In the interest of creating a more efficient warehouse, reducing cost, and improving speed, 74 percent of warehousing, manufacturing and distributing professionals surveyed last fall by the MHI Automation Alliance said they are planning or considering an automated project for their facility, according to MHI, Charlotte, N.C.

“The introduction of a robotic palletizer has had a huge impact on our business,” say Product Manager Jason Covington and Business Development Manager Steve Golladay of ITW Warehouse Automation (ITWWA), Arden, N.C.

Representing the “Tenth” reference in Tenth and Blake Beer Co., the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee is one of the company’s smallest, most experimental breweries, says Tom Cardella, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based MillerCoors division of craft and import brands.

Just as zone defense is used in basketball as a means to defend specific zones of the court and ultimately protect the goal, zone defense in conveyors also works to protect a goal — but this time the goal is a product or package.

Since its founding in 1969 by a group of entrepreneurs, Celestial Seasonings has remained situated against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colo.

Vermont Hard Cider Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Bret Williams estimates that when he joined the Middlebury, Vt.-based company in 1996 as its first sales associate that the company shipped approximately 300,000 cases a year. In 2012, the company shipped 3 million cases of its Woodchuck Hard Cider brand, he says.

Superman might be faster than a speeding bullet, and The Flash might be able to run at near-light-speeds, but superheroes aren’t the only ones with the need for speed.

 As many have said during tough times, “There’s nowhere else to go but up.”  

 According to Bill Leber, director of business development for Buchs, Switzerland-based Swisslog, “Capital decisions cast long shadows.”  

 With six manufacturing facilities and 22 distribution operations across eight states, Raleigh, N.C.-based Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV) has a lot from which to take inspiration.