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European Pallet Maker Tests N.American Waters
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
European pallet manufacturer Craemer and Canada-based plastic products producer Granville Composite Products Corporation have tied up to make the former’s products available in North America. The two companies exhibited their new pallet program at the Pack Expo Show held last week in Chicago. Craemer, which holds the distinction of being the first company to manufacure plastic pallets molded in a single shot, also sells pallets equipped with RFID transponders. MMH Online reports:
“After nearly a century of success in Europe, we see a huge market potential for our company in the United States and Canada especially with the final phase of the USDA’s wood packaging material regulation now in effect,” said Craemer’s Export Area Manager Alexander Korell. “The time is right for many North American companies to consider using plastic pallets, and we feel confident that our partnership with Granville will enable us be an immediate and legitimate contender for their business.”
Subscribe to the comments for this postSymbol Technologies merges with Motorola
Motorola, headquartered at Schaumburg III, has promulgated the take over of Symbol Technologies, headquartered in New York city, a pioneer in the production of mobile gimmicks which are deployed for data snaring using state-of-the-art technologies like RFID.
This deal is expected to come to a close by the wake of 2007 as per the reports from mhmonline. The report articulates that Ed Zander, CEO of Motorola expects to strengthen their products using the mobile solutions provided by Symbol Technologies.
Click here to read the details of the merger between Motorola and Symbol Technologies.
TNT Logistics begins another innings with Ford
After having a stint with Ford Motor Company’s F-series truck manufacturing plant in Kansas City, TNT Logistics North America has renewed the lapsed contract between the two. TNT is a leading provider of supply chain services to the automotive industry and the renewed contract is going to provide logistics services to Ford. Since 2002, TNT has provided for the delivery and sequencing of parts going into this assembly plant. The contract extension would further their relationship till 2009.
TNT provides Ford sequencing and transportation from three facilities encompassing more than 200,000 square feet of warehouse space. In addition to the F-series business, TNT supports the U204 Program – the Ford Escape as well as the Mercury Mariner.
TNT plays a vital role in providing assistance to Ford’s flexible manufacturing production. Hence, TNT’s services for Ford would allow it a steady flow of material in correct build order to the plant to support lean concepts within the plant. Also, the best possible thing for both the company is that there is a set understanding between the two companies, which reduces any confrontational situation in future. But the contract period has been reduced to three years indicating TNT’s reservations.
TNT is boasting its steady material flow inbound and critical return rack processes outbound back to the suppliers. How right is the perfect right? The company develops specific pack-outs (load plans) for the efficient transportation of the material. It also sequences to both live broadcast and ILVS (In-Live Vehicle Sequence) to allow Ford to maintain its high service quality while utilizing a smaller footprint of line side materials. Then, we should probably not doubt TNT’s intentions to do some good to Ford, but skeptics would utter skepticism nonetheless.
Lista Intl Goes Under Capvis Umbrella
Increasing resource and better global eye catch was the aim of Lista International Corporation and to achieve that its parent company, Lista B&L Holding, went under the umbrella of Capvis Equity II LP, exclusively advised by Capvis Equity Partners AG.
Capvis Equity is Switzerland’s leading private equity firm and it feels that Lista International addition will strengthen its command in the international standing. According to Lista International Corporation, the acquisition presents a wealth of opportunities for the company and increasing customer base.
Lista management and staff are happy with the acquisition arrangement which will further company’s growth using new resources and strong transatlantic platform. It aims to stretch itself to throughout North America and Europe as well as burgeoning markets such as Asia and Latin America while developing new product initiatives and investing in our future. The only doubts comes from past. History of acquisition favors the notion where the identity of acquired company dissolves. Will Lista International go the same way? It is hard to answer yet. Capvis is showing confidence to Lista through bold statements of support to Lista B&L Holding shareholders though. It is viewing the vast scope of the international market for workspace and storage solutions.
Lista is also to build on existing strengths and capitalize on global synergies to meet worldwide demand while availing current and future Lista customers of expanded resources. This means added benefit to the Capvis, which adds this acquisition a tremendous boost characterized by seamless continuity. Capvis being a successful financial investor for many years buys stakes in leading medium-sized companies majority of which are in Europe.
