 ProMat 2013 drew significant crowds.
PHOTO: MHI |
ProMat 2013 drew crowds during its 21-24 January run in Chicago and afforded plenty of opportunities for exchanges with exhibitors, attendance at educational sessions and listening to high-profile presentations.
Big Lift LLC of Lombard, Illinois displayed the Big Joe Jl "Joey" task support vehicle combining the attributes of an elevating work platform, order picker and tugger. The Joey was developed as an alternative to rolling ladders or other larger equipment.
The Joey features a large front load tray and a stowable rear tray. It can turn tightly via a 180 degree articulating central front-drive wheel. Speed is automatically reduced when elevated.
Seegrid Corp of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania showed an advanced robotic industrial truck, the GWS35 walkie stacker. Seegrid says that customers have been demanding a driverless walkie stacker.
The 3,500 lb. (1,575 kg) unit is built on an off-the-shelf Class III walkie stacker chassis and equipped with Seegrid's vision-guided autonomous navigation system. Unlike Seegrid's GP8 single- and double-pallet truck, the GWS35 is a forked robot and takes palletised or racked loads from elevated positions for stacking and racking.
Equipment maker Raymond Corp of Greene, New York displayed automated forklifts including some incorporating technology from Seegrid.
Hyster Co of Greenville, North Carolina displayed its H80FT forklift, which has a diesel engine compliant with the final Tier 4 emissions standard of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The 74 HP engine has an exhaust gas recirculation system and a diesel particulate filter to achieve near-zero emissions. The recirculation technology eliminates need for urea or diesel exhaust fluid-related equipment or costs.
In addition, Hyster rolled out a new environmental package that extends the range and capabilities of Hyster electric forklifts into applications that in the past have only been serviced by internal combustion-powered trucks.
Yale Materials Handling Corp of Greenville showed its new MO25 centre rider forklift and outlined features on its MPE080VG end rider with enhanced rollers and entry bar, ESC040AC three-wheel stand forklift and three-wheel ERP-VT sitdown truck.
The MO25 eases second-level order picking through fully adjustable electronic power steering, automatic speed reduction in cornering and a suspended platform with an operator-sensing floor mat. The electric steering reduces steer effort by 90%.
Yale's ESC and ERP-VT trucks have an integral side-shifting fork positioner that allows adjustment of load and fork positioning without the operator leaving the compartment.
Linde Material Handling North America of Summerville, South Carolina showed its 4,500 lb. (2,025 kg) capacity T20 walkie-pallet truck, its 6,000-8,000 lb. (2,700-3,600 kg) capacity EW-EWR heavy-duty walkie and walkie-rider pallet truck and its 4,500-7,000 lb. (2,025-3,150 kg) capacity 387 series counterbalance truck. Each is electric powered.
In addition, Linde displayed an LPG-powered 13,000-17,500 lb. (5,850-7,875 kg) capacity 396T-02 series counterbalance pneumatic/SE tyre truck.
Komatsu Forklift USA of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, an affiliate of Komatsu Ltd, showed its electronically controllable hydro-static drive 9,000-11,000 lb. (4,050-4,950 kg) capacity diesel-powered pneumatic-tyre forklift. The FH Series uses a variable displacement pump with an advanced closed-centre load-sensing hydraulic system and a GPRS/GPS information delivery and tracking system. The Komatsu-manufactured turbo-charged diesel engine SAA4D95LE-5 is US interim Tier 4 and European Union Stage 3A emissions-certified.
Komatsu designed the FH Series with field-proven drive and control components that the company has used for many years in its construction equipment.
Dematic Group Sàrl's Grand Rapids, Michigan-based North American materials handling solution unit showed a set of warehouse solutions for high-density pallet storage. Each solution is engineered to support production and distribution operations.
Intelligrated Inc of Mason, Ohio established an aftermarket account management group that will operate within the Intelligrated customer service and support organisation.
Voice solutions provider Voxware Inc of Hamilton Township, New Jersey and supply chain execution software provider LogFire LLC of Atlanta, Georgia say they formed a strategic partnership aimed at streamlining organisations' operational efficiencies with an integrated voice solution.
Companies seeking to deploy the Voxware-LogFire solution into a distribution centre or in-store operation can leverage this new offering in a cost-effective manner. The integrated cloud-based solution is useful for manufacturers, wholesalers, logistics services providers and retailers.
Other ProMat 2013 equipment exhibitors included Clark Material Handling Co of Lexington, Kentucky; Heli Americas of Denver, Colorado; and Mariotti USA of Des Moines, Iowa.
MHI of Charlotte, North Carolina, previously known as Material Handling Industry of America, organised ProMat 2013.