System Logistics opens
facility for U.S. production of
Modula equipment
Italian material handling equipment company System
Logistics Corp. has unveiled an upgraded manufacturing
facility in Lewiston, Maine, launching a renewed effort
to compete in the warehouse automation market with
rivals like Schaefer Systems International Inc. and Kardex
Remstar.
System Logistics said it made the $6 million investment
to upgrade its 102,000-square-foot facility so its Modula
division could build automated picking and storage solutions such as vertical carousels, horizontal carousels, and
its leading product, the vertical lift module (VLM).
The factory adds a
U.S. production center
for Modula’s 50-foot-
tall VLM, which had
previously been built
exclusively in Italy.
The new domestic
production capability
will give the company
an advantage in meeting fast-growing U.S. demand for
automated warehouse equipment, said Luigi Panzetti,
CEO of System Group, parent of System Logistics.
Panzetti noted that warehouses in North America are
less likely to have installed automated picking equipment
than their space-constrained counterparts in Europe.
“The U.S. is an important part of our expansion strat-
egy, so we have made this big investment,” Panzetti said
in an interview. “In the medium term, we think North
America can saturate our manufacturing capability. We
will see if we can also make vertical lift modules for South
America, depending on costs.”
It will take about a week to manufacture each $100,000
vertical lift and equip it with goods-to-person, pick-to-
light material handling systems and touchscreen com-
puter screens to link each system to the DC’s enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software, the company said.
The facility will employ about 60.
With plans to invest an additional $4 million by 2016
and to hire more staff as sales grow, the new facility won
praise from local business and political figures.
“We’re here to celebrate the reinvention of manufacturing in the Lewiston area,” Maine Sen. Angus King
(Independent) said in a press conference at the building.
“Manufacturing is the engine of economic growth, but
you can’t build an economy taking in each other’s laundry. Somebody, somewhere, has to build something!”
—Ben Ames
alliances
Mohawk Global Logistics is using Descartes’
OneView Forwarder Enterprise and Customs
House Brokerage solution to support market
expansion. In addition, Argix Logistics, a
company that serves high-profile retailers,
is deploying real-time mobile and dispatch
capabilities with Descartes’ Route Planner
On-demand software. … CE-DFW Warehouse
Solutions and OnSite Services have joined lift
truck company Kion North America Corp.’s
dealer network. … Warranty, claims, and
customer care provider Castelan Group is
using Paragon Software solutions to centralize route and schedule planning for its
U.K. home service operation and to manage the allocation of its mobile technician
team. … Koch Industries Inc. has adopted
the GT Nexus platform to enable end-to-end visibility of its transportation portfolio and centralize global management of
its ocean freight. … Datalogic’s Jade X7
automated checkout portal is being used
exclusively at the Cosmopolitan Marketplace,
a new-format grocery store that recently
opened in Chicago. … ThaiBev, one of Asia’s
largest beverage companies and producer
of the Chang beer brand, has completed
a multisite implementation of Manhattan
Associates Inc.’s warehouse management
solution (WMS). … Juhayna Food Industries,
an Egypt-based manufacturer of dairy-based
products, has optimized its warehouse facilities with Link Misr, an industrial company
that specializes in shelving and racking systems. The new installations also include an
Interroll first-in, first-out (FIFO) flow storage solution. … Maurice Sporting Goods
has selected the IBS Dynaman Warehouse
Management System to oversee its distribution center operations, including receiving, putaway, real-time inventory management, and the pick-pack-ship functions. …
Printronix was named the first global distributor of AccuSpeechMobile’s voice productivity and automation solutions. … U.S. Gain,
the compressed natural gas (CNG) division of
U.S. Venture Inc., has opened a new CNG station built in partnership with “O” Ring CNG
Fuel Systems LP in DuBois, Pa. … E-commerce
retailer CoolGlow has selected the Snapfulfil
software-as-a-service warehouse management system for its Dallas fulfillment center.
