Material Handling & Supply Chain Technology News

A recent survey of material handling professionals shows the potential for significant growth for the conveyor industry — more than 40% responded that they plan to add conveyors in their facilities in the coming year. About half plan to continue as is; and only 5% plan to reduce their amount of conveyor equipment. In addition, more than a quarter of respondents plan to increase the presence of sortation equipment. Cases and boxes are the most commonly conveyed items.

KieTek provides Trailer Roller Bed Systems in three versions: permanent, drop in, and fold up.

The three options offer the user considerable flexibility with this alternative system vs the hydraulic and pneumatic. KieTek offers the most quality for the investment when initial cost is an issue, focusing on maintenance reduction and simplicity.

Store smart with industrial vertical storage solutions from Vidir. Store, retrieve, and organize materials in a safe and secure system that maximizes your existing layout and saves valuable seconds within your daily operations.

Advance Lifts, of St. Charles, IL, announces the Instant Dock 6568. Advance Lifts is the industry's largest manufacturer of dock lifts and uses all-tubular legs for maximum rigidity. Advance Lifts also offers stainless steel, galvanized, FDA epoxy, and enamel finishes to fit your needs.

U.S. Plastic Corporation is your source for a huge line of bottles, labware, tanks, tubing, barrels, containers, sheet, buckets, and many other plastic MRO products. Check us out from your desktop, cell phone, or from our traditional catalog.

This system combines a mezzanine and a three-axis enclosed-track bridge crane to improve space utilization and enable local staging and storage of materials in process. Items can be stored above and below the raised platform. A variety of hoist and crane options are available. Potential applications include manufacturing and kitting, maintenance and repair, and assembly and packaging.

Round, elastic conveyor belts are designed for operation in ambient temperatures of up to 230 F. Belts may change color over time, but performance will not be affected as long as belts are not stretched beyond 4%. Long exposure to sunlight or intense exposure to ultraviolet light may also cause degradation.

An interview with a leading industry executive discusses the use of air freight for trade with the Asia/Pacific region. Benefits include minimizing the need for warehousing; consolidation of shipments; and increased speed-to-market. The biggest beneficiaries are likely to be small businesses with small, time-sensitive shipments to make. For less urgent items, ocean freight is the most cost-effective option.

A major California port is battling competition from both north and south of the border. Part of the port's response involves a multi-billion dollar facilities-upgrade program. Projects include improvements to on-dock rail equipment, and a new container terminal with sophisticated IT capabilities that will replace a pair of aging buildings. Talks are also underway to handle U.S. agricultural products for shipment overseas.

SAB manufactures featured reeling cables for medium and high mechanical stress used on industrial cranes, transportation systems, and other applications. Designed to withstand the most demanding applications while offering a long service life.

SAB has been the proven leader in developing and manufacturing specialty flexible cables; call us at 866-722-2974.

These quiet rolling and maneuverable carts feature a solid steel platform with a stamped form with ribs on the underside for extra strength to help absorb impact and hold loads. The ergonomically-designed, epoxy-coated handles fold up for compact storage. Deck bumpers included to protect doorways and walls. From Dersheng USA, Inc.

A fully-automatic picking system handles up to 2,000 picks per hour with no need for manual intervention. A combination of 2D and 3D image processing equipment enables the system to distinguish between items in different layers, identify objects resting in inclined positions, and recognize objects of any shape. That last capability eliminates the need to pre-program individual products ahead of time.

A tension-fabric roof offers several benefits for warehousing and storage structures, including high solar reflectance, which keeps the roof temperatures down and reduces the need for air conditioning inside the building. Fabric roofs also transmit enough light to cut the need for electric lighting significantly. A tension-fabric roof may be used with solar photovoltaic panels for energy production.

A line of narrow-aisle reach trucks features a mast design that improves visibility for the operator in all directions — eye level, ground level, and at peak lift heights. The result is a boost in productivity and a reduction in damage to racks and goods. An integrated control system reduces maintenance costs through sophisticated diagnostics capabilities.

Versatile lift trucks can be used indoors and out, thanks to a compact chassis for maneuverability inside the warehouse and pneumatic tires to handle rougher outdoor surfaces. High-horsepower, high-torque engines, available in dual-fuel versions, are suitable for a variety of applications. An engine-protection system warns operators of excessive heat or pressure drop.

Recent advances in motion technology provide design engineers many options to meet their needs for movement. The suitability of electric linear actuators, hydraulics systems, and manual operation overlap in many applications. This white paper from LINAK outlines key considerations that impact the selection of motion devices for OEM designs. Download PDF.

AG Russell understands your automation needs. With more than 60 years of experience designing, building, and installing automation systems and equipment, we've helped get thousands of products into the market place. We work with you from the start, custom designing an automation system flexible enough to grow with you as your demands change.

The MHI MH27.1 publication, available now from IHS, was developed by the Monorail Manufacturers Association, Inc. to assist manufacturers and users of underhung cranes and monorail systems. This specification was originally approved as an MMA consensus standard in 1973, was subjected to the ANSI Canvass Review Process, and is now available as an American National Standard.

For more information on IHS standards, visit us here.

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