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Half a Century of Manufacturing Heavy-Duty Pallet Handling Conveyor Systems Alba Manufacturing is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Alba incorporated in February 1973. Initially a small machine shop under 6,700 square feet, Norman Inderhees purchased the Alba facility and its assets located in Oxford, Ohio to become a regional manufacturer of custom conveyors and equipment. In 1978, Tom Inderhees (Norman Inderhees’ ...

CEO Update One important lesson learned from the pandemic was the need to address the fragility of global supply chains. To mitigate the risk of future disruption, it’s become clear that firms need to automate and invest in technology to keep up. According to the newly released 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report: The Responsible Supply Chain, 86% of the manufacturing ...

Executive Viewpoint BY BRYAN JENSEN, CHAIRPERSON AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ST. ONGE COMPANY AND MHI PRESIDENT As an independent engineering logistics consulting firm, MHI member St. Onge is different from many companies in the material handling industry. We don’t produce specific products like conveyors, lift trucks, pallet racking or software. Instead, our people—their capabilities and skills—are our product. Our people ...

Distribution Logistics Fundamentals is the first in a series of six stackable e-learning courses that culminate in a new Distribution Logistics Leader Micro-Credential and Certification. BY MICHAEL MIKITKA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MHI’S KNOWLEDGE VALUE CENTER AND WERC Offering educational resources that deliver the critical knowledge warehouse, distribution and fulfillment professionals need to excel in their careers is at the heart ...

Solutions Community BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP ISTOCK.COM/JAY YUNO As the rate of change in the logistics industry continues to grow exponentially, companies across the supply chain are increasingly partnering to find solutions that allow every aspect of the market to perform more effectively and efficiently. Industrywide collaboration is necessary, but ensuring a successful partnership ...

BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESIDENT OF PRESTIGE ECONOMICS AND CHAIRMAN OF THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE® Everything hinges on inflation The Fed has a dual mandate to keep the economy at full employment and prices low and stable. While jobs were strong in 2022, inflation has been worryingly high. At the end of 2022, unemployment returned to an impressive pre-COVID low of 3.5%, while ...

Safer Handling BY TOM GRESHAM Photo provided by Rack Builders Videos of rack failures in warehouses and distribution centers are a staple of some corners of social media. Both horrifying and mesmerizing, the worst of the rack-related accidents are chain reactions of collapse that are dangerous to workers and lead to massive financial losses of lost product. “Failures don’t happen very ...

Solutions Spotlight BY KATIE KUEHNER-HEBERT Photo provided by OneCharge Inc. MHI has a brand-new industry group: the Advanced Energy Council, or AEC. The group is focused on advanced energy solutions, including lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and other technologies and accessories, which now includes lead-acid battery manufacturers that recently added lithium batteries to their offerings. The idea to form the group ...

Product Spotlight BY CATHY LANDRY Photo provided by SICK, Inc. As e-commerce continues its explosive growth, warehouse operators must evolve and innovate. Capturing a parcel’s dimensional weight in motion during the Scan, Label and Auto Manifest (SLAM) process allows users to reap huge benefits including quality control, cost savings, increased efficiency and greater productivity, experts say. “An investment in warehouse pack-and-ship ...

Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient BRI MALCZEWSKI, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC When Bri Malczewski graduated from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, she knew what type of company she wanted to join, even though she did not know what role she wanted in the company. “My engineering and management degree was a business degree that also allowed me to graduate as ...