Modern Materials Handling - December 2011

UP FRONT Breaking news you should knowDatalogic to acquire Accu-SortDatalogic, which offers solutions for arange of applications in the manufacturing,transportation and logistics, and retailindustries, announced that it has enteredinto an agreement with Danaher Corp. toacquire Accu-Sort Systems, a leading supplierof automatic identification products in theUnited States.“This transaction doubles Datalogic Group’spresence in the industrial automation industryby positioning it in the high-end segment andby broadening the company’s competitiveposition in a highly fragmented market withgreat growth potential,” Mauro Sacchetto,Datalogic’s CEO said. “Accu-Sort is complementaryto the existing business of Datalogicand is a leading supplier with a widely recognizedbrand and long-term relationships withpreeminent customers.”Datalogic placed No. 3 on Modern’sannual ranking of Top 20 ADC suppliers byrevenue with $403.5 million in sales in 2010.RPA to host educationconference at Modex 2012As part of its ongoing effort to build strongerworking relationships with other key industry associations,the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA)will host a Reusables Conferencein February at the upcomingModex show in Atlanta.RPA will be one of the educationpartners participating in Modex.It will host a conference titled,“Reusable Packaging—Efficient,Cost Effective and SustainableSolutions for Today’s SupplyChains.” The three-hour programwill be Monday, Feb. 6, from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. It is designed to help those who arenew to reusable packaging, as well as those whohave already incorporated reusable strategies, tomake more informed decisions about the broadrange of transport packaging solutions available tohelp them improve their supply chain operations.Fast Company recognizesCrown Equipment for truck design“Sleek. Ergonomic. Innovative. User friendly.” Theseare the words Fast Company magazine uses in a recent issueto describe products such as the Apple iPod, a Whirlpoolwasher, a Black and Decker drill and a Crown Equipmentforklift. As part of a cover feature called “The United States ofDesign: 30 Companies That Get It,” Fast Company recognizedCrown by stating that the company is “proving forklifts can beas well designed as iPods.”“When most people think of excellent product design theytypically think of consumer products,” said Mike Gallagher,vice president of design for Crown.“Crown Equipment is honored andexcited to show everyone that designexcellence can also be found in commercialand industrial equipment.”Crown has been recognized for itsdesign since the 1960s and has earnedmore than 50 design awards.Retail: 2011 holiday shopping season off to a strong startIn what could possibly be viewed as a late-in-theyearjump-start for the economy, the National RetailFederation (NRF) said that Thanksgivingand Black Friday holiday spending—instores and on the Web—hit historic highs.In an NRF survey conducted byBIGresearch, there were many datapoints signaling that this year’s beginningto the holiday season was significantlyimproved compared to recentyears, with some notable findings,including:• total spending hitting $52.4 billion,• 226 million shoppers visited storesand Web sites over Black Friday weekendcompared to 212 million in 2010,• the average holiday shopper spent $398.62 over theweekend compared to $365.34 lastyear, and• shoppers spent an averageof $150.53 online, accountingfor 37.8% of their total weekendspending.NRF officials said that this strongperformance serves as a promisingsign for the economic recovery,but added that there are manyshopping days left and that theearly momentum needs to bemaintained.mmh.com Modern Materials Handling / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 3