2009, companies believe the worst is
over and growth is on the way, if
not immediately then by later this
year.”
Russ Devilbiss, chair of the con-
veyor & sortation systems product
section of the Material Handling
Industry of America (MHIA) and
sales and marketing manager for
Carter Control Systems, takes the
same view. He says section members
see glimmers of recovery. “I think
we’re hopeful things will be a lot
brighter,” Devilbiss says. Even so, he
expects the comeback to be a slow
one. MHIA’s forecasts indicate that
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equipment sales won’t see a significant
rebound until the third and fourth quarters of the year.
SI Systems, an automated systems spe-
cialist whose clients are concentrated
heavily in the pharmaceutical, health and
beauty aid, entertainment, and office
supply industries, is also seeing signs that
customers are getting ready to spend
again. Casey says, “We are starting to see
the number of inquiries increase. I’m
talking about what I would perceive,
based on 40-plus years of experience, as
some pretty solid ones. Customers are
starting to loosen the purse strings a bit.
We are not back to normal levels, but we
have hit the bottom and are starting to
get a little bit of bounce. It will be a slow
but steady recovery.”
Johnson of HK Systems is not quite so
sure those inquiries will quickly turn into
orders. “We have seen an uptick in quotes,
and that gives us some hope, but honest-
ly, the first half is going to be a difficult
time,” he says. “I sense a tentativeness with
some customers. We are quoting larger
systems, but I’ll feel better when the
orders come in.”
That’s not to say the picture at HK
Systems is entirely bleak. Although
demand for new installations is down,
Johnson reports that the company has
seen growth in a few areas, particularly
aftermarket sales, modifications to exist-
ing systems, and retrofits. “We anticipate
that will continue to be strong,” he says.
“That’s usually an indicator of an econo-
my in flux.”
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Pockets of optimism
Others in the industry sound a bit more
optimistic. Ken Ruehrdanz, market development manager for Dematic Corp. and
former chair of the MHIA conveyor &
sortation systems product section,
expects to see steady growth in demand
for integrated systems this year. “The
need for processing speed, increased levels of accuracy, higher customer service
levels, more value-added services, with
more ergonomics and sustainability built
in, will drive the market need for integrated material flow systems in 2010,” he
wrote in response to a query from DC
VELOCITY. “Warehouse operators contin-
