On average, a WMS has been in use for
6.5 years, with upgrades typically occurring every 2.5 years. As for value, readers
say it takes an average of 12.3 months to
get a return on their WMS investment.
Companies are planning to buy a
WMS in the next two years for a variety

How has the current economic climate changed
your company’s approach to adopting materials
handling management software?
We are moving forward with new
software investment this year

30%

Plan to hold off on our
software investments this year

20%

We are scrutinizing software investments
and will move forward cautiously

37%

We plan to upgrade existing software
instead of buying new software packages

16%

We plan to outsource more
software implementations 4%
Other
Source: Peerless Media Research Group

mmh.com

of reasons:
• 45% want to upgrade their existing
package.
• 36% are seeking better labor
management tools.
• 32% are looking for better inventory
deployment.
• 30% want real-time control.
Supply chain management and
planning
Supply chain management and planning
(SCMP) software integrates supply chain
transactions by managing relationships
with both customers and suppliers while
controlling related business processes.
Functions managed include customer
requirements, purchase orders, inventory, goods receipt, warehouse operations
and supplier sourcing.
Just 34% of our survey respondents
have SCMP software in place and 16%
anticipate evaluating, purchasing or
upgrading that software in the next 24
months. These users, on average, have
had their SCMP system in place for
7.2 years and typically upgrade every
2.5 years. It takes a little more than 12
months to realize a return on investment in an SCMP system.
SCMP software is used for a variety
of initiatives:
• Procurement, with 53% currently
using SCMP and 26% planning
to purchase or upgrade for that
purpose.
• Inventory visibility, with 46% currently using SCMP and 33% planning to purchase or upgrade to better track their assets.
• Order management, with 46% currently using SCMP and 35% planning to purchase or upgrade to gain
better control of orders.

MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

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2011

modern special report
• Demand planning, with 37% currently using SCMP and 24% planning to purchase or upgrade as a
means to better predict trends.
• Other top initiatives include:
Collaboration with vendors/suppli-

ers (35% currently use/33% anticipated use) and manufacturing (30%
currently use/19% anticipated use).
Warehouse control systems
A warehouse control system (WCS)

Approximately how much will your company spend
on supply chain software for your operation including
license, integration and training in the next 12 months?
$2 million +

$1-1.9 million

$500,000 - $999,999 11%
$100,000 - $499,999 28%
Less than $100,000 54%

Average $ plan to spend: $397,000
Median $ plan to spend: $94,000
Source: Peerless Media Research Group

Which of the following software is in use in your
facility and what are your plans to evaluate, purchase
or upgrade in the next 24 months?
Supply chain management
and planning (SCMP) software

34%

16%

Warehouse management
systems (WMS)
Transportation management
software (TMS)

16%

Asset tracking

15%

None of these

26%

23%

19%

28%

7%
6%
14%

28%

Source: Peerless Media Research Group

n e

In use
Plan to evaluate/
upgrade/purchase

10%
8%

Warehouse control systems (WCS)
Yard management systems (YMS)

22%

20%

Labor management software (LMS)
Slotting software

60%

36%

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

handles real-time data management,
while coordinating and directing the
activity of a facility’s multiple materials
handling sub-systems (plus their monitoring, control and diagnostics). WCS
is currently in 28% of respondents’
facilities, with 19% planning to evaluate, purchase or upgrade such a system
in the next two years. On average, WCS
has been in use in our readers’ facilities
for 5.8 years, with upgrades occurring
every two years. Most found it took 13
months to get the return on their WCS
investment.
Of respondents’ whose companies
are planning to evaluate, upgrade or
purchase a WCS, 68% will do so within
the next year and 65% will be buying
a brand new system. Notably, 59%
indicate that their WCS purchase is
an integral part of a larger automation
initiative, while only 38% will implement a WCS as a stand-alone project.
Most (62%) will be buying from a WCS
software provider, as opposed to a systems integrator (14%) or an equipment
manufacturer (10%).
Other software
A little more than a quarter of respondents (26%) indicate they use asset
tracking software to manage the assets
used to move, store, secure, protect
and control inventory both within their
enterprise and throughout the supply
chain. The software is relatively new in
terms of use, with 80% of respondents
having it in operation for 10 years or less.
Asset tracking software had the fastest
rate of return on investment, according
to our readers—just 10 months.
Labor management software (LMS) is
currently used by 23% of respondents to
optimize workforce productivity through
comparative reporting of direct and indirect labor use against both historic data
and engineered standards. Most systems
have been in place an average of six years,
with upgrades occurring every 2.3 years.
Users report a 10.8 month average return
on investment time.
The majority of those who plan
to implement a LMS expect to do so
within the next 6 to 12 months (57%),

mmh.com

What are the key reasons your company is planning
to consider or buy warehouse management systems
(WMS) during the next 2 years?
Slotting

14%

Inventory deployment

AUTOMATED

32%

Labor management

36%

Real-time control

30%

Yard management

Upgrade of existing package

45%

Other*

20%

* Mentions include: changes in warehouse design, replenishment management/e-commerce implementation
implementing an ERP system, add features and functionality/current system not very robust, lot tracking and
event billing purposes

WAREHOUSE

Source: Peerless Media Research Group

When your company purchases software, who do you
typically use to integrate the software installation?
74%

45%
26%
12%
Software
supplier

In-house
person

Systems
integrator

Business
management
consulting firm

1%
Other

SYSTEMS

Not sure

Source: Peerless Media Research Group

followed by another 39% who anticipate doing the same within the next 24
months. Engineered labor standards—
established performance rates and
productivity goals based on the unique
characteristics and metrics of each
work assignment—are currently in use
by 27% of respondents with another
31% indicating an intent to implement
the same. However, only 38% have
adopted an employee payment program
tied to productivity improvements.
The last two areas we examined,
slotting optimization software and yard
management systems (YMS), had far
fewer respondents—corresponding to
mmh.com

their much lower rate of adoption.
Just 10% of respondents report the
use of slotting optimization software
to determine the best inventory storage medium, picking methodology
and rotation frequency. Those who
answered indicated that 36% reslot
quarterly, 45% reslot every six months,
and 18% reslot once a year.
Only 7% of respondents indicate
that they currently use a YMS to
streamline scheduling of inbound and
outbound shipments through their
yard and docks. Of those, 45% had
only had their YMS in place for five
years or less. M

www.interlakemecalux.com

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

u n e

2011

A special supplement to

Warehousing & DC: Fleet Maintenance

Lift truck maintenance:

