ProMat 2001 Zooms in on the World

Jan. 1, 2001
This year's program offers a showcase of exhibits and information-packed educational conferences.

ProMat 2001 Zooms in on the World of Material Handling and Logistics

Program features spectacular showcase of exhibits and information-packed educational conference.

Some 45,000 material handling professionals from 80 countries will gather February 12-15 in Chicago when the spacious exhibit and meeting areas of McCormick Place North are transformed into Productivity City for ProMat 2001. In doing so, ProMat 2001 is expected to be the largest and most comprehensive international material handling and logistics event ever held in the United States.

ProMat 2001, an international show and forum, is sponsored by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA). It will be the only international material handling show and forum to be held in the United States in 2001. The four-day event consists of an all-encompassing presentation of equipment, systems and technologies that offer productivity solutions through material handling and logistics.

An extensive educational forum focusing on improving productivity in the areas of manufacturing, distribution and warehousing runs concurrently with the show. This format allows attendees to learn about various productivity solutions in the sessions and then actually see the equipment and systems that can implement those solutions on the show floor.

A showcase of exhibits

More than 600 exhibitors from industry, commerce and government will display their productivity solutions on the two-level, 290,000-square-foot show floor. Leading manufacturers from across the United States and around the world will have exhibits representing the following technologies:

• Material Handling Equipment and Systems: automated storage and retrieval systems, automatic guided vehicle systems, robots, personnel/burden carriers, racks, lift trucks, batteries, unit handling systems, warehouse management systems, ergonomic and safety equipment, carousels, modular drawer storage and shelving.

• Packing, Containers and Shipping Equipment: box and carton makers, packaging machines, wrapping, inspection of products by weight or scanning, pallets, wire baskets, plastic and metal containers and palletizing equipment.

• Inventory Management and Controlling Technologies: computers, controllers, software programs, systems integrators, warehouse management systems and wireless control systems.

• Dock and Warehouse Equipment and Supplies: dock levelers, dock pads, doors, lift trucks and attachments, racks, flooring, handling systems, conveyors, hoists, cranes, monorails and below/hook lifting devices.

• Consultants and Distribution Systems Planners: simulators, modelers, system designers and distribution consultants.

• Automatic Identification Equipment and Systems: bar code printers and scanners, vision systems, voice recognition systems, radio frequency systems and systems integrators.

This year, MHM is putting the ProMat product preview on its Web site. Visit www.mhmanagement.com; January issue; "ProMat Product Preview."

A unique learning opportunity

ProMat 2001’s comprehensive Educational Conference is a study in productivity through material handling and logistics. It offers registrants methods to solve business challenges at every turn.

Sponsored by the Material Handling Institute (MHI) and Materials Handling and Management Society (MHMS), the conference will feature keynotes and an executive track as well as seminars, workshops and tutorials designed to make manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and logistics operations the most efficient element in a company’s supply chain.

E-Fulfillment: The Logistics Behind E-Commerce

ProMat has partnered with AMR Research of Boston to deliver an exclusive, full-day, single-track symposium on Monday, February 12. It is free to all ProMat attendees.

The symposium is designed for executives and managers at all levels and will feature senior business leaders whose companies are harnessing the power of streamlined logistics processes. All the featured speakers have dedicated major resources to the successful integration of logistics intelligence (supply chain management and execution) with the physical, mechanical and automation infrastructure needed to handle, store and move goods.

ProMat’s IT Village

For the first time, a new and unique Information Technology (IT) Village will be included within ProMat 2001. Exhibitors in the IT Village will display a variety of IT solutions that support the material handling and logistics process including warehouse management systems, order management systems, transportation management systems and enterprise resource planning, to name a few.

Within the IT Village, ProMat offers a total solution package for attendees — the material handling and logistics equipment and systems for their manufacturing, warehousing and distribution operations as well as the IT solutions to support them.

On-line benchmarking lab

Within the IT Village, attendees can learn how to perform year-round continuous self-assessment of their distribution center or warehouse center on-line at ProMat 2001.

The Logistics Execution Systems Association (LESA) and the Order Selection, Staging and Storage Council (OSSSC) of Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), in coordination with Georgia Tech, will introduce a new on-line benchmarking tool for warehouse and distribution center managers at ProMat 2001.

