2010 POY Finalists: Material Handling Systems
Plant Engineering's 2010 Product of the Year finalists featured in the Material Handling Systems category.
Lift trucks
Cat Lift Trucks’ P8000-P12000/PD8000-PD12000 series of internal combustion pneumatic tire lift trucks feature an 8,000-12,000-lb carrying capacity for industry applications such as lumber, brick and block, and stevedoring. The trucks include a standard two-speed forward and one-speed reverse transmission and purePOWER engine which ensures performance, fully hydrostatic power steering that provides lower steering effort than conventional steering systems, an elevated air intake to draw in cleaner air and limit contaminants, and a ground speed control that allows limitation of travel speed without affecting performance. A variety of options to customize the lift trucks, including productivity packages, are also available.
Height indicator
The Accu-Height is a fork height indicator from Liftow Limited that alerts the forklift operator when the forks are at the correct height to enter the pallet. The Accu-Height consists of magnet markers which can be easily installed on almost any forklift in a matter of minutes. There are two indicators for each pallet position: The yellow indicator tells the operator when it is safe to enter a pallet that is on the rack while the white indicator tells when the pallet is raised high enough to clear the rack. Having level forks and the correct fork height ensure the forks enter the pallet every time.
Loading dock software
4SIGHT integrates loading dock equipment with intelligent software that monitors, communicates and manages loading lock status in an easy-to-use interface. Designed to alleviate the common logistics problems around loading docks, 4SIGHT uniquely uses real-time and physical data to assist facilities in loading dock visibility, live and staged trailer coordination and turn time management. By integrating loading dock equipment with its software, 4SIGHT is able to communicate real-time information between dock positions and control rooms. 4SIGHT also allows maintenance of loading dock equipment based on actual usage as opposed to a time-based maintenance schedule.
4Front Engineered Solutions, Inc.
Drum magnet
The Permanent Rare Earth Xtreme (P-REX) Drum Magnet from Eriez is a permanent magnetic circuit designed to be capable of moving large spherical objects from a large distance, while maintaining a constant strength profile. Constructed of solid magnetic material to its edges, P-REX captures ferrous material from edge-to-edge; as ferrous crosses from the pick-up to the carry over magnetic zones, it gets flipped, turned and agitated to shake any debris loose. P-REX requires no power to energize its magnetic field, has no coils to wear or short out, and the optional retractable jaw pulls the magnets away from its shell.
Case Study Database
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2012 Salary Survey
In a year when manufacturing continued to lead the economic rebound, it makes sense that plant manager bonuses rebounded. Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey shows both wages and bonuses rose in 2012 after a retreat the year before.
Average salary across all job titles for plant floor management rose 3.5% to $95,446, and bonus compensation jumped to $15,162, a 4.2% increase from the 2010 level and double the 2011 total, which showed a sharp drop in bonus.












