Modern Materials Handling Interviews Bryan Knott, AGVS Vice Chair
Modern Materials Handling recently sat down with Bryan Knott, who is our vice-chair for the AGVS industry group. That’s pretty cool.
Knott, who is senior global production manager, mobile automation for Dematic (a KION Company), discussed AGV systems. He point’s out that the AGV industry is changing pretty rapidly due to both innovations and acquisitions, and (anecdotally) that is showing in sales growth.
This comes from the technology of AGVs increasing in reliability and efficiency. They now have more independent navigation and are safer around humans, while operating longer. He explains, “several years ago, manufacturers and warehouse operations needed at least two shifts and typically three to meet 36-month ROI projections. Today, we are seeing two-shift operations as standard candidates for automation. Further, the labor pool is shrinking, which also increases labor rates. Lastly, product and facility damage can be significantly mitigated through automation, which is now becoming part of a typical ROI calculation.”
Read the complete interview at http://www.mmh.com/article/60_seconds_with_bryan_knott
Learn more about our industry groups at http://www.mhi.org/industrygroups and AGVS at http://www.mhi.org/agvs
