The Mheda Journal

As I’ve mentioned previously in this space, one of the features in the October 2010 issue of The MHEDA Journal is going to commemorate MHEDA members who are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year.  One such company is Cross Bros. Co. in Rochester, NY. Yesterday I had a chance to speak to its President/CEO, Tom Pavone. I did some research about the company beforehand, but I still found out a lot about the company I didn’t know. For instance, the company’s name comes from founders William and Oliver Cross (as you may have guessed, they were brothers) in 1845. What I didn’t know: The company is still under Cross family ownership! It’s now in its 6th generation.

It’s rare to find many companies that make it even to a 3rd generation. In fact, an oft-cited statistic says that only one-third of family companies are passed down at all, and only 13% are passed down to the third generation. So to make it to 6, that’s pretty impressive. Another interesting fact: Pavone is not part of the family. He’s only the third Cross Bros. president in 165 years to not be part of the family. Apparently when they were looking for a new president in 2008, the family owners decided to look outside the family in order to inject some new perspective into the company. It’s an interesting position to be put in, though Pavone is making the most of it. He says the company has rebounded in 2010 after a subpar 2009 (who didn’t have a subpar 2009?) and is expecting big things in 2010.

As you can imagine, a lot of interesting things can happen in 165 years in business. Even though it didn’t start out in material handling (it started out in leather products), customer demand and company innovation have led it to become a full-service systems integrator. It’s really a fascinating business, and I urge you to read the Member Profile in the next issue of The MHEDA Journal when it comes out in October.

Yet another low-budget (and I’m guessing low-quality) reality television show has turned to the material handling industry for help. On the heels of last January’s “Conveyor Belt of Love,” an ABC show that featured single ladies trying to pick a date from the men moving by on a conveyor belt, comes the newest dreadful combination of material handling and reality TV.

The new show, “Downfall,” premeired on June 22. It’s a trivia show and the contestants must answer the questions correctly and quickly enough to keep their possessions, which are scrolling by on a conveyor belt, from being dropped on to the ground below. Here’s a preview.

One reviewer said that ABC must have seen that old Conveyor Belt of Love lying around and decided they may as well use it. I did not watch the show, but I did read several reviews. It doesn’t sound like I missed much. The good news for material handlers who want to see the big belt in action: Downfall has several more episodes scheduled to air, whereas Conveyor Belt of Love only made one appearance. Check your local listings.

I ran across this little nugget today while researching our wikiMHEDA headlines. With all the talk still circulating the industry about green technology, I found it interesting.

A company in Buffalo, NY, specializes in eco-friendly products, like turning scrap tires and computer parts into item like wheel stops and sign posts. They have turned their attention to recycling old industrial conveyor belts made of rubber. According to the blog post in Buffalo Business First, “We don’t want to have any waste or have effect on the environment so were taking scrap and making it into different products. We’re going to take old conveyor belts from quarries and mines and cut them out and we have a customer in Texas who makes them into dock bumpers.” The quote is from Deborah Robbins, VP of Rubberform Recycled Products. They expect the process to start as early as next week.

As you’re all aware by now, the theme for MHEDA in 2010 is The Rules Have Changed. This is another example of small business ingenuity at work. If you or your customers have any old conveyor belts lying around, maybe it can return to another customer’s factory as a dock bumper. Full-circle material handling!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

I was on vacation for a few days last week and spent some time cruising around Southern California. I had been there before but always had a destination and a reason in mind, and never really took any time to explore beyond my immediate destination.

This time, though, I had some free time to relax and soak it all in. Looking back on it, it’s amazing how much material handling I saw, really in every way. Traveling around Long Beach, i saw the port filled with huge barges loaded with hundreds of shipping containers. I saw cranes and hoists being used to unload those ships.

I saw forklifts in action, at every size business, from a tattoo parlor in Venice Beach using a truck to unload what looked to be large ink canisters, to the Hollywood Walk of Fame using one to haul some new granite for a new sidewalk star (I think it was Russell Crowe’s), to a shipyard in San Diego.

I saw industrial storage rack in the place where we picked up our rental car, and I saw conveyors both at the airport and at a cruise ship boarding station we rode our bikes past.

Most people don’t know it, but material handling is everywhere! Making that awareness more prevalent is the purpose of MHEDA’s Industry Advocacy committee, and the good news is, they have a lot of material to work with. Even on vacation, I can’t escape it!

The First Quarter issue of The MHEDA Journal is now available online at www.TheMhedaJournal.org. It is being mailed out to subscribers today. As I’ve been telling you for a while, this issue is our annual industry forecast issue, featuring commentary from distributors, suppliers and other industry associations about their expectations for 2010. This special “10 issue” for 2010 features a series of Top 10 Lists to bring in the new year.