Long-term planning
considered
Tired of throwing good money after bad, fleet managers
are turning to training, technology, and dealer support
to better understand when to replace, repair or retire.
By Josh Bond, Contributing editor

for decades the same call has rung out from lift
truck maintenance bays around the world: “Get me the
truck and I’ll fix it.” But as companies try to do more
with less, lift trucks are too often compelled to stay on
the warehouse floor as long as possible, where they can
keep the product and the organization moving forward.
The historic tension between the needs of the truck and the
demands of the business frequently result in maintenance patterns
that lead to avoidable damage, over- or under-utilization, and wasted
parts, time and money.
“It’s a sword that’s not only double-edged, it’s serrated,” says Jim
Shephard, founder and president of Shephard’s Industrial Training
Systems, which specializes in the development and implementation of operator training programs and has trained more than 1.5
million operators. “It’s something that every company with lift
trucks wrestles with.”
However, Shephard argues, with careful planning, operational discipline, and perhaps the help of a dealer or other service provider,
most businesses can establish a lift truck maintenance program that
will increase productivity while optimizing fleet expenses.
But many companies have yet to take the first step.
“With many of the clients I’ve worked with over the past few years,
I’ve seen no plan at all,” says Shephard. “They’re basically running
reactive maintenance shops.”
Planned maintenance (PM), the routine oil and filter changes, might
be as far as a company’s maintenance planning goes, says Shephard.
Sometimes even PMs are a challenge. “Maintenance people are saying:

S40

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ial s Han dl i ng

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A special supplement to modern materials handling

Warehousing & DC: Fleet Maintenance
‘The truck’s due for PM, now how do I
beg, borrow or steal it?’” says Shephard.
“They usually only get the truck after a
breakdown. Even then, they’re forced
to get it back onto the floor before the
full service is done,” he adds. “Before
long, that fleet starts to show the attention you’ve put into it.”
According to Shephard, an effective maintenance program starts with
the lift truck operator, the person most
immediately aware of the needs of any
given truck.
“They are the first line of defense,”
says Shephard. “No one else in that
operation is going to be as important as
the operator. They are the key.”
But although operators today are
better trained than ever, says Shephard,
skilled operators on bad equipment will
revert from good habits to bad ones.
Then equipment dollars are wasted,

Typical lift truck costs
Fuel &
Insurance

Disposition
Purchase
Costs

Maintenance

Operator Cost

Dollars

End of
Economic Life

Years
Total Costs
Maintenance Costs
Acquisition Costs
Source: Yale Materials Handling Corporation

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training dollars are wasted, and companies end up with avoidable costs.
“You push one domino over, it will
knock the rest over,” says Shephard.
“The funny thing is that most companies put so much emphasis on producing a quality product, from design to
manufacture to packaging, then they go
and handle their materials with shoddy
equipment. It doesn’t make sense to
focus so much on the front end just to
get shrinkage on the back end.”
Shephard says maintenance is no
longer a last resort for trucks pushed
to the breaking point. Taking the long
view allows businesses to control dayto-day expenses and operations while
monitoring the performance and value
of each piece of equipment. In this way,
the life span of each truck is neither
shortened nor needlessly extended.
“Before you cross that line, maintenance costs are an investment in
your assets,” says Shephard. “After you
cross that line, you’re just throwing
money away.”
Keeping it in-house
According to Shephard, lift trucks are
not only important at the loading bay. “A
lift truck in a building will affect every
person in that building,” he says. “You
get shrinkage and the plant manager
hears about it. You get late shipments
and customer service hears about it.
You get avoidable costs and accounts
payable hears about it.”
Given the ripple effect a lift truck
can have on an operation, it might
seem surprising that their good health
is so rarely a priority. But there are significant challenges to in-house maintenance programs, according to Jim Gaskell, director of Global Insite Products
for Crown.
Below about 50 trucks to 70 trucks,
maintenance workers might spend only
some of their time actually servicing
trucks, with the rest of their day spent
on other facility needs. Beyond that
threshold, the fleet will sustain dedicated maintenance personnel. Managers might begin to make room for a dedicated maintenance bay, which might
naturally begin its life as an offshoot of
a battery room.
Then the maintenance bay might
begin stocking parts or consigning

2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ial s Handl i ng

In-house maintenance programs
should include careful documentation
of labor hours and parts costs.

a parts supply from a dealer. This is
where the problems begin. “Companies
must have the discipline to track hours
of labor and parts costs so they can
have an accurate sense of their maintenance costs,” says Gaskell. “That’s the
piece they’re most often missing.”
It can be hard to isolate labor hours
spent on trucks if maintenance workers are also performing other facility
repairs. And parts management can
quickly become a cost quagmire. An
ideal practice might include a time card
for maintenance workers where they
could document X hours spent putting
X parts on X truck.
“One customer had tool carts in a
shop filled with $50,000 in parts in a
small area,” says Terry Flanagan, manager of fleet sales for Yale Materials
Handling Corp. “Someone was in the
habit of taking parts out of the packaging before shelving them, and although
the mechanic knew where the parts
were, no one else did.”
“Do you know how many techs are
allowed to get their own parts at a dealership?” asked Gaskell. “Zero. When a
mmh.com

A special supplement to modern materials handling

Warehousing & DC: Fleet Maintenance
user’s in-house technicians are allowed
to get their own parts, that’s how customers end up with tens of thousands
of dollars in parts they don’t need and
hundreds of thousands of dollars in
parts they can’t track.”
In order to get things under control,
a company must first perform a thorough asset survey, documenting costs
and utilization. This simple first step
can immediately reveal big problems,
like whether a company is using the
right trucks for the right job, whether
trucks are over- or under-utilized, or
whether there are other recurring problems with batteries, parts, operators,
etc. With this basic data in hand, a
company can begin to know whether to
repair, replace or retire each truck.
For many companies, data captured
manually can be helpful enough to
begin making decisions and improvements. But technology can also help
collect detailed information to help
make long-term investments, develop
programs, and improve day-to-day
operations.

