Robert Malone, ABS Indiana assistant warehouse manager, was the first to use a PC on a forklift.

PCs on forklifts latest ABS innovation

First there were car phones. Next came car faxes. Now American Bolt & Screw introduces the latest communications innovation for vehicles: laptop PCs installed on forklifts.
   The onboard PCs are the brainchild of Chris Hurley, ABS division manager, in Indiana. “These are definitely not our fathers’ forklifts,” Chris says with a grin.

A funny, but not-so-funny idea.

Chris acknowledges that the idea of putting PCS on forklifts may initially sound whimsical, but the enhancement is definitely a serious one.
   Chris says, “Obviously, we try to make our warehouses run as efficiently as possible. Putting PCs on our forklifts enables our warehousemen to pull orders faster.”
   “The faster we can stock and ship, the quicker our customers get their deliveries.”

In use in Indiana and California

	Nate Kehr Warehouseman ABS Indiana

To date, the “comped”-up forklifts are being utilized at the two largest ABS warehouses—in Indiana and California. And they are a proven hit with the guys driving the ‘lifts.
  Nate Kehr, a warehouseman at ABS Indiana says, “It’s great, I’m at the point where I can’t imagine not having a PC on board.”

A refreshing break from the past.

Nate reports that he used to constantly have to park his forklift and walk across the warehouse to a computer terminal. Now Nate zips around the warehouse, pulls one order, then quickly accesses the next order information via his PC.
   “Some mornings I don’t leave my forklift until it’s time for lunch,” Nate says.
   Rex Braddock, warehouse manager at ABS Indiana, says, “Our guys like the PCs so much that we sometimes have to remind them to go home at the end of the day.”

A long tradition of creative solutions.

ABS has long prided itself on incorporating technology that enables new and better ways of getting things done. The company was one of the first to institute value-added services like bar-code labeling and data-scanning, vendor-managed inventory, kitting, and deploying radio frequency equipment for stocking and shipping.