It’s hard to believe we are heading into the 4th quarter of the year and what a year it is shaping up to be. Who would have thought we would be comparing current times to the era of the Great Depression. What is very interesting, is my wife Kathy’s great grandpa who just celebrated his 93rd birthday (happy birthday Leo) and is tuned in daily for the opening bell & closing of the markets, expressed his concerns 18 months ago of similarities in today’s markets to the markets of 1929. His exact words were, “Chuck I can remember what my parents were going through, the state of affairs, the signs in the market, and they look awfully familiar to what we are seeing today.”  At the time, we did not realize how accurate his concerns were. Well here is the good news, he was 14 at the time and today is proud to say he lived through that error, defended his country in World War II, married his soul mate, raised 5 children, built his net worth, and gives thanks everyday when he wakes up.

The bottom line is we are all in this together, the time is now to run a lean business, ask team members to do more, work a little harder, put in some extra hours, do all we can for those we call our customers, and say thanks to all of you for all you do for us.

And as long as at the end of the day we look in the mirror and can say it was a good day, then we will make folks like Grandpa Leo happy that the ground work they laid for us is being maintained for those that come after us.

Have a great 4th quarter and enjoy the holiday season!

Enjoy the rest of the year and thanks again for allowing us to work with you.

Sincerely,
Chuck Frank, President/CEO

In our ongoing efforts to provide new products and technologies to our clients, AHS has teamed up with Jervis B. Webb to provide you with the SmartCart® Automatic Guided Cart (AGC™). The SmartCart is ideal for transporting goods throughout a plant or warehouse.  Because it’s automatic and durable, SmartCart provides reliable and consistent point-to-point movement of everything from small parts to heavy pallets. SmartCart AGCs are guided by magnetic tape, which allows you to quickly install or modify the guide path in as little as a few hours. In addition, SmartCart has numerous load handling options to meet your specific needs.

If you are interested in learning more about SmartCarts and how they could work in your facility, please contact us today.

Preparing for Peak Season

As you prepare your facility for peak season, it’s a great time to consider AHS’s Planned Maintenance or 24-Hour Support. The Planned Maintenance Agreement will provide you with service and maintenance coverage for your entire powered conveyor, including belt, live roll and gravity conveyor. Our 24 –Hour Support is a customized 24-hour a day maximum communication and on site response team service between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm annually, semi annually or through your peak season.

Click here to learn more about our service offerings or contact us at 513.562.3997 to speak with a representative about customizing a service plan for you.

Are you being challenged to come up with new ways of lowering energy costs, or improving the efficiency of your facility? Today, more than ever, energy consumption is becoming more of a concern. Click here to read our white paper and to find out ways of upgrading to energy-efficient equipment and incorporating best management practices.

Promat 2009

• January 12-15, 2009 — Chicago, Illinois

National Conference on Operations and Fufillment (NCOF)

• March 24-29, 2009 — Las Vegas, Nevada

WERC 2009

• April 26-28, 2009 — Atlanta, Georgia

Do you know the answer to this question? You could be the winner of our quarterly Fun Fact trivia contest.

By placing this item on your front door during the holidays, you symbolize a sign of welcome and long life to all who enter. What is this item?

To submit your answer, send an email to kthompson@ahs1.com for your chance to win AHS apparel.  Everyone who responds correctly will be placed in the Fun Fact Jar and a winner will be pulled at random on November 1, 2008.  The winner will be notified by email. 

Congratulations to our Fun Fact winner from last quarter: Joe Rinehart

Joe successfully answered the question, This summer the 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, China.  Which city had its Olympic experience flawed by an African boycott caused by a rugby team from New Zealand?”

The answer is: Montreal in 1976

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Fun Fact Challenge! Joe, we hope you are enjoying your new AHS apparel.   

If you have a fun fact challenge question, please submit it to kthompson@ahs1.com  to have it published in our next Moving Forward e-newsletter.