“In the end, a company might find that unnecessary fleet
maintenance staff can be redirected to other areas of facility
maintenance, resulting in optimized resources instead of layoffs.”
– Michael McKean, fleet management sales and
marketing manager, Toyota Material Handling

an oil leak, leaving an oil slick on the
loading bay.
Truck-mounted technology can now
allow managers to quickly assess which
trucks are down and why, saving time
that might have been wasted investigating on the warehouse floor. And while
the fleet maintenance person might
only be concerned with the status of
the trucks, the same technology can
enable operator tracking as well, providing further assurances that the right
operator is using the right truck in the
right way.
“If you find you’re using one truck at
3,000 hours per year and another truck
at 1,000 hours per year, you’ve got a
problem,” says Flanagan.
But while data can illustrate utilization and efficiency with more clarity, it
must be coupled with action.
Technology’s role
“Today’s managers do not want more
Gaskell shared a story about a manager data,” says Gaskell. “Instead they want
who saw an unused lift truck parked information that is delivered in a simple
in an odd corner of the warehouse. format, that is easy to understand and
He fired it up, saw nothing immedi- that can be quickly acted upon. This
ately wrong, and drove the lift over to way management can change operathe loading bay only to find out it had tions before it’s too late.”
Data
collection
might lead managers
on the path to make
better use of their
existing equipment, or
reveal that they have
been a bit too successful at right-sizing
their fleet.
“A fleet that just
barely meets utilization will not make it
into the shop,” says
Shephard.
“They’ll
need them on the floor.
They’re
hamstrung
to solve their maintenance problems.”
Often, the picture that emerges is
a need for improveAs lift truck technology rapidly changes,
ments on an overongoing training for technicians is essential.
whelming scale. If the
changes needed and
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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ial s Handl i ng

the resources available don’t add up,
a company might consider a maintenance agreement with a dealer or other
service provider.
Maintenance agreements
Companies are increasingly relying on
contracted maintenance services in an
effort to control costs and make them
more predictable. Unlike many dealers, in-house facilities often lack the
ongoing training to keep mechanics up
to date with rapidly changing lift truck
technology, says Shephard. A company
might also lack the perspective to know
when a facility’s maintenance costs are
in a good place when compared to other
sites or the industry average.
“Thirty years ago, each facility had
it’s own security department, maintenance department, they did everything,” says Michael McKean, fleet
management sales and marketing
manager for Toyota Material Handling.
“Companies have since focused on core
business and have outsourced all they
can. It’s driven the maintenance business back to where it should be, which
is at the dealership.”
In recent years, more and more companies are pursuing this option, says
Shephard. There are plenty of choices
for outsourced maintenance agreements, but dealers are frequently best
prepared to offer a full range of services
and reporting tools. One reason is simple, says Shephard: No one knows the
trucks like the people who made them.
At one end of the maintenance
agreement spectrum, the company
need only grease the truck every so
often and perform pre-shift inspections, with a dealer handling all other
maintenance needs. The dealer might
run a full-time, on-site maintenance
bay, or make visits as needed. Somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, a
dealer might handle major repairs only,
and leave PMs and other routine maintenance to the company staff.
The key to fleet maintenance, says
McKean, is the agreement between the
mmh.com

company and the maintenance service costs internally from site to site? You confidence and efficient resource
provider. “It’s checks and balances,” he might have a site that has a lower management.
says. “It can not only lock in business cost per hour than the others, so you
“That’s long-term thinking,” says
for the dealer, but it also results in pre- decide to benchmark to that site. But McKean. “If you don’t have that mendictable costs for the company.”
what if that cost is still above industry tality, that’s where a competitor will
Any good maintenance agreement average?
come in and get that contract.”
requires good communication, he says,
With a targeted goal and the supwith a clear understanding of what the port to reach it, companies can replace Josh Bond is the lift truck columnist for
customer needs and what the dealer waste and reactive maintenance with the Supply Chain Group
can offer. A good outsourced maintenance proposal, according to Flanagan, should aim for at least 15% reduction in maintenance costs.
Following an asset survey, says Flanagan, a dealer might confer with manDedicated
agers to identify an appropriate core
to Our
fleet as well as a standby fleet. “So, if
Distributor
the truck is down, you aren’t down,”
Network!
he adds. They might also identify a
swing fleet suitable for use in two or
more applications, says Flanagan. This
avoids the likelihood of a dedicated
fleet being over- or under-worked.
By becoming involved in all aspects
of fleet maintenance, a dealer agreement can also allow a company to
bridge the natural gap between fleet
managers and staff managers. “Out™
sourcing
in-house
maintenance
ProCart
requires time to understand what is
r™
Indicato
best for the company,” says McKean.
Bins®
“In the end, a company might find that
ize Akro
uper-S
S
unnecessary fleet maintenance staff
™
InSight
can be redirected to other areas of
facility maintenance, resulting in /Doptieck™
VERSA
mized resources instead of layoffs.”
And instead of parts languishing
Bins™
in a maintenance bay or disappearing
System
onto the warehouse floor, the dealer
ax™
ShelfM
can assume responsibility for tracking
aver™
each and every item.
EarthS
“They don’t get paid unless they
abinets
ckable C
™
ers Sta
w
keep good records, whereas an inra
D
Akro
house program might not have such anVantageBin™
incentive,” says Gaskell.
Discover how innovative products from
According to Gaskell, the most
Akro-Mils
can add efficiency and organization
important thing to consider when
to
your
material
handling. Call us at 800.253.2467
selecting a service provider is uptime,
not the cost of each repair.
or visit www.akro-mils.com for more information.
“If I had 100% uptime, I’d gladly
pay twice as much for the service,”
says Gaskell. “That said, you also
need robust reporting to benchmark
company costs against industry
averages.”
Everything You Need To Store, Organize & Transport
Flanagan agrees. For companies
with sites across multiple states or
countries, how do you know what’s
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MODERN MAT ERIA L S HA NDL ING / J

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S45

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The unit is controlled by 24-volt DC motorized
drive rollers with high torque drive rollers for uphill
and brake drive rollers for downhill. Customized
design is available. Each Tower is shipped from the
factory as a self-standing unit and can easily be
integrated with multiple types of equipment.

Capitol Conveyors, Inc.
28121 Scippo Creek Road, Circleville, OH 43113
Phone: 877-532-9070, Fax: 740-474-8068
www.CapitolConveyorsInc.com

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Dematic
Smarter, Faster, Ergonomic
Order Fulfillment

RapidPick is the new high capacity goods-to-person order
fulfillment system from Dematic. Delivering split case
items to an operator, RapidPick allows pick rates of up to
1,000 line items per operator per hour. RapidPick consists
of a highly engineered operator workstation that quickly
rotates SKUs into and out of the station, enabling the
operator to efficiently pick items—offering a smarter,
faster, ergonomic order fulfillment solution. Smarter
because the operator stays in one place while items are
delivered to the pick station in precise sequence. Faster
because product for picking flows into the RapidPick
station smoothly and consistently, allowing your staff
to be highly utilized. Ergonomic because the workstation
is designed for sustained productivity and employee
comfort: no bending or reaching.

