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Caster Concepts acquires Aerol Co. to expand its services to Aerospace and Defense Contracting
Caster Concepts Inc. has announced the acquisition of Aerol Co. Inc., a leading design, engineering, and caster manufacturer for military, aerospace, and energy industries. The purchase adds to Caster Concepts’ diverse product line of heavy-duty industrial casters, wheels, and polyurethane tread with Aerol’s aluminum casters and wheels specifically designed for the aerospace tooling industry. Caster Concepts will move Aerol’s Southern California operations to Albion, retaining its equipment, design and engineering work, and several members of its sales team. Caster Concepts will expand its production in central Michigan and continue building Aerol, a 76-year-old company highly respected as a supplier of premium engineering and equipment solutions for the defense and aerospace industries. “It’s an exciting time for Caster Concepts. The acquisition is strategic purchase fits well with our product line and allows us to serve new customers while strengthening our work in aviation and government contracting,” said Caster Concepts President and CEO Bill Dobbins. The addition of Aerol expands the Caster Concepts family of brands to 10 and builds its reputation as a leading global material handling manufacturer. General Manager Andrew Dobbins will oversee the transition of Aerol to Michigan, which should be complete by the end of 2020. “Aerol’s reputation in manufacturing is well known in the industry, and its line of aluminum casters is unparalleled,” said Andrew Dobbins, who has managed several of Caster Concepts’ past acquisitions. “Our goal is to build on their high standing, bringing in our top engineers and line workers to continue their mission of producing only the highest-quality casters, considered the Rolex of the industry.” The Aerol acquisition brings growth to Michigan, which much like the rest of the country, has struggled this year. Caster Concepts will expand its staff and manufacturing personnel and outsource the production of aluminum castings to a foundry in the region. “Despite the downturn of the last few months, we’re back in growth mode, and that bodes well for everyone,” said Bill Dobbins. “Companies that successfully grow are able to give back to all their stakeholders, employee base, and the community. This all falls in line with our Caster Cares to have a positive impact from the work we do.”
Camso opens new manufacturing facility in Kansas
Camso, a Michelin® Group company, has opened a new 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility based in Junction City, Kansas. The facility, which will manufacture agricultural tracks, increases Camso’s manufacturing footprint in North America to seven facilities and solidifies its leadership in the agricultural market. “The addition of this new facility will contribute to meet the growing demand of tracks and track systems in the agriculture industry and our commitment to be the best partner for our customers,” said Christopher Uher, Junction City plant manager. Junction City is a strategic location for Camso due to its proximity to Camso’s existing manufacturing plant in nearby Emporia, Kansas. “This facility will allow for a strong collaboration between the two plants to produce and deliver quality products to our customers,” said Uher. The new facility will employ more than 50 employees, tapping into a talented local workforce. This site will be ISO 9001 certified and use the same best-in-class track manufacturing technology, standards and quality, and the benchmark health and safety practices used in the other Camso facilities. “We want to recognize both Junction City and the State of Kansas, who have been very supportive of this project,” said Uher.
Superior Tire & Rubber hires new VP of Sales and Marketing
Superior Tire & Rubber Corp., a provider in the polyurethane and rubber industrial component market, has announced the hiring of Jared Steier as Vice President of their Material Handling Business Unit. In addition to overseeing all of the Material Handling Sales & Marketing, Steier will also be working alongside sales personnel directly in the field and reporting directly to Hank LeMeur, the President and CEO. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Steier has worked his entire career in various leadership roles at several large corporations in the material handling industry. He comes to Superior Tire knowing the outstanding reputation of Superior’s products and has a thorough understanding of their customers and markets. He has gained extensive experience in both the Original Equipment and Aftermarket sales world during his career. The addition of Jared Steier further solidifies Superior Tire’s position as a leader in the Material Handling Industry.