Check it out today!

photo from blog.cc-efi.com

In speaking with MHEDA Member Jeff Stohr of Conveyer & Caster – Equipment for Industry (Cleveland, OH) today, he relayed the story of something his company recently did to give back locally. It’s always nice to hear such uplifting stories.

Last night, CC-EFI employees presented specially made and embroidered gym bags to a local high school basketball team whose coach had unexpectedly passed away at the beginning of the season. The details can be found in more complete and first-hand accounts at the company’s blog at blog.cc-efi.com.

Congrats to Jeff and his team for raising $1,500 to get this done! In times of economic strife, to step up so generously says a lot about the character of this company. And I hear stories like this from MHEDA Members on a regular basis. It’s a tribute to the industry and the association in particular. Kudos!

To those of us who spent last night watching TCU play Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, we made the wrong decision. Airing at the same time on ABC was a new reality show, Conveyor Belt of Love. Think of it as speed dating meets material handling.

A series of single men rode a conveyor belt to the middle of a stage, where their dating worthiness was judged by five single ladies. The women could ask questions of the men and elect to go on a date or let them pass on the conveyor and out of the way forever.

Had I known about this sooner, there is no doubt that I would have penciled this in as must-see tv and definitely would have alerted you to it in this space. As it is, we’ll each have to settle for this clip.

I’m not much for “reality” shows, particularly reality dating shows, and my official review of this one is that it’s about as good as you’d expect. But, hey, whatever gets material handling out into the mainstream, right?

For now, this was a one-time special show made to conicide with the premiere of the new season of The Bachelor. That’s probably enough.

A colleague of mine forwarded me this interesting story yesterday. Apparently, AmbaFlex, a manufacturer of conveyors and conveyor components, won a lawsuit in a Shanghai court to stop a Chinese company from producing copycat conveyor equipment. The lawsuit has been pending for more than a year, and the judgment was handed down on December 2. According to the AmbaFlex Web site:

By Judgment of 2 December 2009, the Shanghai Civil People’s Court of China ordered local Cabax to stop manufacturing the infringing Spiral Conveyor and to pay damage compensation.

The perception that one cannot put a hold on copies of Western equipment by local Chinese manufacturers has been proven to be untrue. Over the last years and supported by the WTO membership of China, the Chinese law became more open for foreign companies to successfully file their complaints relating to patent infringements.

Congrats to AmbaFlex on protecting its patent. This is a practical example of what’s been said in the industry for a long time: competition is everywhere, and they’ll try everything to survive! Especially in this down economy. It will be interesting to see how this plays out going foward.

The latest issue of The MHEDA Connection, MHEDA’s semi-monthly newsletter, is due out in e-mail inboxes tomorrow, December 15. Topping this issue’s in-depth breaking news is an item out of Jonesboro, AR, and Hytrol Conveyor Company. Industry stalwart Bill Hawthorne, Hytrol’s VP of sales, is retiring at the end of the year. He will stay on as a consultant through 2010.

I want to give Bill special mention in this space because he was one of the first people I ever met in the material handling industry. Shortly after I joined the MHEDA team in 2003, I attended NA2004 in Cleveland. It was there that I met Bill and other Hytrol employees. We had a long discussion about the industry, and he always remembered me after that. I’m sure he meets a lot of people every day, so for a virtual rookie in the industry to receive that kind of attention was definitely appreciated. Thanks, Bill, for being a great resource over the years. Best of luck in your retirement. 

See my colleague’s blog or read the December 15 issue of The MHEDA Connection for more details. (If you’re not receiving it and would like to, let me know and we’ll add you to the list.)

As I prepare our Annual Industry Forecast article (which will be released in print and online on January 15), I’ve been talking to a host of material handling equipment distributors. Even though they aren’t predicting a robust recovery, they have outlined a few places where they see opportunity.

Scott Lee, president of engineered systems integrator Conveyor Solutions (Schaumburg, IL) and a director on the MHEDA Board, outlined some when I spoke to him a few days ago. In talking about some recent quoting and a general pick-up in activity, he said:

“It’s weird out there because it’s not these big, new projects where people are expanding. It is actually a lot of consolidation work that companies are doing to stay afloat and reduce resources. They’re reducing the number of facilities, so it creates opportunities for us to help them. Plus, I also think it’s a lot of end-of-the-year money too. People who may not have done as bad as they planned to are saying, ‘Let’s consolidate these two buildings and get this done for next year.’”

Scott didn’t make a solid prediction for next year, but was glad to report an uptick in business lately. As I hash through more information and distributor comments, I’ll keep posting updates of what I learn.

Any of you out there with any predictions for next year, feel free to leave a comment and let me know!