Experience the Dematic Difference.
Visit www.dematic.us or e-mail USInfo@dematic.com
for more information.

Hyster
Introducing the completely redesigned Hyster ®
B60ZHD and B80ZHD 6,000-pound and 8,000pound end riders. These trucks have been engineered to take on the most demanding, heavyduty applications in a multitude of operating
conditions. To prove what they are made of, we
pushed these machines to the max, and the linkage survived 1,000+ hours without lubrication.
The complete linkage system lifted a total of
310,000,000 pounds before requiring service of
any kind and our bushing wear was more than
three times better than that of the competition.
We deliver durability, productivity, operator comfort and ease of maintenance that exceeds the
industry’s highest standards.

Hyster
Visit www.Hyster.com
for more information.

mmh.com

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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2011

ID Label Inc.
Man-up or Man-down…
Hands down ID Label has the best warehouse labeling
and installation solutions.
•
•
•
•
•

Plastic Signs
Magnetic
1D or 2D Bar codes
Color Coding for tier identification
National Installation Services

Positive Feedback…Every Time
ID Label Inc.
Salesmmh@idlabelinc.com
Toll-free: 800-541-8506 x100
425 Park Avenue
Lake Villa, IL 60046

Intelligrated
Intelligrated Real Time Solutions®
Trak3 xD™ and Trak3 xL™ Pick-to-Light
Real Time Solutions Trak3 xD and Trak3 xL is the first
extended display pick-to-light system to offer dynamic
dual-shelf pick face and replenishment slotting capability.
Ideal for dense flow rack picking and put applications or
general merchandise operations that require dynamic
slotting of a wide variety of product sizes, Trak3 xD
and xL systems provide maximum SKU density and
replenishment accuracy.

Intelligrated
7901 Innovation Way
Mason, Ohio 45040
1-866-936-7300
www.intelligrated.com

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mmh.com

Interlake Mecalux

we manufacture WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS
manufacture WAREHOUSE
Selective Pallet Rack • We
Drive-In/Drive
Through SOLUTIONS
Selective
Pallet
Rack
• Drive-In/Drive Through • Wide Span •
• Wide Span • Structural Rack • Boltless
Rack • Boltless
Shelving • Push Back • Cantilever
Shelving • Push Back •Structural
Cantilever
• Selecta• Selecta-Flo • SpinBlock • Movirack • Clasimat • Clasimat
Flo • SpinBlock • Movirack • Clasimat •
Basic • Radio Shuttle • Unit-Load AS/RS • Mini-Load AS/RS •
Clasimat Basic • Radio
Shuttle
• Unit Load
MT0
• Easy WMS
we
manufacture
WAREHOUSE
SOLUTIONS
AS/RS • Mini Load AS/RS • MT0 • Easy WMS
Selective Pallet Rack • Drive-In/Drive Through
• Wide Span • Structural Rack • Boltless
Shelving • Push Back • Cantilever • SelectaFlo • SpinBlock • Movirack • Clasimat •
Clasimat Basic • Radio Shuttle • Unit Load
AS/RS • Mini Load AS/RS • MT0 • Easy WMS

www.interlakemecalux.com
Interlake Mecalux www.interlakemecalux.com
www.interlakemecalux.com

Promat_WrapUp_052511.indd 1

Kenwood U.S.A.

5/26/2011
5/26/2011 1:14:06 PM

1:14:06 PM

Reliable and affordable voice and data communications in the concrete
and steel of manufacturing and distribution facilities can be a challenge.
Kenwood two-way radios meet or exceed military standards for durability
and offer a wide range of choices, from simple, on-site communications
to complex systems requiring wide area coverage. The latest advantages
of digital communications come with the Kenwood NEXEDGE® line of
radios and custom systems, which can be integrated into IP networks,
used to link multiple sites and offer advanced data capabilities. For site
specific communications, affordable and tough ProTalk® radios are the
high-performance choice. All Kenwood radios feature renowned Kenwood
audio, voice and data features based on ever advancing R&D standards,
and are built to offer high performance communications in any setting.

Kenwood U.S.A. Corporation
Communication Sector
www.kenwoodusa.com
1-800-950-5005
mmh.com

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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2011

Battery Watering Technologies

Efacec

Battery Watering Technologies offers
a quick and safe method for filling
industrial and golf car batteries with
water. Maintaining batteries with a single-point watering system eliminates
the risk of battery acid and vapors
harming workers or spilling over to
damage floors and equipment. There is
a growing awareness that extending the life of batteries makes not only good business sense, but environmental sense as well.
When batteries are maintained and properly
watered, they should last five years or longer. We’re
providing a better quality product that takes what
had been a 10-20 minute chore per industrial battery
to something that can be done in 20-30 seconds. Our
five-year warranty sets the standard for quality and
performance with our innovative product line.

Efacec is a global corporation with 4,500 employees
around the world. Our Material
Handling Business Unit offers
automated warehouse solutions including AS/RS, AGVs,
turnkey conveyor systems,
and also warehouse management software (WMS). AS/RS
systems have been supplied to
handle products such as plastic
totes, cartons, pallets and even
13,000-pound rolls of paper.
With over 25 years of experience in material handling,
EFACEC has the capability to design and manufacture
products and systems to match our customer’s needs.

The leader in battery watering technology

Battery Watering
Technologies
6645 Holder Road
Clemmons, NC 27012
336-714-0448 or
877-522-5431
www.batterywatering.com

Efacec USA, Inc.
2755 Northwoods Parkway
Norcross, GA 30071
770-446-8854
E-mail: usa.logistics@efacec.com
Website: www.efacecusa.com

ORBIS Corporation

System Logistics

At ProMat 2011, ORBIS
Corporation, North America’s
leading manufacturer of sustainable reusable packaging
and an expert in supply chain
optimization, unveiled its newest reusable bulk containers,
the HDMC4845 BulkPak, available in two heights: 27 and 34 inches. The HDMC4845
BulkPak is designed to safely and securely utilize less
usable shipping space for containers, so companies are
able to increase the amount of product they can ship.
The containers have been engineered to allow greater utilization of available space and to stack in a way that frees
up additional space in a standard 53-foot shipping trailer.
In addition to helping companies reduce their overall
environmental impact with reusable packaging, ORBIS
tracks and measures its own resource utilization to continuously conserve natural resources and reduce waste.

