The Mheda Journal

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!

Here it is, courtesy of Joe O’Connor at Wynright Corporation, video of the NFL on Fox promos featuring really great footage of material handling equipment in use. The conveyor is what caught my eye initially, but this time through I also noticed the lift truck and dock equipment. Nice job by Fox to get some awareness of the material handing industry out there every Sunday.   (Note: this is from a few weeks ago, but I believe the same type of promo is running each week.)

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O’Connor says, “The conveyor clips Fox has been using to promote its Fox NFL Sunday program features conveyor manufactured by Automotion, Inc., A Wynright Company. Wynright was the designer and integrator of the system.” Thanks for the info, Joe!

Click here for more information on this topic.

Finally, that moment we’ve all been waiting for…the new issue of The MHEDA Journal is now available online. As is typical with our Fall issues, the Fourth Quarter 2009 issue is all about Distributor-Manufacturer Relationships.

Even in a down market, MHEDA Members were still able to collaborate for successful sales. We were able to contact 18 distributors about some of their best sales of the year. If you didn’t get a chance to participate, that’s OK. We also run Sales Success Stories throughout the year in The MHEDA Connection newsletter, so feel free to give us a call to try to get a story in.

Another major highlight of this issue is a series called “Hitting The Mark,” where 12 individual manufacturers and distributors describe the steps to take to get your M-D relationships one rung closer to perfection.

There’s a lot more in this issue, so take a few minutes to hop over to www.themhedajournal.org and take a look. Let me know what you think!

Al from Lakeshore Learning in Carson, CA, writes to inform me that the FOX Sunday NFL promo commercial featuring conveyor was filmed at their distribution center facility in Carson. It is Automotion conveyor. We’re still trying to track down some video.

Thanks for the info, Al, and thanks for reading!

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, read my September 14 and October 5 blog posts.

Over the weekend, I received an update on the conveyors used in Fox’s NFL promos that I talked about a few weeks ago (Sept. 14). I asked if anyone knew how to obtain video with the conveyor footage used in the commercial. Joe O’Connor, director of marketing at MHEDA Member Wynright Corporation (which includes the Automotion conveyor line), writes: “Like you, I noticed the conveyor commercials a few weeks ago. I was pretty excited because I thought I recognized the conveyor to be ours.  After seeing it a few more times I am convinced it is Automotion conveyor.  I believe it was shot at a facility we installed in California.  I’m in the process of obtaining a copy of the film.”  Thanks, Joe. I look forward to seeing what you come up with! If anyone else knows anything about this, feel free to contact me or leave a comment!

On Thursday, October 1, MHEDA published a new issue of MHEDA Edge, the association’s online magazine for young professionals. Although the issue, as always, is targeted at the young up-and-comers in the industry, I think this one is full of information that everybody can use.

Titled “The Economy: Stepping Back From The Edge,” the October issue is all about finances. It includes interviews with CFOs, tips for managing a parts department, and a recap of MHEDA’s Rental & Used Equipment conference. All important things, but I think the most useful article is from material handling consultant Matt Senecal, who explains myriad startegies for making money in sales, service, parts and rentals. 

I encourage you take a look at it and pass it along to your employees and co-workers. There’s a lot of important information in this issue. Kudos to Edge Editor Dan Vest for tackling an important issue in today’s marketplace!

There was an interesting article in Sunday’s New York Times about Amazon.com and how it is moving beyond books and DVDs to become “an online general store.” The business aspect of it is interesting enough, but what really held my attention was the description of the company’s Phoenix, AZ, distribution center about midway through the article.

“Amazon says it stores dissimilar products next to each other on purpose, to minimize the possibility that employees select the wrong item. That seems unlikely: every product, shelving unit, forklift, roller cart and employee badge in these shipping centers has a bar code. Each physical move is orchestrated by software that calculates the most efficient path from shelf to the shipping area, telling employees on their wireless bar code readers which aisle and palette to go to next.”

The article goes on to talk about the quick inventory turns that Amazon, thanks to its huge volume, can undergo, saying the company “generally sells products within 65 days, before it has to pay suppliers for them.”

Although not really focused on material handling, the article is definitely worth a read.

Any football fans out there? This past weekend marked the opening of the NFL season. I had the chance to watch bits and pieces of a few games and I couldn’t help but notice the new 2009 season promo on Fox. When promoting next week’s game, each team’s logo was on a conveyor belt, going around spiral conveyors and being moved across the screen toward each other on a belt. (I tried to find a video online but couldn’t. Anyone know where I can find one?) It was pretty cool. It’s amazing what captures your attention after a few years in this industry, no? (Then again, after yet another season-opening loss by my Browns, I look for anything worth watching, haha.) So a few days after learning about Material Handling on the Big Screen, now it seems it will make a weekly appearance on the small screen. Yeah!

Getting ready for work this morning, I saw a TV commercial for the new movie Extract. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I was intrigued by the preview. It showed scenes of workers in a factory, with pallet trucks and conveyors in motion behind the characters. Finally, a movie about material handling, I thought. Something I can add to our list of material handling in pop culture!

Well, not quite. I found out that the movie was written and directed by Mike Judge, who also made the cult movie classic Office Space, along with the television series King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-Head. As it turns out, the movie follows Jason Bateman, playing the owner of a factory that makes vanilla extract, through his daily travails. Ben Affleck co-stars along with Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig and Mila Kunis from That 70s Show. 

I don’t know much else about the plot other than what’s in this review from The New York Times  and that the movie opens today, September 4, nationwide.

You can see the trailer here but keep in mind that, being a Mike Judge movie after all, the movie has an R rating. WARNING: the trailer contains sexual innuendo and references recreational drug use—so you may want to avoid checking it out at the work computer.

I’m sure Extract is not going to generate any Oscar buzz or much critical acclaim, but it may be worth a view at some point. After all, there is some good forklift, pallet, packaging and conveyor footage in there.