Camso acquires two material businesses from Metro Industrial Tires
Camso, a Michelin® Group company, continues to grow its off-highway transportation (OHT) tire service and distribution presence with the acquisition of the two material-handling solutions businesses from Metro Industrial Tires (Metro), based in the greater Chicago area. “Chicago is one of the largest material-handling markets in the U.S.,” said Bob Bulger, vice president and general manager, Camso North America. “Metro had been a valued customer for many years with an exceptional service model. Over that time, a strong, long-term relationship has been formed that will benefit our already strong sales and service team.” Founded in 1983, Metro has employees based in two locations, south of metro Chicago, in Alsip, and north of metro Chicago, in Lombard, Ill. Each location has a fleet of press trucks enabling them to provide best-in-class service levels to the market. “The acquisition of the material-handling solutions business from Metro will expand and strengthen the chain between tire manufacturing, distribution, and service for Camso,” continued Bulger. “It will allow us to find new and innovative ways to meet our customer’s ever-changing needs for skid steer tires, rubber tracks, foam-filled tires, filled assemblies, and ancillary products as well as service. This will benefit our fleet, national account, original equipment, and equipment dealer customers.”
Blickle releases comprehensive Wheel and Caster catalog
Blickle, the world manufacturer in the design and manufacture of wheels and casters for a wide range of industries and applications, has released the 16th edition of its full line catalog. At a whopping 635 pages this full-color, hardcover book contains detailed product information and specifications on over 30,000 wheels, casters, and accessories. Several new product additions are highlighted including a new synthetic caster series called FLOW, wheels featuring Vulcollan® polyurethane treads, heavy-duty casters with over 66,000-pound load capacities, and a complete line of leveling casters. To allow users to find exactly what they are looking for quickly and easily, the catalog is organized into 18 color-coded sections. Each section includes a group photo showing the range of products included as well as a product overview chart that assists with product selection. Individual product descriptions include information on materials of construction, wheel diameter and width, load capacity, bearing type, axle bore, hub length, roll and swivel resistance, operating temperature ranges, color, configuration options, and much more. The Special Solutions section has been significantly expanded and includes a comprehensive overview of our most popular items for specialty applications as well as highlighting Blickle’s ability to collaborate with clients on custom innovations. Special solutions include brake systems, electric drive systems, heavy-duty casters, stainless steel/hygienic casters, AGV wheels, and many more. The G16 catalog is available in English, Spanish, and eight other languages. To obtain a copy visit www.blickle.us.
GRI is building a new mixing facility in Sri Lanka; poised to expand tire production
A new mixing plant in Sri Lanka is in the works for the specialty tire manufacturer, GRI. Work is currently underway for GRI’s new mixing facility in the Mirigama Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) in Sri Lanka to propel the future growth of GRI and put Sri Lankan specialty tires firmly on the global map. The new mixing facility will be equipped with a capacity to produce 200 tonnes per day – a considerable advancement from its current capacity of 50 – 60 metric tonnes. “We opted for a new mixing plant to meet the current demand and facilitate further expansion. We are in the process of ramping up our tire production and gradually increasing capacity to better serve our customers worldwide,” explains Mr. Ananda Caldera, Executive Director of GRI. GRI produces agriculture tires, construction tires, and material handling solid tires and has a considerable international presence. Its latest mixing facility will be endowed with best in class equipment to ensure sustainable and consistent high-quality manufacturing of its specialty tires. Each component of the tire is mixed to a specific recipe using complex chemical compounds together with natural rubber. The facility will build on the organization’s commitment to high standards and will be equipped with state-of-the-art automatic weighing equipment to ensure accuracy and quality. An undeniable pioneer in its field, GRI was also the first to produce radial agriculture tires in Sri Lanka. The plant features feeding systems and high-capacity mixers used by the best in the industry. The auto-feeding of fillers ensure there is no dust generated by carbon black. With silo systems and dust collection mechanisms at every stage, the production process at the facility ensures that there is no wastage or by-products as any dust collected is re-used. Safe and sustainable production is a core tenet of its operations. “We are proud to announce that the new facility will be constructed with an eye on future demand for specialty pneumatic and solid tires. In the backdrop of challenging circumstances, we remain steadfast in our goal in taking GRI and high-quality Sri Lankan made specialty tires to the world,” commented Dr. Mahesha Ranasoma, CEO of GRI.