MODULA®. The Space
Saving Automated
Storage System
The MODULA® vertical
lift module is the solution to manage your picking and rapid retrieval
of parts, components,
semi-finished and finished
products while optimizing
space utilization. When
equipped with dual-level
tray delivery, available with both internal and external picking bays, units can provide high picking
speeds by eliminating operator wait time. Contact us
today to learn more on how to increase productivity
and reduce costs. MODULA®. Your easy, efficient and
ergonomic solution.

ORBIS Corporation
1055 Corporate Center Drive
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
Toll Free: 800-999-8683
www.orbiscorporation.com

System Logistics
888-233-6796
sales@systemlogistics.com
www.systemlogistics.com

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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

mmh.com

FOCUS ON

Overhead handling

Overhead power and free conveyors
A new line of 4-inch overhead Friendly Dog Magic power and
free conveyors features a simpler design than comparable, standard models to reduce engineering and installation time. The
units use standard air pusher assemblies at switches and chain
transfers for accurate transfers that are easily incorporated into
any layout. Jervis B. Webb, a subsidiary of Daifuku, 248-5531000, www.jervisbwebb.com.

Hoist offers infinitely
variable speed control
The DCS-Pro electric chain hoist allows
operators to handle and precisely
position critically sensitive loads with
ease. Features include an infinitely
variable speed control with soft starting
speeds of 3.15 inches/minute, a 1:200 control
ratio for gentle positioning and high-speed travel,
and automatic switchover to low speed prior to
reaching the upper/lower stop. To prevent load
sway, the hoist has integrated acceleration and
braking ramps. Offered standard for enhanced
safety and reliability, the hoists have operating
limit switches, a brake-coupling system to securely
hold loads, and speed-monitored slipping
clutch. Powered by a 24-volt control, the hoist’s
connections are simple to install. The gearbox,
brake and slipping clutch are maintenance free for
up to 10 years. Demag Cranes & Components,
440-248-2400, www.demagcranes.us.

AGVs

programmable optical sensors for safe operation near
pedestrians and in confined spaces. The AGVs follow a
self-adhesive magnetic tape for simple setup with no floor
modifications. Toyota Material Handling, 800-226-0009,
www.toyotaforklift.com.

Robotic pallet truck handles 8,000 pounds
The vision-guided GP8 robotic pallet truck frees skilled
employees by performing non-value-added work by automating pallet transport. After
an operator positions the
vehicle’s 96-inch long forks
under the pallet, the industrial
mobile robot transports pallets to an assigned location,
automatically positions them,
and returns to the original
starting point—or other preassigned location—for more
work. The vehicle handles up
to 8,000 pounds and stores
25 miles of learned routes.
Powered by a 24-volt DC battery, the
mmh.com
vehicle
travels at a maximum speed

Transfer Arm
SAM
Shown with Optional Pedestal Mount

LodeArm
Shown with Optional Trolley Mount

Your Complete Lifting
Solution

ReactionArm
Shown with Optional Pedestal Mount

Taurus
Shown with Optional Pedestal Mount

Visit www.positech.com
Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

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2011

FOCUS
FOCUS ON
ON
AGVs

Palletizers
dock equipment
Overhead
handling

MAKE ROOM

Cleveland
NA 2010

Cabinet
lean manufacturing
Floor-level palletizer
withfor
extended
accumulation table

