If you were to walk into the production area at Wood’s Powr-Grip today, you would notice that the New Year has brought with it a new—and very large—Automated Storage System. The REMSTAR™ Shuttle, a colossal gray and blue system, was not installed in the middle of the production area to look pretty, take up space, or even put images into the minds of employees of being banished into it and disappearing forever as the consequence of slacking off. No, it is a symbol of Wood’s Powr-Grip New Year’s resolution to continue striving to make our services to customers more timely and convenient.

Wood’s Powr-Grip has a certain process for the selling and building of our below-the-hook vacuum lifters. At the beginning of that process, customers are given a price quote for the vacuum lifter along with a lead time. This lead time tells the customer how long it will take to build and deliver his purchase, and it is based on many things, including the number of orders already scheduled for production, and the availability of parts and components needed to complete those orders.

This is a fine system in theory and it has worked well for Wood’s Powr-Grip over the years, but we want to make it better. We want to add flexibility and room for improvisation to our production process for unforeseeable changes that may slow our pace. Until now, Wood’s Powr-Grip has not had the need to store back-up parts and supplies for quick availability and use in production; but our exponential growth is beginning to create a demand for that resource in our production area. The new automated storage will provide Wood’s Powr-Grip with the space and organization to do just that. Eventually, the new Automated Storage System will help us offer better lead times to our customers, resulting in a shorter time for you to wait for your lifter.

The new Automated Storage System stands two stories high; it has a width of a little over nine feet and a depth of just over ten feet. Lifter parts and components are loaded into deep, heavy duty trays, which are slid inside the storage machine and onto shelf railings, sort of like drawers. The trays are then transported up through the middle of the storage system, much like an elevator, and finally placed in designated storage areas until needed.

When a Powr-Grip employee does need a specific part out of the storage system, he or she simply enters the part number into a key pad, and the needed item is retrieved and delivered into the access opening in the front of the system.

The installation of the Automated Storage System will help Wood's Powr-Grip save time on parts retrieval, allow us to better control inventory and facilitate faster turn-around in product fabrication. In this time of skyrocketing fuel prices, higher transportation costs and increasing prices in raw materials, the savings facilitated by the Automated Storage System will help us hold the line on pricing while allowing us to meet the needs of our customers in a more expedient manner.

Jessica Smith is a Staff Writer on the Wood’s Powr-Grip Marketing team. She is responsible for editing, researching and writing articles for Wood's Powr-Grip's many instructions, publications and newsletters.