Material handling, an important operational requirement of the industry, concerns the movement, protection, storage and control of materials and products throughout manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption and disposal processes, embracing the life-cycle of products from concept to end of the useful life, till these are scrapped and disposed of. As a process, material handling incorporates a wide range of manual, semi-automated and automated equipment and systems that support logistics and make the supply chain work.

But as happens with peripheral operations that are not viewed as central to manufacturing, in normal course, companies accord the least priority to material handling but suddenly wake up to its importance when there is a crisis in terms of stoppage of work due the any disruption in movement of materials. But with increasing automation in most manufacturing operations, material handling is now gradually becoming integrated with the total production cycle, something the auto industry has experienced for long, right from the first mass production line over a 100 years ago. And there are some trends emerging clearly.

"A noticeable trend in material handling is that customers are trying out to save on cost. They are ready to spend on equipment to save on labour," says Manpreet Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Bangalore-based Elite Material Handling Company. "Material handling is now household equip-ment, even a small workshop is interested in automation in MHE so that the productivity is optmised. Logistics is also becoming more popular, and important, due to e-commerce where the challenge is to reach the customer in minimum time," he adds. As for new products, customers are opting for upgrading the traditional mechanical equipment with various levels of automation, which makes the equipment more feature laden and user friendly, with additional functions, says Manpreet.

The changing trends in the Indian material handling landscape owe at one level to rapid changes within the industry in the quest for being competitive, and the growing globalisation with more specialised manufacturers entering the market either as 100 per cent owned operations or through joint ventures. In August 2014, Mahindra Conveyor Systems Private Limited (MCS), a leading supplier of material handling equipment and systems, and a part of Mahindra Partners Division of the USD 16.5 billion Mahindra Group, strengthened its partnership with Tsubaki Group, Japan, a company with whom it has an existing tie-up for technical know-how. Tsubaki has now gained majority (51%) holding in MCS, to assist it in making inroads into new markets in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, with the company renamed as Mahindra Tsubaki Conveyor Systems Pvt Ltd. The company has emerged as a complete solution provider for material handling systems for the cement, power, chemicals, mineral processing and auto sectors.

Similarly, Voltas Material Handling Pvt Ltd, India's leading forklift and material handling equipment manufacturer, launched in 2011 as a joint venture between the KION Group and Voltas Ltd, now operates under the name of KION India Private Limited, after undergoing a change of name in September 2014. In November 2012 the KION Group - one of the world's two leading suppliers of forklift trucks, warehouse technology and associated products - became the sole owner of the Indian manufacturer. KION in India has well spread sales and service network comprising more than 70 customer touch points and has combined market share of around 30%. Voltas brand on standalone basis is holding No. 1 position in diesel forklift product segment commanding 53% market share among Indian manufacturers.

"With India taking active initiatives towards building world-class infrastructure, MHE manufacturers and suppliers are looking for more and more options in the huge market potential the industry presents," says Tushar Mehendale, the Managing Director of Pune-based ElectroMech Material Handling Systems (India) Pvt Ltd, one of the largest crane manufacturers in the country. The company's products range from electric wire rope hoists, single girder and double girder EOT cranes, jib cranes, wall travelling cranes, goliath cranes, underslung cranes, and special purpose cranes. According to Tushar, "The current trend in the material handling industry is towards developing products that have enhanced levels of safety coupled with high levels of productivity. Developments are also taking place in terms of making the products more energy efficient."

Globally too, material handling is increasingly seen not in isolation but as part of the supply chain. The lead theme for CeMAT 2016 is Smart Supply Chain Solutions. In other words, the show, scheduled to run from May 31 to June 3, 2016 in Hannover, Germany, will highlight the pivotal role of logistics in today's increasingly digitised and integrated industrial value chains. CeMAT, the world's leading trade fair for intralogistics and supply chain management, is held every two years.