workspace
organization
Combining the economy For
and better
accessibility
of a floor-level
palletizerand
with speeds associmanagement,
the 5S cabinet
offers
for use
areas where
lifting
equipment
ated
withinhigh-level
machines,
the 72AE palletizer
incorporates
anclear
extended accumulaCentralized
dock
southworth
removable
steel
handrails.
acrylic
doors
for instant
at- power
tion
table that
allows
continuous
layer
forming
duringvisibility
transfer and
and
stacking.
This feature
is needed
infrequently—including
over
source
lowers
building
costs
Products,
207-878-0700,
www.
increases
the
volume
to
more
than
35
units
per
minute.
It
also
includes
a-glance
accounting of tools and parts
atenergy-efficient
machines, for maintenance
or to pull
with
the
voice-equipped
picker
as
guided
vehicle
systems
can
be
conelectric
motors,
quiet
operation
and
pre-programmable
layer
patterns
and
pallet
consouthworthproducts.com.
To
cut
the
complexities
and
costs
of
point
of use
to support lean manufacturing
product—the crane easily
collapses
down
they verbally
confirm
picks,
and
trolled
with
traffic
control
navigafigurations
for easy
startup
and
control.
The
unit
can
palletize
cases,
trays,
bags
or
totes.
For
safe
transfer
new
loading
dock
installations,
the
philosophies.
The durable cabinet case feagantry crane can be used for localized
when not in use for compact
storage. The
Automatic
changeover
is directed
bytothe operator
touch-screen
panel.
Forthe
flexibility,
transports
the
completed
pallet
tion
software.
The
vehicles
come
in
Control
dock
environment
of
loads
from
CentraPower
unit
reduces
number
metaltopegboard
inserts. Alternately,
lifting anywhere in a facility. Cost-effective intelligent
unit lifts capacities
from tures
250
pounds
2 pallet, layer
controlthe
accepts
new
orbrings
modified
and
product
configurations
from
shipping
while
next
truck
capacities
ranging
from
500
pounds
with sliding
softwalls
truck bed to dock
of
hydraulic
pumps,
disconnects and
solid
hingedwith
doors
with
additional
pegtons.
Adjustable
authorized
personnel,
with
all During
operating
parameters
independently
adjustable.
a-B-C
a
new
pallet
to
the
picker.
to
4,000
pounds,
making
them
Creating better
environmental
control,
without ramps
power
feeds by
a factor800of
board
storage
be specified.
Stanley
Vidmar,
standard
spans
up
tomayassociated
Packaging
Machine,
800-237-5975,
www.abcpackaging.com.
peak
periods,
with
manual
ideal
for
handling
smaller
loads
and
flexible
sliding pickers
softwalls
slide
open
or
or inclines, Dura10
to
1.
Locating
523-9462,
www.stanleyvidmar.com, Booth 2532.
20 feet,
the crane’s
can work
in conjunction
increased
volumes
closedtrucks
with minimal
effort
to
create
Dock loading-dock pallet
the hydraulic
powerwithout additional
height
under
thesepawith
the
system
to
handle
additional
staff.
Features
include
multiple
path
rate zones in loadingboom
dock
areas.
lifts are offered.
sourceworks
in
a conveTreatment
prevents
mold
growth
on pallets
robot
in
tight
spaces,
Hoist
can
be
configured
for
isstaging
adjustable
™ throughput. As requirements change,
programming,
a
retractable
towing
Maximize storage space
with ProHANGER
…
thecurtain
perfect walls also improve
The
cleanliThe
units
come in
nient
location
insidecoating
mold and
mildew
resistant
and treatdelivers
20
cycles
per
minute
multiple
uses
fromE-fusion
7 to 12
feet.
energy-efficient
workstation
solution for storing and organizing
long partsrouting
and
supplies.
plans can
be updated
and
pin,
remote
communication,
andminute,
ness,
increase
security
and
contain
odors,
6,000the building
yields
speeds
up
toand
20the
cycles
per
ment
system
forDelivering
wood
pallets
inhibits
growth
of
The electric workstation5,000lift forand
palletizing
offers
Offering
longer
lifts
greater
horseGorbel,
800-821additional
vehicles
can
be
added
or
theproduct
EC-171the
high-speed
robotic
palletizer
is
fumes, dust or noise.0086,
Made
of heavy-duty
poundenergy-efficient
capacities and feature
galvanized,
cleaner
access,
simquiet,
operation.
The area
mold,
preventing
recalls
and
refused
shippower,
Terminator
T60
hoist
reaches
www.gorbel.
transferred
between
sites.
Dematic,
equipped
with
a
built-in
collision
detection
beneath
is
large
and
open
for
easy
straddle
industrial
vinyl,
the
units
are
custom
fabcorrosion-resistant
base
and
legs.
Rising
plified
maintenance
Voice+Laser driverless vehicles have
ments. The treatment
bonds
with
wood
elechigher
speeds.
It lifts
up toduring
50 tonsan
and
com.
Incorporating
a large working envewww.dematic.us.
stacker
access
to laser
the
For
easyof
main-877-725-7500,
ricated for each application,
and can
be system.
from grade
level
to aplatform.
maximum
height
and
lower costs.
The
industrial
grade
guidance
and
trostatic
application
process,
making
it ideal for
pallets
is
powered
by
a
60-horsepower
motor.
lope with small rotation radius and energy
tenance,
standard
115-volt
power units
reconfigured as facility layout
59 inches,
the
lift may
be mounted
in a are rear
system
features
a
incorporate
voice-directed
picking,
used or
in environfood and
beverage
handling,
consumer
prodThe
hoist
be works
combined
in top
running
efficiency,
thecan
robot
in tight
space
conmounted for access when the lift is in the down
Low-cost
AGVs
handle
up
to
mental
control
needs
change.
Mountable
concrete
pit.
Platform
sizes
range
from
6
full
backup
pump
leaving
with
theirashands
ucts, pharmaceuticals
and
products.
X-Mold,
double
or base
mount
strictions
atgirder,
a paper
highmonorail
rate
of throughput.
A 10.5position.operators
The lifts are
offered
an alternative to
to the existing
ceiling structure,
a heavy- inch
x 8 feet
to and
8 x 12
feet.
include
a for
and
motor
system
to
4,000
pounds
free
to maximize
caseFeatures
picking
pro866-581-6653,
www.xmold.net,
625.with
color
touch-screen
is included
for human
styles
and
works
inBooth
conjunction
the
pneumatic
hydraulic
powered
solutions
systems
duty
track
and
trolley
system
supports
weatherproof
pushbutton
control
with
20
ensure
continuous
Capable
of
maneuvering
and
towinterface
control
(no
laptop
required).
The
ductivity.
Atwhere
the start
aneasily
order,
applications
air isofnot
available and
supplier’s line of endup-time.
trucks
and
custom
system
offers
onboard
advanced
inc.,
800-643-5424,
www.docksysZoneworks,aVertical
800-553-4834,
theloads
walls. throughout
feettruck
of coiled
cord,
diamond-tread,
steel ing
hydraulic
fluids
cannot
be tolerated.
advance
productionstorage
the
delivers
aanew
pallet to the
system
controls.
Worlddiagnostics,
Companies,
800Ace
programming
platform,
and
up
to
400
different
pre-programmed
recipes.
lifts,
800-843-3625,
www.advancelifts.com.
temsinc.com.
www.zoneworks.com.
platform
with
beveled
toe-guards,
and
U.S.
Patent
Pending
space,
a
series
of
low-cost
automatic
picker. Then, it automatically moves
Featuring a stabilized
shelf system
431-4223,
www.aceworldcompanies.
american-newlong, 317-787-9421, www.american-newlong.com.
with high storage density
at an affordcom.

Lightweight gantry crane
lifts
feature
ideal for localized
lifting
galvanized
Made from lightweight, extruded aluconstruction
minum for easy lifting, a new, portable

Driverless trucks with voice directed picking

Longer Lasting Belts
RIDER LIFTS FOR MEZZANINES &
AUTOMATED MATERIAL LIFTS FOR MEZZANINES
Better than

Lifetime
Warranty

z Abuse Resistant Belts work where others fail.
z Super Strong Joints are virtually unbreakable.
z High Tension Belts move heavier loads.
z Super Red Belts double conveyor capacity.

New Split
Line-shaft
񡑀INCREASE
MEZZANINE USpools
TILITY
High precision. Reasonable price.
AFER LOADING & UNLOADING
Easy to 񡑀S
install.
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& UNLOADING
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need for keyed񡑀C
spools
and shafts.

1-800-843-3625
800-770-2358 614-777-0295
Dura-Belt
Fax: 614-777-9448 www.durabelt.com
w w w. a d v a n c e l i f t s . c o m

38
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able price, the motorized vertical pan
carousel offers storage and retrieval of
inventory with push-button control. The
system delivers inventory to the operator, yielding retrieval time savings up
to 90%. Included standard are lifetime
sealed bearings, shielded motors, security keypad, one-touch forward/reverse,
wire mesh guarding and obstruction
detectors. Vidir Machine, 800-210-0141, www.vidir.
com, Booth 3018.

