Detroit proclaims itself to be the automotive capital of the world. Among the tourist attractions are the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Henry Ford Museum and the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. Or you can take a tour of ‘Historic Homes of the Auto Barons’ or pay a visit to General Motors’ headquarters.
It is also home to this year’s largest North American materials handling show, NA 2000, which is sponsored by the Material Handling Industry of America.
NA 2000 may not be as grand or as international an event as March’s Hannover Fair in Germany, but for a concentrated hit of materials handling equipment, it should prove hard to beat.
The four-day event, which takes place in the city’s Cobo Hall, is designed to offer productivity solutions and information by showcasing the products and services of more than 400 specialist material handling companies.
An extensive educational forum sponsored by the Material Handling Institute runs concurrently with the show and focuses on improving productivity in the areas of manufacturing, warehousing and physical distribution.
Around 30,000 industry professionals from North America and elsewhere are expected to attend the show.
Exhibits to see Among the innovations on show will be the G-Force, an ‘intelligent lifting device’ from jib crane manufacturer Gorbel Inc. It is designed to maintain a smooth and stable lift at high-speed, repetitive lifting cycles (see Roundup for further details).
Air Technical Industries is exhibiting a self-propelled boom crane, a portable crane – both with a 4,000lb (1.8t) capacity – and a ‘Zero-Low Lift & Tilt Table’ with a 2,000lb capacity.
Bushman Equipment is showing its bottom blocks which are now available with built-in electronic load weighing equipment.
Electromotive Systems by MagneTek is using the show to introduce to the market its Electrobar Elite, a power feed system that it claims can be snapped together and installed in half the time of traditional eight bar systems.
Mannesmann Dematic promises “a very hands-on, interactive display” featuring Protomark lift assists and custom end effectors, the Demag DK Manulift, KBK rail, travel wheel system and gearmotors. New products include a Demag cable balancer, DCL power rail and DKVS chain hoists. The arm/manipulator programme shows how to dissipate the forces created by cantilevered loads by incorporating KBK Ergo components.
HOIST will be at the show too, so be sure to visit us at stand number 3545.
For more information, and for details of forum sessions, visit www.mhia.org
