HIGH SPEED DYNAMIC
WEIGHING SOLUTIONS
For easy integration into Sorter
and Conveyor Lines
T + 1.678.344.8300 | info.usa@ocs-cw.com
www.ocs-cw.com
EC-M-Smalls - All things
start small
The powerful NEW entry-level
solution for flats parcels and bags
EC-M-Evo - EMFR technology
for every weighing budget
Suitable for system integration with
remote speed control
newsmakers
Peter Spellman has joined Inttra as a senior vice president and chief technology
officer. … Aeronet Worldwide’s longtime associate David Gibson was named
president-elect of the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association. A member of the asso-
ciation for 25 years, Gibson has served on the board of directors for the past
six years. … Transervice Logistics Inc., a provider of customized transportation
solutions, has appointed Kaitlin Simensky manager of sales admin-
istration and media relations. … Orbis Corp., an international man-
ufacturer of reusable packaging, has hired David Heer as senior
commercial director for Orbis Europe. … Retrotech has hired Peter
Parshall as its newest engineering manager. … FourKites Inc. has
announced that Craig Fiander has joined the company
as senior vice president of business development. … Dachser has
promoted its head of contract logistics, Alexander Tonn, to manag-
ing director of the company’s European Logistics Germany business
unit. … Andrea Darweesh has joined Americold as an executive vice
president and chief human resources officer. … CRST International
Inc. has named Hugh Ekberg group president/chief operating officer. … Alliance
Shippers Inc. has hired Jorge Pimentel as assistant vice president of sales.
PARSHALL
TONN
The automated guided vehicle (AGV) market is expected to nearly double its size
by 2024, reaching $1.5 billion in sales as material handling operations worldwide
increasingly turn to automation to boost efficiency and cut labor costs, an industry
study says.
Estimates from San Francisco-based market research firm Grand View Research
Inc., which issued the report, put the global AGV market’s size at $810.4 million as
of the end of 2015.
The growth will be the result of public and private warehouse operators boosting
their spending on robotics and manufacturing technology to meet growing demand
while keeping a cap on rising labor costs, the report said. Users who replace their
conventional conveyor systems with AGVs also cite advantages such as reduced operational costs, decreased production times, and enhanced work-force safety, according
to the report.
Despite the benefits, high initial installation costs have proved to be a roadblock,
especially for small to mid-sized buyers. The key to clearing that hurdle is to deploy
wireless navigation technologies that eliminate the need for expensive retrofitting, the
study concluded.
Many current AGV systems require special reflectors or markers to guide the vehicles along their routes. However, advanced laser- and vision-based technology now
allows vehicles to navigate crowded warehouses without relying on that infrastructure. (See “AGVs pioneer new paths in the warehouse,” p. 53.) The so-called “natural
navigation” sector represented just $18.4 million of revenue in 2015. However, it is
expected that more businesses will embrace the equipment because it does away with
the need for costly infrastructure additions and upgrades.
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to show the fastest growth, with sales expanding
at a near 8-percent–compound annual clip through 2024, according to an analysis of
the report’s data projections.
Study: Global AGV market to nearly double
by 2024