Software directs, analyzes
paperless picking activity

Executives, managers and supervisors can easily view
pick rate productivity, accuracy and throughput with
the version 6.0 release of LP dashboard. The software displays realtime, updated key performance
indicators with drill-down granularity
for facility, area, zone and employeelevel views. Featuring a rich graphical interface with drag-and-drop
widgets for custom template views of performance
data, the system offers an automatic slide-show
style display of multiple, user-configured templates.
Lightning Pick Technologies, 262-250-2143, www.
lightningpick.com, Booth 1543.
mmh.com
mmh.com
mmh.com
mmh.com

form lifting and positioning. The hydraulic
cylinders, their plumbing and control
valves are completely enclosed and protected for long life. Uniform level lifting is
synchronized by precision-built hydraulic
flow dividers that zero in automatically

each time the unit is fully lowered. The
crane is electrically powered by a 440volt, three-phase motor with a propane,
gasoline or diesel engine offered as
options. Air Technical Industries, 440951-5191, www.airtechnical.com.

Line of electric chain hoists
lifts up to 10 tons
Offered in capacities from a half ton to
10 tons, a line of electric chain hoists can
be specified with either single-speed
or inverter control. The hoists include a
dual braking system featuring a disc type
motor brake that works with a mechanical
load brake. Other features include upper
and lower limit switches, overload alert,
push-button control and chain container.
ACCO Material Handling Solutions, 800967-7333, www.accolifting.com.

Mobile straddle crane
Intended for indoor or outdoor use, the
mobile, telescopic mast straddle crane
carries loads up to 50,000 pounds—
including gen-packs and 20-foot shipping
containers—through a 12 x 12 foot overhead door opening. The crane straddles
a flat bed or
a semi truck
and lifts the
load up to
120 inches.
Hydraulically
operated,
the crane
features four
synchronized
telescopic
masts for
level, unimmh.com

f rs te
e o ee uo
on in E q t!
to ng E jec
lk s E fr ro
Ta ale st a xt p
r S ue ne
ou req our
d y
a n fo r

Need a Single Source
Solutions Provider for
Your Conveyor Needs?
Many conveyor manufacturers typically
only make certain types of conveyors.
At Capitol Conveyors, Inc. we know
one size doesn’t ﬁt all, that’s why we’re
a full service, custom manufacturer
of many different types of conveyors,
including specials.
We also offer complete solutions that
include systems engineering, equipment,
installation and commissioning – all
with fast, ﬂexible and efﬁcient
response times.
• Motorized DriveRoller
• Lineshaft
• Belt Conveyors
• Belt Driven Live Roller
• Chain Driven Live Roller
• Gravity
• Towers
• In Motion Weighing
• Automated Print & Apply

For More Information, Call:

877-532-9070

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

u n e

2011

FOCUS ON

Overhead handling

Motorized lifter
automatically
transforms to handle
coils or pallets

Direct electric overhead
traveling cranes with
remote control
For safe, efficient control of electric
overhead traveling cranes, the LRC-M1
remote control directs up to four motions
with two ergonomic, multi-axis joystick
controllers. The trolley/hoist selector,
two aux push buttons and toggles are
mounted on an impact-resistant housing.
To minimize spares and transfer keys to
other controllers—for increased safety,
flexibility and streamlined workflow—the
system uses a proprietary RFID configuration. Other remote-controlled cranes can
be standardized to the same system for
operational efficiency. Cattron Group,
724-962-3571, www.cattrongroup.com.

For lifting of eye-horizontal coils and
palletized vertical coils, a motorized coil/pallet lifter includes fork
assemblies and lifting saddles. The
forks and lifting pads are motorized
to permit on-the-fly changeover or
for use with a cab-operated crane.
When lifting coils on pallets, motorized coil restrictors lower to prevent
shifting. Sensors detect the type of
load to be lifted to prevent opening of the legs, while other sensors
and indicator lights aid with load
alignment. The lifter’s capacity for
palletized coils is 33,000 pounds
and increases to 100,000 pounds
for eye-horizontal coils. Bushman
AvonTec, 800-338-7810, www.
bushmanavontec.com.

✔ Better
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Controller for magnet
crane operations

WITH GORBEL WORK STATION
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2 0 1 1 / Mo d e r n Mate r ials Hand l i ng

Providing precise operation of industrial
lifting magnet cranes, the MagnePulse
digital magnet control is a microprocessor-based, solid-state, DC-to-DC package.
The system allows an operator to enable
up to four unique magnets to match
individual load requirements. This functionality reduces lifting current requirements while saving energy, lengthening
magnet life and increasing average lift
capacity. Ideal for retrofit applications,
the crane uses existing operator controls
and connections and is packaged with a
customized control panel to match unique
specifications. Magnetek, 800-288-8178,
www.magnetekmh.com.
mmh.com

Lift four drums at one time
The Parrot-Beak L4CB crane-hoist mounted unit provides an automatic, mechanical way
to handle conventional rimmed steel, plastic and fiber drums. Capable of lifting up to
2,000 pounds per drum (for 8,000 pounds total capacity), the drum handler offers worker safety, drum protection, unitized handling and pallet change-out capabilities. The
device can lift a group of four drums made of different materials at one time, provided
the drum heights are within 1 inch of each other. Fork and carriage-mount models are
also offered. Liftomatic Material Handling, 800-837-6540, www.liftomatic.com.

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Overhead transport device delivers
items between facility levels
Comprised of vehicles that travel overhead at speeds up to
722 feet per minute, the Sky RAV overhead hoist transport
product line includes five models, including thin, lightweight
and medium-load handlers. The hoists may be used for
transport between processes, automatic restocking to a
picking shelf, or sorting. The vehicles travel vertically at 45
degree angles to accommodate multi-level facilities, while
keeping goods in a horizontal position. For further customization, the unit can be equipped with a roller conveyor
or a gripper to accommodate various load sizes. Murata
Machinery, 704-394-6900, www.muratec-usa.com.

• One of the largest rack
manufacturers
• Capacity in excess of 60,000 tons
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Overhead handling

Pneumatic-powered air
manipulator lifts 940 pounds
Using pneumatic
power to provide
responsiveness and
enhanced maneuverability in handling
loads up to 940
pounds, the Simple Air
Manipulator’s lift cylinder uses compressed
air for vertical lifting
and positioning. Its
end-of-arm rotating
axis has up to 18,000
inch-pounds of end-ofarm moment loading
and 360-degree rotation, while pantograph
operation allows for a rectangular working window. When fully
side-loaded, the end-effector mounting surface deflects less than
2 degrees. Features include an operator-controlled pistol grip
metering valve for vertical lift (ergonomic twist grip controller

optional), precision bearings that minimize movement resistance
for enhanced ergonomics, and floor or ceiling mount capability
that doesn’t require arm disassembly. Positech, 800831-6026, www.positech.com.

