MODEX 2012 represents the first iteration in a format change instituted by the conference and expo’s sponsor, The Material Handling Institute of America (MHIA), making it the industry’s newest expo for the manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain industries.
MODEX 2012 was held February 6-9, 2012 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, and featured 560 exhibitors for industry, commerce, and government, displaying their productivity solutions on 175,000 square feet of show floor. Technology categories included material handling and logistics equipment and systems; packaging, containers, and shipping equipment; inventory management, IT, and controlling technologies; dock and warehouse equipment and supplies; consultants and distribution system planners; automatic identification equipment and systems; and logistics and supply chain management.
An extensive educational conference ran concurrently with the expo, with a focus on improving productivity in material handling, supply chain, and logistics.
MODEX News & Highlights:
Camoplast Solideal announced the launch of the “Drive for the Cure” campaign to support the fight against gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancer. Camoplast Solideal designed a limited edition of its high performance Poly tire to support the cause. This special product has the novelty of highlighting the emblematic purple color of the fight against gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancer cause. The tire will be available in top sizes of premium 90 durometer compound, designed for long runs and multi-shift operations, suitable for most class 2 operations, and used by top OEM.
Supply chain management software company, TECSYS Inc., announced five new innovations focused on order accuracy, self service, and mobility for workers on-the-go. Says TECSYS president and CEO, Peter Brereton: “We have taken a solid step forward with our product strategy to extend our WMS well beyond where the industry is today. (These products) reflect our increased focus on the distributor’s ability to service their customers and deliver the ‘perfect order.’”
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., announced its new Thermo Scientific Versa Warehouse in-line scale control for demanding distribution warehouse environments. The Versa Warehouse control can weigh each package more than 100 times as it travels across the scale. This ensures that companies get extremely accurate weight data without compromising line speeds of more than 500 feet per minute.
Kiva Systems announced it has implemented and met the standards for ISO 9001 certification. The scope of this certification includes solution design, testing, manufacturing, consulting, services delivery, and technology support of software, firmware, and hardware. “Achieving ISO 9001 is a demonstration of Kiva’s commitment to quality in the design, manufacture, and distribution of our mobile-robotic solution,” sais Benge Ambrogi, VP of Product and Program Management at Kiva.
Goff’s Enterprises, Inc. introduced Sound Curtains, the all new, custom made noise control curtains and screens designed to dramatically reduce harmful industrial strength noises. The unique ability to fan fold and collapse out of the way compared to other “stationary” noise control products, allows the user the flexibility to enclose an area during loud noise processes and open the space back up after the task is complete.
4Front Engineered Solutions showcased its 4SIGHT ™ Yard and Dock Management System, which allows facilities to monitor, schedule, and communicate trailer movements, load assignments, and loading dock statuses in a simple, easy-to-use interface. 4SIGHT combines RFID, GPS, and a variety of sensor technologies to provide real-time yard and dock loading visibility, full automation, and optimization from the time a vehicle approaches the inbound gate to the time it exits the outbound gate.
Rite-Hite’s SplitSecond bi-parting door has a split-center design, allowing it to operate at speeds up to 120 inches per second. Its fast speed makes for less open door time, minimizing unwanted air infiltration and energy loss. The SplitSecond bi-parting door also has multiple safety features, including three sets of reversing thru-beam photo eyes ensuring fast opening if door is obstructed. It is useful in freezer, cooler, or pharmaceutical applications.
Fortna announced the DCmodeler Version 3.0. This sophisticated tool quickly analyzes years of item, order, receipt, shipment, and inventory data to provide a foundation for projecting future business requirements and growth. A proprietary tool, DCmodeler can do in hours what takes weeks using custom spreadsheet, database, or statistical software.
Sealed Air commercializes the first complete paper packaging system in the industry that offers selectable void-fill or cushioning material at the flip of a switch. The PackTiger® Hybrid™ system allows operators to use a single system to create either void-fill or cushioning materials with variable pad length and density. The PackTiger® Hybrid™ system produces pad-like paper material from pre-cut sheets of 17-inch by 20-inch wide, 100 percent recycled paper, which are easily stored in a front-loading tray. The materials are ideal for void-fill applications with small and medium voids.
Vocollect, a business unit of Intermec, Inc. and provider of voice-enabled solutions for mobile workers, announced that its VoiceCatalyst software now supports a variety of leading PCs to enable voice-directed support for multiple workflows in distribution operations. Extending its current portfolio of voice-directed workflows that can run on PCs, Vocollect also announced a new voice application for packing stations that may eliminate up to 50 percent of the steps typically required, allowing e-retail and other distribution centers and warehouses to meet high seasonal and peak order demands with their existing workforce. According to Intermec’s Senior Director of Marketing, Dan Albaum, the company’s recent acquisition of Vocollect has allowed it to expand its reach in several functional areas. “We really are unique in having the widest breadth of any solutions provider in the distribution center space, in terms of being able to touch every single workflow that occurs, from receiving, to inventory management, to shipping, stocking… the Intermec-Vocollect solutions are really the only provider under one single brand that can deliver across all of the various hardware in mobile computing, scanning, imaging, voice-specific applications, printers, RFID, along with a whole suite of software, and professional services,” he said.
Yale Materials Handling Corporation has launched a series of AC-powered order selectors with lifting capacities of 1,500 to 3,000 lbs. The series includes a heavy duty counterbalanced OS030BF, standard duty counterbalanced OS030EF, straddle selector SS030BF and furniture selector FS030BF
MHIA’s next major event of this kind will be ProMat 2013, January 21-24 in Chicago. The four day event will be, according to MHIA, the most comprehensive showcase of material handling and logistics equipment, systems, and technologies in the United States in 2013. For more information about either event, visit www.mhia.org.