In the world of kitchen cabinets hinges and drawer runners, there are vast differences between what sells in the U.S. and in Europe. After all, kitchen cabinet designs on the two continents are different, requiring equally different hardware.

Similarly, manufacturer Julius Blum, Inc. has taken different approaches to materials handling at its facilities on the two continents. The differences can be attributed to factors as diverse as the availability of real estate and operational needs.

For instance, the company's facility in Bregenz, Austria, has three floors and an underground tunnel connecting a second, two-floor building. In Stanley, N.C., the facility operates on a single floor across several connected buildings.

In Austria, several warehouses, three of which are automated, handle, to varying degrees, raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods across both buildings. A single automated warehouse in North Carolina handles all types of inventory, and is considered to be the epicenter of the entire facility.

"No two facilities are alike for us," says Michael Geis, vice president of production in Stanley.

On the other hand, there are similarities. Automation figures prominently on both continents. Automated storage and retrieval systems are used at both locations with an automatic guided vehicle system in Austria only.

When it comes to one of the basics of materials handling — pallets — a special Blum pallet, which is based on a Euro pallet, is widely used by the company, says Elmar Marchl, project leader in Austria. After all, the U.S. facility receives many ocean-going containers a week of components from Blum Austria.

And both locations rely heavily on software to manage their operations. Yet, there is more human input in the U.S. than in Austria. Similarly, the two not only take full advantage of bar coded labels but use the same formats internally. However, their customer labeling requirements differ and each adapts as needed.

The two stories that follow detail how Blum gives local managers the leeway to make materials handling decisions that are best for them locally while capitalizing on those practices that make sense for all.