Magnetic plate handling
systems include on-board
battery power supply
Using patented, electrically controlled permanent
lifting magnets, a series of magnetic plate handling
systems are independently powered by a 24-volt DC
wet cell battery, eliminating the need for a power
supply cable reel to be located on the hoist/crane.
For operator safety, the system includes indicator
lights to show that each magnet has attached to the
load at 100% strength. Radio controllable, the system
will not drop a suspended load, even in the event
of a control operation error. The magnet controls can be integrated with supporting crane radio controls and do not require
a battery backup. Permadur Industries, 800-392-0146, www.
permadur.com.

PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING

mmh.com

®
July 2010

The Apparel Group:

Dressed for distribution
Page 18
success

SPECIAL REPORT

Kirk Longo, vice president
of supply chain, The
Apparel Group

Top 20 SCM
providers 26
EQUIPMENT REPORT

Green unitizing
practices 30
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Develop greater
brand awareness and
showcase your featured
editorial from this
industry-respected
publication.

Five trends in WMS 34
Special corporate
profile issue

Place your press directly in the
hands of your customers and
prospects with custom reprints
from Modern Materials Handling
magazine.

800.290.5460 x136
mmh@theYGSgroup.com

Event Collateral
Media Kits
Direct Mail
Online Marketing
Recruiting Packages
Presentations

The YGS Group is the authorized provider of custom
reprint products from Modern Materials Handling
magazine.

N E

2 0 1 1 / MO D E R N MATE R IALS HAND L I NG

mmh.com

Portable aluminum gantry crane
Porta-Gantry portable, aluminum gantry style cranes feature durable construction in
a lightweight, modular assembly to handle up to 5-ton loads. The device provides
quick and easy setup and breakdown for movement between workstations. The crane
requires only four bolts for
assembly, then collapses
and packs flat for shipping
and storage. For versatility,
the crane includes locking
caster wheels and manual
height and width adjustments.
Thern, 507-454-2996, www.
thern.com.

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mmh.com

Modern Mat eria l s Ha ndl ing / J

u n e

2011

modern 60 Seconds with...
Mark Longacre
JBT Corp.
Title: Chair, AGVS industry group,
MHIA; Marketing Manager, JBT Corp.
Location: Chalfont, Pa.
Experience: Eleven years in the
materials handling industry. Chair of
the AGVS industry group, 2+ years.
Primary Focus: As chair of the
AGVS industry group, encouraging
new members, marketing the industry
group and increasing awareness of
AGVs in manufacturing and warehouse applications.
Modern: There have been a lot of
changes in your industry. From your
perspective, what is an automatic
guided vehicle today?
Longacre: We define an AGV as a
computer-controlled mobile robot
used to move materials around a
facility. Inherent in the definition is
that it’s unmanned. The way they look,
what they can do, and how easy they
are to use has changed, but the base
definition has not changed as long
as I have been in the industry. What
is different about today’s AGVs is
that they are more scalable and more
flexible than vehicles of the past.
Modern: What’s driving the
demand for AGVs?
Longacre: There is an entirely new
set of markets and applications
opening up for AGVs. The first
adopters were the automotive
industry and heavy manufacturing.
Today, we’re seeing strong adoption
in other industries, such as food
and beverage. More importantly,
manufacturers that have already
optimized their manufacturing
processes are now looking at
distribution applications for AGVs.

u n e

Jeff Fusco/Getty Images

Modern: Why distribution?
Longacre: It’s the same justification
as for manufacturing: a reduction
of labor costs, reduction in damage
and increased productivity. In
distribution, AGVs can support
goods-to-person distribution
processes. They can support
replenishment processes. They can
deliver empty pallets to a pick zone
or take away empty or full pallets.
There are a number of potential
applications and we’ve only
scratched the surface.

2 0 1 1 / M o d e r n M ate rials Hand l i n g

Modern: What do you make of the lift
truck suppliers developing AGVs?
Longacre: In some respects, this is
history repeating itself. There were a
number of lift truck OEMs who entered
and then exited the business 10 or 15
years ago. At the same time, we may
see the emergence of a new market.
We may see a segment of end users
that need very customized vehicle.
That’s the traditional AGV. And we may
see a segment of the market that can
use a much more standard product like
what the lift truck manufacturers will
offer. It’s a very dynamic and exciting
time for the industry. M
mmh.com

PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING

mmh.com

®
July 2010

The Apparel Group:

Dressed for distribution
Page 18
success

SPECIAL REPORT

Kirk Longo, vice president
of supply chain, The
Apparel Group

Top 20 SCM
providers 26
EQUIPMENT REPORT

Develop greater
brand awareness and
showcase your featured
editorial from this
industry-respected
publication.

Green unitizing
practices 30
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Five trends in WMS 34
Special corporate
profile issue

Place your press directly in the
hands of your customers and
prospects with custom reprints from
Modern Materials Handling magazine.

Event Collateral
Media Kits
Direct Mail
Online Marketing
Recruiting Packages

800.290.5460 x136 I mmh@theYGSgroup.com
The YGS Group is the authorized provider of custom
reprint products from Modern Materials Handling magazine.

Presentations

A Storage Rack That Provides
Extraordinary Strength And Stability.

From A Company That Does The Same.
With Jarke EZ Glide™ by SPG, you don’t have to sacriﬁce strength and stability for
accessibility. Each of the shelves on the unit holds up to a full ton — even when fully extended
— for the ultimate in ease and efﬁciency when loading and unloading heavy items. Plus, addon units are available that share common uprights with existing units — to maximize both the
structural integrity and economy of this innovative shelving solution.
This kind of innovative design is what deﬁnes SPG, a new company with a legacy of over a halfcentury of experience. SPG offers a broad selection of innovative material handling equipment
that’s innovatively designed to maximize storage space, protect stock, manage inventory,
enhance material ﬂow, increase accessibility, lower cost and drive efﬁciency.
Delivering more than what is expected is what you can always expect from SPG. Contact us
today and we’ll prove it to you.

(877) 503-4774
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GILLIS/JARKE

UNIVERSAL

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