CeMAT 2014, Europe’s largest materials handling trade show, will be held in Hanover, Germany, from May 29 until May 23, show organizers announced in a news release. The expo is expected to attract more than 1,000 exhibitors from 40 nations and will occupy nearly 1.3 million square feet of exhibition space. The theme of this … Read more
Because of emerging technologies, information technology is expected to play a more central role in streamlining warehouse operations over the next four years, according to a new white paper released recently by Motorola. Entitled “From Cost Center to Growth Center: Warehousing 2018”, the report outlines the ways warehouse strategies will turn to multi-modal data collection … Read more
President Barack Obama announced that the US Department of Defense has teamed up with a consortium of businesses and universities to build a new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute in Chicago’s inner city Goose Island neighborhood. The is led by UI Labs and includes 73 companies, nonprofits, research labs and others to create … Read more
FMC Technologies — the Chalfont, Pennsylvania, based provider of technological solutions for the energy industry — announced in a news release that it was divesting itself of its materials handling business to Syntron Material Handling, LLC, an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. FMC’s materials handling business, which is based in Tupelo, Mississippi, makes a … Read more
Despite global economic and political uncertainty and tepid confidence levels among US consumers and investors, the materials handling industry is expected to show moderate growth over the next two years, according to a report issued earlier this month. MHI, one of the material handling industry’s leading trade groups, released its State of the Industry report … Read more
Buildings that can repair themselves after earthquakes? Ships that can repair their own hulls in the event of a breach? Houses that can paint themselves? All of these technologies may be a reality in the near future as scientists and researchers prepare to bring these types of 21st Century materials to the marketplace. In the … Read more
ARPAC, an integrated packaging solutions company based in Schiller Park, Illinois, has purchased Lambert Material Handling for an undisclosed price, according to news reports. Lambert, which is based in Syracuse, New York, makes robotic palletizers and automatic palletizing systems including bag, drum and used palletizers. ARPAC president Rick Allegretti said the acquisition “builds on our … Read more
While many manufacturing and warehouse operations still rely on forklifts for moving materials from Point A to Point B, a growing number of companies are turning to tugger and cart systems for more efficiency and cost savings. Tuggers and carts are like miniature trains that don’t run on rails. A series of carts can be … Read more
Modern Materials Handling has announced the winners of this year’s annual Productivity Achievement Awards. In the category of manufacturing, the award went to the Braun Corporation for its ability to provide outstanding customer service, quickly respond to changing business conditions and deliver orders that meet customer requirements. Wirtz Beverage was named the winner in the … Read more
This week on the Bahrns blog: It’s the 21st Century and the future has arrived. Will it take the form of buildings that can repair cracks in their concrete? Or paint that fixes itself automatically? The answers may surprise you! Plus, forklifts have been used for decades to move products from one place to another. … Read more