Mobile Storage Unit from Ergonomic Solutions
Ergonomic Solutions, Inc. has developed and patented the SmartPick Storage System, a completely automated mobile storage unit. Ergonomic is a distributor of material handling equipment. The SmartPick Storage System is an automated storage and retrieval system that provides dense storage with 100% accessibility. SmartPick can automatically move one or a group of storage racks to give the picking crane access to products stored on standard pallets or larger products. The automated mobile storage unit can be maintained by a single person. The Ergonomic Solution’s SmartPick automated mobile storage unit has the following benefits:
• It reduces storage space by 50% or more
• It can automatically pick any product that can be stored on pallet rack or cantilever rack
• It picks stored products automatically without forklifts
• It can load and unload stored products from a single station
• It has 100% access to products stored throughout the system
KCI Acquires 100 Percent Stake of Morris Material Handling
Finnish crane manufacturer Konecranes Inc. (KCI) has acquired Morris Material Handling Inc. after several rounds of negotiations. KCI’s subsidiary, HMM Acquisition Corp. has boosted its stake in Morris Material’s parent company, MMH Holdings Inc. from 90.9 percent to 96.7 percent. The company has paid $64.6 million in cash. It is expected to pay another $5 million in a series of transactions. The Business Journal has published an article on the Same Topic.
With the acquisition, KCI said it now expects sales for fiscal 2006 to grow by more than 35 percent compared with 2005 sales. The firm had previously expected sales to grow by more than 25 percent. KCI’s 2005 sales were about US$1.2 billion.
Mutual of Omaha Receives Supply Chain Solutions
HighJump Software has announced that Mutual of Omaha is leveraging HighJump Warehouse Advantage as a major component of its on-demand printing initiative. While HighJump Software is a global provider of adaptable supply chain execution solutions, Mutual of Omaha is a provider of insurance and financial products. Mutual of Omaha has been dependant on HighJump Software data collection system since 2001. According to Omaha sources, the company has achieved greater than 99 percent order fulfillment accuracy and has attained its goal of building a lean distribution center. The Auto Channel has an article on the Same Topic.
The HighJump WMS automatically identifies cross-docking opportunities to maximize order-fulfillment speed. Additionally, management visibility capabilities further facilitate this effort through real-time reporting and updates regarding inventory status and order shipments.
Downer & Company Completes Material Handling Transaction
Downer & Company, LLC has announced the sale of Interlake Material Handling, Inc to United Fixtures Company. Downer & Company is an international investment and banking firm that specializes in middle-market cross-border acquisitions. The total value of the transaction was estimated at $44.1 million. This is the fifth recent deal clinched by Downer & Company in the material handling and logistics industry.
Interlake Material Handling, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of industrial racking for distribution and warehouse applications in North America. The alliance of Interlake and United Fixtures Company is all set to dominate the North American racking industry. The InterlockTM racking system brought by Interlake uses bolts instead of welded connection points. This system is widely accepted in Europe and in other parts of the world.
More Information: Read Here
Educating buyers as to the merits of the bolted racking system was a critical element in the successful completion of this transaction and Downer & Company’s knowledge of the material handling industry in both the U.S. and in Europe was important to this endeavor.
MHIA Takes Over MH1
The Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) has been given the task of administrating MH1, the committee that develops U.S. standards for pallets, slip sheets, and other bases for unit-loads, by the American National Standards Institute. It takes over from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). MHIA will function as the Secretariat of the ANSI accredited MH1 committee and also of the US Technical Advisory Group (USTAG), which develops U.S. positions for the international Technical Committee 51 (ISO/TC51) on "Pallets for Unit Load Method of Materials Handling." MHIA reports:
The MH1 committee recently published a revision of its MH1 standard titled, "Pallets, Slip Sheets and Other Bases for Unit Loads." The standard was approved on November 30, 2005 and is a revision of the 1997 version. It is generally revised on a three to five year cycle.
A Cut Above The Rest
Revenue from the sale of materials-handling equipment decreased by almost 4 percent, or, in terms of dollars, $500 million, during 2005, when compared to the previous year. Among the top twenty companies, only eight reported an increase in sales, one said revenues were identical to the previous year’s, while the rest reported losses. TMC Net lists the companies that made it to the top twenty for 2005:
- Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems, based in Germany
- Daifuku Co., Ltd., based in Japan
- Schaefer Holding International GmbH, based in Germany
- FKI PLC, based in England
- Kardex AG, based in Switzerland
- Columbus McKinnon Corp., based in the United States of America
- Mecalux S.A., based in Spain
- Murata Machinery Ltd., based in Japan
- Vanderlande Industries, B.V., based in The Netherlands
- Swisslog Holding, Ab, based in Switzerland
- Eisenmann, based in Germany
- Witron, GmbH, based in Germany
- HK Systems Inc., based in the United States of America
- Jervis B. Webb Co., based in the United States of America
- Knapp Logistik Automation GmbH, based in Austria
- The Brambles Group, based in Australia
- Flexlink, AB, based in Sweden
- Beumer Mashinenfabrik GmbH, based in Germany
- Sandvik, based in Sweden
- Tomkins Industries, based in the United States of America