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WHILE SOME COMPANIES embrace innovation, others still rely on aging infrastructure, manual processes or fragmented data systems that are no longer slow‑burning liabilities but direct threats to resilience, competitiveness and, ultimately, continuity. Companies that fail to adopt AI, automation, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and other technologies face blind spots, slower response times, rising costs and increased exposure to ...

BY RICK FOX, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, FOX IV TECHNOLOGIES, AND MEMBER, MHI BOARD OF GOVERNORS   AT FIRST, I didn’t see the value of trade associations. Early in my career, a colleague invited me to join him at a trade association meeting. I was dubious, but he insisted that I would learn a great deal and quickly understand how a ...

  BY SANDY SMITH   AUTOMATION IS POWERFUL in theory, but when a material handler confronts irregular shapes or sizes, that theory can become difficult to execute. MHI member Freespace Robotics—winner of the ProMat 2025 StartUp Pitch Competition—aims to solve that problem with an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) designed to handle an unusually wide range of product dimensions. ...

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EVP OF INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI THERE IS NO doubt about it, the dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) age is no longer approaching. It has arrived—in full force. As a result, end users must understand how predictive analytics and digital twins are influencing fundamental, traditional reliability practices. After all, they’re jointly strengthening reliability practices throughout the entire ...

BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESIDENT OF PRESTIGE ECONOMICS® AND CHAIRMAN OF THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE®     THE U.S. ECONOMY is facing two conflicting dynamics with a rare coexistence of momentum and uncertainty. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been much better than many expected, and the U.S. labor market remains relatively tight. Meanwhile, U.S. inflationary pressures have eased meaningfully, although year-on‑year ...

A coordinated industry effort is raising safety, improving training and modernizing best practices for overhead lifting. BY TOM GRESHAM THROUGH HIGHLY EFFECTIVE collaboration, the Overhead Alliance combines the expertise of three long‑time MHI Industry Groups to provide invaluable insights and advocacy on the use of overhead equipment, including hoists, monorails and cranes. No topic is more important to the alliance’s ...

The group works to clarify mobile automation’s real capabilities while supporting safer, smarter adoption.   BY KATIE KUEHNER‑HEBERT   MEMBERS OF MHI’S Mobile Automation Group (MAG) are eager to share the latest innovations in automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)—and to dispel some common myths. “People are looking to move things very quickly, easily, 24/7—and automation is ...

The Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) is preparing for a shifting warehouse landscape by providing education, standards and support. BY SANDY SMITH WHILE RACKS HAVE not changed much over the years, the Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI), an industry group within MHI, is not about to stand still. RMI sees its work rooted in engineering rigor, safety and member value, and continues ...

Where Are They Now? Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient MATTHEW WELLS, DESIGN ENGINEER, HYTROL CONVEYOR CO. INC. BY KATIE KUEHNER‑HEBERT MATTHEW WELLS HAS always had a passion for material handling, starting from working on his family’s farm to designing parcel belt conveyors. “Only now, my material has changed from field crops to just about anything you can think of,” ...

THE PEOPLE WHO work at MHI and its Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) division are the gears that keep the association moving. They ensure MHI remains a valuable association and resource for people involved in the industry, doing so with wit, competence and smiles on their faces. The goal of this column is to give readers a glimpse into ...