FKI Logistex Hybrid Cranes Now Made in U.S.A.

By: E&P Staff FKI Logistex announced it now manufactures its hybrid automated-storage-and-retrieval (AS/RS) cranes in the United States.

"Our St. Louis manufacturing capability will provide North American customers with the same level of manufacturing and technical support we have been providing from our UK-based facility -- with the advantage of being closer to home," Stephen Legg, FKI Logistex product and technology development director, said in a statement.

North American customers have asked that equipment be built in the U.S. with U.S. parts, said Ken Matson, executive vice president, Manufacturing Systems, FKI Logistex North America, "to avoid the volatility of currency risk, to increase spare parts availability, and to reduce shipping costs."

FKI Logistex has begun manufacturing a model of its Maestro crane in St. Louis as part of a large order for a U.S.-based customer. The rest of the FKI Logistex crane product line, including all Condor units, will still be made in the United Kingdom.

Once the semi-automatic Maestro models now being built are completed, automated versions will likely be built next, ramping up to units with different load handlers, according to FKI Logistex, whose cranes are typically used in high-bay warehouses in AS/RS applications, where they take advantage of vertical space that reduces warehouse floor space.