Trelleborg launches the Next-Generation PS1000 tire
Trelleborg Wheel Systems launches the PS1000, its leading-edge tire solution for material handling applications. More than just a tire: it is a next-generation, superior-quality, press-on solid forklift tire incorporating the Pit Stop Line innovation, specialized compounds, and a new design to guarantee uptime, efficiency, and safety for operators while reducing total cost of ownership and environmental impact. Lorenzo Ciferri, VP of Marketing and Communications at Trelleborg Wheel Systems says: “The PS1000 is an exciting first for Trelleborg and the tire industry. We have integrated our Pit Stop Line innovation into a press-on solid tire for maximum performance, comfort, and service life. Our studies show that the PS1000 lasts up to 30% more than other tires on the market, which results in a very low cost of ownership per hour.” The PS1000 boasts two layers of compounds in its internal construction. One compound enhances comfort, guarantees low rolling resistance, and reduces heat build-up for maximum uptime, while the other ensures long tire life. With the addition of the Pit Stop Line innovation, customers can save time and money by avoiding early tire replacement and unnecessary downtime. When the Pit Stop Line’s highly visible orange band appears on the tire, this indicates that the tire has approximately 100 hours of life remaining, so operators and fleet managers know with 100% accuracy when their tires need replacing. Featuring a two-tread pattern, the PS1000 comes in both smooth and traction versions. The smooth version offers excellent stability and comfort, as well as maximum service life thanks to its extra-deep tread and innovative cushion compound, along with its unique concave sidewall shape. The traction version offers the same features, but with higher traction to optimize performance in wet conditions. Both the smooth and traction versions can be produced in different compounds – multipurpose, non-marking, electrically conductive, ProHD, or Protex – making the tires suitable for numerous applications. They will be available on the global market in the coming months, starting with the smooth version in September 2020, followed by the traction version in the first quarter of 2021. Lorenzo Ciferri adds: “Material handling tires are the wheels that keep today’s fast-paced supply chains moving for growing, global industries. The key features of the PS1000 translate into superior performance for material handling professional users, ensuring safety, stability, and productivity in various applications.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCfFRsr-RA4&feature=emb_logo
Superior Tire announces Leif Svenson as the 2020 Golden Leif Dealer Partner Award winner
Superior Tire announces Leif Svenson as the 2020 Golden Leif Dealer Partner Award Winner. The Golden Leif Award is focused on excellence and setting the standard in product development and is presented only upon merit. This year not only is Leif Svenson, the recipient of the award, he is also the inspiration for the award name. “Field trials are a critical step in product development, as is knowledgeable and quantifiable feedback from the trial. Leif Svenson’s involvement went beyond noting truck hours at different points in the trial. Leif made design enhancement suggestions backed by rock-solid common sense and data.” said Bill LeMeur, Executive Vice President at Superior Tire. “When we considered a name for the award we quickly transitioned from ‘Golden Leaf’ to ‘Golden Leif’ because of Leif’s level of interest, expertise and thoroughness went so far beyond anything we’ve experienced. Naming the award after him just seemed natural.” “The enhancement ideas were really driven by necessity,” said Leif Svenson, 2020 Award Winner and Riekes Service Leader. “Riekes has consistently allowed leeway to determine the root cause and best remedy to customer issues even when the remedy is outside the norm. I take great pride in our leadership team’s dedication to excellence.” “We are extremely grateful for the expertise, thoroughness, and design suggestions Leif made to improve our stabilizer caster reliability in one of the most challenging applications for Class III trucks in food processing. We are privileged to work with Riekes Equipment and thankful to the entire Riekes Team for going above and beyond! “said LeMeur. The 2020 Golden Leif Award was formally presented on August 11th in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
