NACCO and Intermec collaborate on info-trucks

Yale and Hyster dealers can now provide lift trucks equipped with information technology.

By Tom Andel, Editor-In-Chief -- Modern Materials Handling, 8/30/2007

Intermec has entered into an aftermarket reselling agreement with NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG) to provide vehicle mount computers, handheld bar code scanners and radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment for NMHG's Hyster and Yale brand lift trucks.

This agreement advances the trend in warehouses and distribution centers toward marrying RFID reading infrastructure with materials handling equipment—a trend that brings with it two key benefits:

1.      Intermec research shows there’s about a 4-1 ratio of dock doors to lift trucks, so moving the technology away from fixed portal applications at dock doors (or at doorways between manufacturing and the warehouse) and installing it on the trucks lowers the cost for capital equipment.

2.      Purchasing lift trucks that come equipped with bar code scanners and RFID technology minimizes customers’ lead time.

“In the past there was no link between the Yale and Intermec system, so the customer had to purchase the Yale and then the Intermec, then either have Intermec install it or some third party,” says Dale Guckian, director of national account sales, Yale Materials Handling.  He adds that Yale is trying to bridge that gap so eventually it may provide these solutions out of its factory.

For now, however, the Intermec relationship enables NMHG dealers and national account teams to provide that higher value to customers. Jonathan Dawley, manager of business development for NMHG, says:

"The opportunity to synergize the forklift and the customer demand for data via mobile computing is undeniable. Our partnership with Intermec gives us the capacity to offer our customers the very best of both the material handling and technology worlds.”

Chris Kelley, Director of RFID for Intermec, says he foresees a time when more OEMs will offer data capture equipment built into their lift truck lines.

“If you design data capture systems into the truck at the beginning, I can argue that it will probably be more reliable,” he says. “I can route cables and design them in ways to be secure and out of the way and less subject to damage than in a retrofit. Second, you get into some occupational health and safety issues dealing with the operator’s view. We design our installations to accommodate that, but if you can build it into the dashboard, that further minimizes obstacles.”