Fashions may come and go. But improved efficiency and productivity never go out of style when it comes to warehousing, distribution and manufacturing. What does change is the parade of advances that make higher performance possible.

And that was exactly the case this spring at the European Biennial Logistics Exhibition 2003 held outside Paris. More than 32,000 visitors came to see 605 exhibitors show off their latest and greatest for France and the rest of Europe.

While this year's event had the word logistics in its name, it was clearly dominated by materials handling within the four walls of industrial facilities. Storage and staging equipment, lift trucks and pick-to-light systems were especially notable on the show floor. Also well represented but less active on the new developments front were ergonomic tools, overhead handling and dock equipment.

Taking a much lower profile were several technologies including conveyors, automatic guided vehicles and information systems from data capture to software. The same was true of the major materials handling systems suppliers that were so dominant at the CeMat show in Hannover, Germany last year.

Such a lack of presence, however, does not imply that any of these technologies or systems is less important this year than last. Instead, it was more of a reflection that this event has traditionally been a launching pad for other types of equipment. Furthermore, major materials handling systems had a tougher year in Europe during 2002 than materials handling equipment in general. Systems sales dropped off 15% with general equipment declining at half that level, according to the show's sponsor. Nevertheless, "the installation of automated distribution centers is and will continue to be a hot topic over the next five years or so," the sponsor continued.

In that vein, there were several developments announced by suppliers of storage and staging systems. At the top of the list were automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and vertical lift modules (VLMs).

For both unit-load and mini-load AS/RS, the emphasis was on speed. At Italian-based Automha, the push was to increase cycles per hour for systems managing loads to 50 kilograms and to 250 kilograms for manufacturing and orderpicking operations. A horizontal speed of 300 meters/minute allows one of the new units to deliver 200 cycles an hour. In a smaller system with only a 30-meter long aisle running 8 meters high, 120 cycles an hour is standard.

Shorter cycle times were also the essence of the latest development at German-based viastore systems. The company featured a sequence buffer for its AS/RS. As the storage system picks loads, it places each in the sequence buffer positioned at the front of the system. This ensures loads are immediately available to orderpickers, eliminating any waiting time for the AS/RS to complete its retrieval and delivery cycle.

The need for speed also carried over to VLMs. For instance, Hanel tripled the vertical speed of its retrieval mechanism to 2.2 meters/second, making possible significantly faster delivery of loads to the operator's pick window.

Meanwhile, Kardex introduced a new generation VLM that, compared to its previous models, features twice the storage density and a 50% increase in shuttle vertical speed to 2.2 meters/second. Total storage capacity by weight was also increased 50%.

Schaefer had a somewhat different approach to getting items into the operator's hands more quickly. Its latest design features accessibility to five VLMs at one time with delivery to two operator windows. This allows up to 100 picks an hour, says the company.

Yet another tool for speeding picks is pick-to-light technology. Although widely used in the United States for some time now, they were displayed on a broad scale to Europe for the first time last year at Hannover. Strong interest carried over to Paris with Schaefer and at least five other companies displaying the technology. Players here include psb, Savoye Logistics, and Siemens Dematic.

While most of these systems were on gravity flow rack, Spanish supplier Pick to Light Systems S.L. also had the technology on a mobile cart with a built-in computer terminal. Meanwhile, Promech Sorting Systems demonstrated what it called Screen2Sort. It uses wall-mounted terminals to display color-coded picking instructions to as many as six operators at a time.

Lift truck suppliers were probably most dominant at the show. Pallet trucks, counterbalanced models and orderpickers all figured prominently in the new product introductions in Paris.

Ease of use from upgrades in hand controls to greater maneuverability on various surfaces including inclines were two developments in pallet trucks from Manitou. At BT Industries, ease of use comes in a different form. Its new ProStart technology reduces by two-thirds the energy required of the operator to start moving a manual pallet truck. The technology simply transfers the energy from the operator's movement to jack up the load into forward movement.

Over at Hyster, the news was the debut of seven new models of the Spectrum line of powered pallet trucks. While differing by load capacity and chassis length, the trucks' operation can be tailored to the specific needs of the operation for speed, maximizing battery life. An AC-powered pallet truck from Caterpillar with built-in charger has a lifting range of 1.3 to 2 tons.

Just weeks before releasing the truck to the U.S. market, Toyota unveiled its three-wheel AC-powered model to France at the Paris show. Its four different models have a capacity range from 1.5 to 2 tons. The 48-volt power system maximizes power and control while keeping energy consumption low.

Other developments include the R20-15i counterbalanced truck from Still which is engineered to drive through standing pools of water without affecting operation. Caterpillar unveiled its line of AC-powered counterbalanced ACX trucks with long battery life and speed control tailored to a specific warehouse's operations.

Meanwhile, BT showed off two new orderpickers. One is for low-level picking and features ergonomic steering and a built-in wireless terminal. Ergonomics are also emphasized in BT's C15 Combi-truck for man-up orderpicking and pallet handling at heights to 14 meters. This AC-powered truck is configured to allow the operator to get very close to the pallet, easing picking operations.

As these and other developments from the show made apparent, improved efficiency and productivity never go out of style in Paris in the spring.