MHI releases new Casters, Wheel, and Accessories Guide 101
MHI’s Industry Group, ICWM (Institute of Caster and Wheel Manufacturers), has recently published Casters, Wheels and Accessories Guide 101 to help you learn everything you need to know about casters and wheels. The document details everything from different caster types, configurations, brake and locking mechanisms, to wheel types and accessories. You can download the PDF or view the interactive document online through the links below. View interactive document Download the PDF About ICWM Institute of Caster and Wheel Manufacturers (ICWM) members are the Industry’s leading suppliers of casters, wheels, and industrial trailer trucks, platform trucks, and towline trucks. They supply caster and wheel solutions worldwide and in virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector. The association was formed in 1933. What does ICWM do? ICWM members meet regularly to: Develop and promote guidelines and standards for casters and wheels Prepare and distribute educational and promotional materials Collect and disseminate reliable industry statistics
TractEasy, TLD’s new autonomous baggage tractor, comes equipped with Camso’s Solideal AIR 561
Camso’s Solideal AIR 561 ground support equipment tire has been singled out by TLD to equip its new driverless baggage tractor TractEasy – which has been developed in collaboration with EasyMile, as well as its Jet-16 baggage tractor, their flagship vehicle. Since June 2019, both ground support equipment comes standard-fitted with Solideal AIR 561 full assemblies (tires and wheels). “We’re impressed with the dedication of Camso’s development team in designing not just a long-life solution, but one that tackles the specific challenges of ground support applications,” explains Yves Crespel, Communication Director at TLD. “With the Solideal AIR 561, we’re confident customers will be equipped with a performing solution that will lower their overall operating costs.” Camso’s ability to provide a long-lasting tire specifically designed for this GSE application was a determining factor in this partnership. The Solideal AIR 561 is the ideal solution to meet the baggage tractors’ unique set of requirements for versatility and maneuverability. These vehicles were previously equipped with block tread pattern tires, which are poorly suited for the high-speed, long distances, and short-turning radius of these machines, causing uneven wear of the tires, which leads to recurring vibration issues. In the case of the Jet-16, this affects driver comfort and results in lower tire life – all of which triggered TLD to investigate a more suitable and performing solution. Tackling challenges linked to GSE applications “We’re thrilled that Camso has been chosen as the tire provider for TLD’s new autonomous and zero-emission electric baggage tractors,” says Richard Philippe, OEM Sales Regional Director – EMEA at Camso. The Solideal AIR 561’s distinctive ribbed tread pattern minimizes vibration due to uneven wear and reduces snaking, two important challenges when operating on airport grounds. It provides greater stability, ensuring increased operator comfort and tire life. Its energy-efficient rubber compound also helps reduce wear and rolling resistance, while its unique “lug with sipes” design increases traction in low-grip conditions. “As a driverless vehicle that operates in normal traffic, without infrastructure modification, and in all weather conditions, the need for a GSE tire that would excel in reliability, lifespan, and versatility was critical. The field tests we conducted confirmed that Solideal AIR 561 was the right tire for the application, not only for our new autonomous vehicle but also for our core product, the Jet-16,” adds Crespel. Global leading ground support equipment OEMs like TLD seek performing solutions that tackle the specific challenges of GSE applications: turning to tire specialists like Camso who focus on the highly specific needs of industrial niche markets is a natural fit.