Attendees may enter their metrics into the system and learn how they compare to all warehouses and distribution centers or only those in their size or market segment category. This tool will also be the subject of a ProMat 2001 seminar.

For information about exhibiting in Productivity City at ProMat 2001, call MHIA Show Sales at 800 345-1815 or (704) 676-1190. Additional information, including on-line show registration, is available on the ProMat 2001 Web site at www.mhia.org/promat2001. MHM

Conference Planner

• The Basics of Material Handling: A Foundation for Better Planning and Results; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to noon Sunday.

• A Lean and Agile Manufacturing Workshop; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

• Introduction to the Economic Justification of Material Handling Investments; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

• E-Fulfillment: The Logistics Behind E-Commerce; 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday.

• Systematic Planning of Industrial Unit Load Containers; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

• Web-Enabled Benchmarking of Warehouse Performance; 8 to 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.

• Orderpicking Basics: An Introduction to the Principles and Equipment Selection; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• Outsourcing Lift truck and Rolling Stock Procurement and Management; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• The Economics of Material Handling: Achieving Instant ROI Through Leasing; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• The Future of Mobile Computer in Material Handling; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• How To Leverage the Integration of Layout Planning and Operations Simulation; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• The Dock: Bottleneck or Launch Pad?; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• The Logistics Execution Systems Short Course on Warehouse and Transportation Management Systems; 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• Industrial Truck Fleet Management; 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• Cutting-Edge Tools for the Concurrent Design and Analysis of Layout Planning and Material Flow; 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• Value-Based Outsourcing: A New Approach to Integrated Material Handling Systems Maintenance; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

• How To Measure and Benefit From Your Warehousing Vital Signs; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

• Are You in the Zone? Nuances of Designing and Managing Zone Picking Systems; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

• Measuring Total Material Handling Performance in Manufacturing and Production Operations; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• Cutting-Edge Trends in Automatic Data Capture; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• System Design Issues for Batch Picking and Sortation; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• Running Out of Space in the Warehouse? Here Are the Answers!; 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• Develop a Returnable Plastic Container and Pallet Program; 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• Strategic Logistics Deployment Is Not an Option; 8 to 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.

• A Web-Enabled Tool Teaches How To Optimize In-Aisle Orderpicking From Pallet Racks and Shelving; 8 to 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.

• Using the Latest Developments in Voice Recognition; 8 to 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.

• Outsourcing Supply Chain and Logistics Operations: Developing a 3PL Relationship; 8 to 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.

• Mastering the Transportation Side of Supply Chain; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• How New Technology Is Impacting the Specification and Performance of AGV Systems; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• An Introduction to Automated Palletizing; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• The Fundamentals of Conveyor System Selection, Design and Layout: Package Conveyors for Warehouse Applications; 9:45 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• How To Plan for and Implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID); 9:45 to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• AGVS Plant Study Tour; noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

• Smooth Moves: Transition from Pallet to Flow Rack to Pick-to-Light; 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• Manual Handling Choices and Solutions: A Task and Ergonomic Assessment of Requirements and the Alternatives; 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• Application Solution Providers: The Internet’s Secret Weapon; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

• The Fundamentals of Conveyor System Selection, Design and Layout: Power and Free Applications for Manufacturing Processes and Assembly; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

• Risk Assessment of a High-Risk, Fast-Track System Retrofit; 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

• Fulfillment Excellence Demands Total, End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• New Developments in Controlling Material and Worker Flow in Manufacturing Cells; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• New Financial and Performance Comparisons of Unit Load AS/RS with Very Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• A Standard Procurement Specification for Conveyors; 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

ProMat 2001 Show Hours

Monday, February 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday, February 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, February 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday, February 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meet the Press at ProMat 2001

Be sure to visit Penton Media’s booth (1465) during ProMat 2001, listed under Material Handling Management in the show directory. Meet with representatives of Material Handling Management and Material Handling Business. On hand will be John Davis, Dan Reilly, Tom Andel, Clyde Witt, Leslie Langnau, Christopher Trunk, Mike Antell, Dave Gibson, George Horrigan, Bill Kiesel and Steve Roth.

Attendees at ProMat 2001 — eager to expand their material handling and logistics knowledge — will represent companies and organizations from throughout the U.S. and around the globe.

As in the past, the floor show at ProMat 2001 in Chicago will be bustling as attendees look at equipment, systems and technology

for productivity solutions.