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WMIA Member News

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Hermance Machine Co. l OMGA l Stiles Machinery

Hermance to Hold Focus Show

Hermance Machine Co. will hold a Focus Show at Pennsylvania College of Technology to introduce and demonstrate the SawStop Professional table saw on March 14th from 9:00am to 4:00pm. A detailed overview of the saw will be given and participants will be able to talk with numerous elected officials about Vocational Technical Education in PA.

Campus tours of Penn College can be arranged. Here's a map of the college campus.  Interested parties please contact Brian Kita at Hermance Machine Co. at 570-326-9156 or email at bkita@hermance.com.

It's Not the Parts. It's What You Do with Them

Stiles Machinery Inc. is proud to announce the installation of a state-of-the-art vertical storage and retrieval system for spare parts inventory and order fulfillment. Stiles knows that when our customers need a part, they need it now. Our knowledgeable staff is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a

year. We have more than $20 million in spare parts inventory to support more than 35 machinery manufacturers. Approximately 300 orders leave our warehouse each day, and we pride ourselves on having the highest fill rate in the industry. But we can do better. And we are. Since our technology keeps our customers technology working, Stiles continues to invest in building the industry’s most comprehensive support system. To better manage our spare parts, we have installed a total of six (6) Hänel Lean-Lifts.

Headquartered in Germany, Hänel is the worldwide leader in vertical storage and retrieval systems technology. Dave Troeter, national parts manager for Stiles, explains that "By partnering with industry leaders, Stiles is able to provide the best technology available to meet the needs of our customers." Hänel’s U.S. office in Pittsburgh, Penn. provides service and spare parts support for the North American market and by using an extensive dealer network throughout the U.S. they are able to leverage their expertise and provide solutions for many different market segments. The system was purchased from an authorized Hänel distributor, AME Vertical in Troy, Mich., who also provided installation support with factory certified technicians. Like Stiles, AME believes in partnering with customers in order to provide the most effective solutions.

Hänel Lean-Lifts use available room heights and uniquely store the parts without any loss of space by means of height optimization, resulting in maximum storage capacity on a minimum footprint. The third largest integrated Hänel system in North America, Stiles installed six (6) units that are each 9’ x 9’ x 19’ tall. Five (5) of the units have 44,000 lbs. capacity to store 551 lbs. per pan; one of the units has 66,000 lbs. capacity which is capable of handling 883 lbs. per pan to accommodate large, bulky items. In addition to the storage benefits, the system also has many safety advantages including a photo cell safety curtain, part height sensing system, redundant back-up of safety and sensor circuits, and the ergonomically-friendly design allows items to be retrieved at waist height, eliminating bending, reaching, and the use of step stools and ladders.

During the implementation Stiles continued to fill and ship orders as usual while over 550,000 parts were bar coded, inventoried, and photographed as they were migrated from the old shelves into the new Hänel system. Now complete, the install enables us to fill more orders. A lot more orders. With the new system we are capable of tripling output to over 900 orders per day.

The new fulfillment process begins as usual with entering the order in our custom-made combination CRM and ERP system. When the pick list is printed, the order is sent electronically to an FTP site for retrieval by the Hänel system. Once the operator acknowledges the order by scanning a bar code on the pick list, a tray is retrieved from the Hänel system containing the parts on the sales order. When the bar code is scanned, the quantity to be removed from inventory is entered and confirmed by the Hänel controller. A verification process called “Bar Code Cross Check” occurs each time a part is removed from the system and the system will not retrieve the next part until the correct bar code is scanned. This process ensures order accuracy and maintains the integrity of inventory count. When the order is complete, the bin of parts is conveyed to the packing stations for confirmation of part number and quantity before it’s shipped. Once verified, the tracking number is scanned into the system and an e-mail is generated indicating to the customer contact that the order has shipped. Each night an automated inventory verification routine compares part quantities by location between our database and the Hänel controller. Any exceptions are flagged and corrected. Future plans include integration with the UPS and FedEx software systems into our proprietary system to completely automate the shipping process.

For additional information, contact Dave Troeter, national parts manager, Stiles Machinery Inc. at 616-698-7500 or dtroeter@stilesmachinery.com.

Wemhöner Updates Image

markets and quickly reacts to the challenges brought on by new surface coating materials in order to continue to provide innovative developments in pressing technology. And now they have changed their company name to Wemhöner Surface Technologies. A new logo and the slogan “we create your surface” represent their new image as well as the additional offering of Direct Printing and Lacquering Lines to add value to wood-based materials such as cabinet boxes, furniture back panels and lacquering floor panels. Wemhöner is distributed in the United States by Stiles Machinery and is supported with advanced integration, experienced manufacturing consulting and superior service and support – all part of a full range of Total Production SolutionsSM.

For additional information, contact Steve Waltman, V.P., Stiles Machinery Inc. at 616-698-7500.

OMGA Announces Finger Joint Order with Stanley Furniture

OMGA, Inc. has been awarded a sales contract for a finger jointing system by Stanley Furniture Co., Inc. for its plant located in Stanleytown, VA. As one of the United States’ largest and more traditional furniture manufacturers, Stanley
Furniture found that OMGA’s finger jointing technology could greatly help its wood reclaiming process.

OMGA will deliver and install its Finger Jointing Line model FJL 180 SA in the first quarter of 2007.

The FJL 180 SA continues to be one of OMGA’s top products along with its through-feed and push-feed optimizing and defecting saw. The order from Stanley Furniture further confirms this.