Episode 75 – Caster Connection at MODEX 2020
Episode 75 – Caster Connection at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I was joined by Eric Hassen the Director of Business Development for Caster Connection at MODEX 2020. Caster Connection is your source for everything casters. On their site, they have every type of caster that you can imagine and they also provide a lot of great knowledge and resources for choosing the right casters. Eric and I discuss Caster Connection’s business and the ergonomics of push/pull. Key Takeaways Like I mentioned above, Caster Connection is the source for all things caster, and Eric is the caster master. Eric says that he could talk about casters all day and I believe him! Going into this discussion I just knew that casters were wheels and coming out of it I really learned how much of a difference the right caster can make. The concept of ergonomic push/pull is where the caster comes into play the most. When we discuss this concept it is about the movement of the table, cart, or object that is using the caster. As a human move these objects around by pushing or pulling, the force can start to create serious strain, especially in the lower back. Choosing the right caster helps to reduce the amount of force by creating easier, smoother movements of the object. Why is the right caster so important? Well because of the long term financial impact of poor ergonomics and the reduced productivity of an uncomfortable employee. While the caster may seem like a small thing, it makes a big impact due to the reduction in strain and force required to move heavier objects. Eric gives a great explanation of how the right caster can make a big improvement and how the right choices are made. Listen to the episode below and take some time to reassess your caster situation. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 75: Caster Connection at MODEX 2020
At what cost? Evaluating and improving Back Injuries from pushing in industrial settings
As the expression goes, nothing in life is free. Measuring the cost of something, however, isn’t always clear. Does it cost time, money, productivity, confidence or something else? When it comes to industry, not protecting the health of our employees, specifically the health of the lower back, has many costs. For example, lower back injuries are estimated to account for a total annual cost of over 100 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. Identifying the major costs of lower-back injury from pushing in industrial settings and finding ways to prevent these injuries can reduce the overall cost to your company. Physical injury The most obvious cost of lower-back injuries in companies is the suffering of and effects on valued employees. No company should sacrifice the back health of its employees for any reason. Once a back injury has occurred, an employee has to live with the lower back injury whether they are at work or not. Many back injuries go away after a few weeks. However, if the injury does not go away after six weeks, they may have a disability for life. Chronic back injuries are notoriously difficult to treat. Surgery is effective around 50% of the time, so you might be rolling the dice with surgery. If you have an MRI or a CT scan, doctors can only tell what is wrong with your back 10% to 15% of the time. Because back injuries can be so difficult to treat, employees may suffer a lifetime of pain and limitations because of that injury, while at the same time, their family and friends are also affected by their injury. This is a great responsibility and a high cost. Employee retention Employee retention models are not always simple, but when a company has a history of bad working conditions, employees will not stay. There are many ways that low customer retention slows the advancement of your company. The costs come from hiring, onboarding, lost productivity, lost engagement, training costs, cultural impact, and the inability to innovate because companies are constantly getting employees up to speed. Overall, your company cannot maximize its profits, because it is moving in a circle. Even if your company as a whole is profitable, it is losing money unnecessarily. For example, let’s say you hire a new employee to assemble parts and move them around. This employee is unable to move at the rate that they will when they are fully integrated. This employee will become more versatile and valuable over time. There are intangible disadvantages that will only be reflected in the lower profitability of the company, even if a company is profitable overall. In fact, retraining employees normally varies from tens of thousands of dollars to somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 2 times that employee’s annual salary. Financial Workers’ comp claims for back injury are on average $40,000 to $80,000 per employee. Employee retention costs as stated above are most often in the tens of thousands of dollars. In 2004, 186.7 million workdays were lost to back pain, and in 2018, manufacturing had a total of 430,300 injuries and illnesses reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These days lost all affected individual companies financially. To account for days missed, OSHA has set up an injury/cost estimator. For example, consider that your company lost $264,434 to back injuries. In order to break even, your company would have to make $8,818,466. In other words, by preventing these injuries, you would have a 3,300% return on your investment. Preventing these back injuries in the first place is the best way to reduce these numbers. That means addressing the issues around pushing a cart. Pushing weight thresholds The goal of every organization where pushing is involved should be to reduce the force that an employee must exert when pushing. The name of this force is commonly referred to as push/pull, and the vast majority of the time in industrial settings, employees generate push/pull by pushing a cart of some sort. That means that companies reduce injuries and costs by reducing push/pull forces on these carts. All things being equal, we want to reduce push/pull as much as possible, but when you or an employee regularly moves thousands of pounds, you can only reduce push/pull by so much. Because push/pull is not going to be zero, our goal should be to make sure that our employees are not in danger. That means that we need guidelines for weight thresholds that will predict the likelihood of injury at certain weights and for specific people. The most recent weight thresholds guidelines are from the Ohio State University Spine Research Institute in collaboration with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. This tool allows you to add action, type of exertion, force recorded, and hand height. Then, it will tell you if this task is safe for 80% of the general population. Each person has different capabilities and limitations, but these guidelines will estimate accurately for most people. If your task is deemed “safe,” then you are in pretty good shape. Push/pull measurement guidelines In order to calculate the safety of a pushing or pulling activity with the guidelines above, most variables are straightforward, for example hand height. Push/pull force is not as straightforward. To get the force, we need to use a gauge—most often a hand-held force gauge. However, the force that a person exerts normally does not stay the same, because varying speed over distance can dramatically change push/pull force measurements. For example, we have conducted tests where we have gotten ten times higher or lower push/pull readings, based off of the speed at which we pushed the cart. The solution is to use a standard speed and distance guideline. In a recent study, the Spine Research Institute determined that the speed that most accurately predicts injure risk to an employee is 1 meter/3 seconds initially and 0.5 meter/second sustained. Using this speed, you will be able to get accurate push/pull force, which you can then add
Stellana pulls out of MODEX 2020 and LogiMAT due to Coronavirus
Due to the concerns surrounding COVID-19 Coronavirus, Stellana will no longer be exhibiting at the MODEX 2020 show which is scheduled to run next week in Atlanta, March 9-12, 2020. In addition, Stellana had planned to pull their attendance from LogiMAT held in Germany the same week, but the show has since been canceled. The health and safety of our employees is our primary concern. As the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide and nationally, Stellana has decided that they will not be sending their team members to participate in the MODEX 2020 show. With an expected turnout of 30,000, the MODEX show brings together many visitors from throughout the United States and overseas, and there is a chance that the spread of the coronavirus will continue here. While Stellana looked forward to the valuable facetime with their customers, dealers, and vendors, they feel this is the best decision for the health and safety of its employees.
KION Group makes Trelleborg main supplier in Europe
The KION Group has selected Trelleborg Wheel Systems as their preferred main supplier for non-marking tires in the European market. The Trelleborg non-marking resilient solid tires are the first choice of the KION Group, which is bringing together the industry’s leading brands under its roof, for their counterbalanced forklift trucks that operate in demanding indoor environments where floor care is essential. The experience from multiple field applications has highlighted the main features of Trelleborg’s premium material handling non-marking resilient solid tires to totally meet KION’s expectations in terms of energy consumption, as well as increased safety, productivity and sustainability. The premium range of Trelleborg’s non-marking resilient solid tires for the fleets of the KION Group features the Pit Stop Line, a revolutionary solution providing an unmissable visual indicator when a tire needs replacing. Once a tire has worn down to a point when there are about 100 hours of tire life left, a bright orange line appears on its surface. The replacement tires can then be fitted at the most convenient time. As a true innovation, it has the potential to have a transformational effect on forklift operations, helping to minimize downtime, tire waste and whole life costs. Also available for the truck fleets of the KION Group are the new ProTEX tires made of a 100% non-marking electrically conducting compound engineered for use on counterbalanced forklift trucks operating in potentially explosive environments. ProTEX is compliant with EN1755 safety regulations and safer than fixed earthing strips. The tire can be used safely on material handling equipment applications where this is flammable gas, vapor, or dust.