Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems is increasing capacity at its Huntington, Indiana, manufacturing plant and distribution center, the company announced Thursday.
The plant, which is the company's primary North American distribution point, will upgrade using automation technology starting in mid-2025.
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The Huntington location was established in 1980 as a 30-employee manufacturing and distribution center. It now has more than 500 people in multiple plants encompassing 855,000 square feet and four buildings.
"Our more than 40-year history at Huntington has been marked by continual growth and expansion," says Eric Meehan, interim managing director of operations. "These exciting new changes are part of Bendix's larger strategic plan for increasing efficiency, expanding capacity and enabling future growth. They are one more way we continue to optimize our manufacturing operations and distribution while meeting customer needs at the highest level possible."
Bendix is implementing an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), a warehouse control system (WCS) and automated conveyance to create a goods-to-person (GTP) system. GTP is the process of using automation to retrieve products and deliver them to stations where they are processed for shipment or used in production. Bendix says this will improve safety, ergonomics, quality, efficiency and increase material flow.
"Going to GTP will provide Bendix an advantage from a distribution technology standpoint, increasing productivity for the business and improving our delivery capacity to customers," says Randy Seaman, director of Bendix North American distribution. "Moving toward GTP is an industry trend. We will automate and streamline the entire process of material picking and preparing shipments to the cusotmer."
Reconfiguring the center will open up about 90,000 square feet of free space, Bendix says, which will be used to address long-term expansion opportunities.
As part of the process, the engine vibration damper business will move to a larger space on the campus. Engine vibration dampers are used to reduce torsional vibration on engine crankshafts to prevent shaft failure and reduce noise.
As the damper business expands, the company will consolidate manufacturing and material storage to a single location on the Huntington campus.
"Through this strategic initiative, we can make the most of our production footprint," Meehan says. "The project will enable us to centralize the operation in a larger space. It will increase our efficiency and productivity, bringing out the best in our employees and, most importantly, benefitting our customers."
The move should be finished by year's end, Bendix says.
