chaz1The signs are very encouraging for conveyor suppliers for the next few months, with more customers committing to investment in new equipment, and the Warehouse & Logistics sector remaining a growth area. But even with order levels increasing, the recession is not yet over.

That’s the prognosis from Paul Hogg, Sales Manager at Alwayse Engineering. Paul says things have improved over the past six months, with UK and export enquiries and quotes staying high across a range of industries. Two of Alwayse’s largest new contracts have been with distribution centres for a major UK supermarket chain and a major on-line retailer.

John Bower, MD of European Conveyor Systems, agrees about the W&L sector staying strong: “The warehouse and logistics sector has been buoyant for several years, and we have steadily increased turnover.  Businesses have been willing to invest in good quality materials handling systems because they see the benefits in efficiency, reliability and ability to keep pace with growing demand.”

John says business activity “stopped very suddenly” towards the end of 2008 as everyone waited to see how the financial problems would be tackled.  “It seemed no-one would spend money without a cast-iron business case, but there are signs of a modest recovery now the situation seems more stable. We have handled several projects in the last year where existing systems have been modified or upgraded, rather than completely replaced, to save money short term.

The large investment and long-term planning involved in automated handling solutions means a delay in market conditions filtering through to the sector, reckons David James, MD of KNAPP UK. He says clients have been postponing activities and new enquiries are down. However the past year has seen Knapp Group’s largest ever order, the logistics solution for Avon’s new $117m Ohio distribution centre and buying Swedish logistics firm Moving AB.

KNAPP has been shielded a little from the ravages of the recession by recent activity in the pharmaceutical sector, traditionally the bedrock of KNAPP’s sales and still a key market.

Some observers think the economic meltdown could benefit automated handling suppliers in the medium and longer term, as more companies recognise automated storage’s key benefit, its ability to minimise stockholding. This feature has given firms with automated solutions competitive advantage.

“Surprisingly few companies today realise the true cost of holding stock,” argues Craig Rollason, KNAPP UK Head of Sales & Marketing Stock can be a millstone round the neck of any business: automation allows firms to do more with less, important in good times and essential in bad.

Warehouse & Logistics News

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