Modern Materials Handling - April 2010

FROM THE BLOGSCEMA: The conveyor industry is growing againBY BOB TREBILCOCK, EXECUTIVE EDITORTHE CONVEYOR INDUSTRY ISBACK ON THE MEND, with membersof the Conveyor EquipmentManufacturers Association (CEMA,www.cemanet.org), expecting areturn to growth in 2010.“We’re expecting CEMA membersto report sales that are flat toup 2% for the year,” according toDan Fannin, vice president of marketingfor Emerson Power Transmission.Fannin expects the market toreach $6.2 billion this year, up from$6.06 billion in 2009. Sales will stillbe more than $1 billion below the$7.8 billion association membersracked up in 2007.Still, up is up, and that’s greatnews for the conveyor industry,which has fared the recession betterthan the overall materials handlingindustry.Fannin delivered his reportin Scottsdale, Ariz., whereI’ve traveled to attendCEMA’s annual meeting.The most importanttake away I’vegotten is that thingsseem to be gettingbetter. Don’t get mewrong;. No one told mebusiness is great. Fannin,for instance, said he was tryingto be conservative in his assessmentand added that getting that2% growth will depend on whetherthe anticipated orders come in withenough time for conveyor manufacturersto ramp up production andship before the year is out.But I heard from a number ofcompanies that end users are onceagain sending out requests for proposalsand asking for quotes.“It all starts with proposals,”one manufacturertold me, “and we’reseeing them again.”This is the secondyear in a row I’vebeen to CEMA, andI’ve really enjoyedspending time with thisgroup. I have two otherblogs from the event, includinga report on a panel discussionthat included the guys in charge ofbuying materials handling systemsfor Miller Coors and UPS and a lookat what conveyor users want. Lookfor them at www.mmh.com/blog/cemapanel and www.mmh.com/blog/conveyorusers.16 A P R I L 2 0 1 0 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING m m h . c o m