Murrelektronik Joins MHI

Supply chains are ever changing as progress demands new trends and advancements, and it’s because of this that Murrelektronik became a member of the Material Handling Institute (MHI) on January 1 of this year. MHI is the nation’s largest material handling, logistics, and supply chain association, and Murrelektronik’s membership with the organization further cements its leadership in the warehouse automation industry.

“Coincidentally, at the beginning of 2020 before COVID-19 was a concern for the US, we decided to invest our resources into warehouse automation to further propel it to the cutting-edge industry we believe it is becoming,” said Mike Drolet, Business Development Manager: Logistics at Murrelektronik. “MHI is the association that brings together suppliers, integrators, and practitioners to confront and solve the industry’s most challenging issues, and since we did not see our core competency represented in the current members, we felt that we could bring valuable new perspectives to the community.”

For Murrelektronik, a more active role in the warehouse automation industry means new opportunities for every automation solution in its product lineup. Rather than settling for a passive, reactive response to the growth of this industry, Murrelektronik’s membership in MHI will position it to be a driving force in the industry’s growth.

“Machine and system communications are rapidly increasing, especially in the warehouse automation industry; networks act as a lifeline for data streams,” Aaron Henry, Vice President of Strategic Development at Murrelektronik, said. “To guarantee successful digitization, you have to have powerful and reliable network technology. The design, planning, and implementation of industrial communication networks requires an in-depth knowledge of automation technology, and Murrelektronik brings that expertise to the table. What we will gain from the relations with partner companies in MHI are insights invaluable not only to our success, but to the success of the entire market segment. We want to contribute our many years of automation experience to one of the most exciting emerging automation markets we have seen in years.”

Within the automation architecture of a material handling machine, Murrelektronik components are installed between the controller and devices such as sensors, indicator lights, and barcode readers. When considering the topology of any industrial network, the main requirements are reliability, openness, and flexibility, and it must be able to be tailored to the specific application. The versatility of Murrelektronik’s wiring concepts and fieldbus modules optimizes the power and I/O of material handling equipment, and sets the new industry standard for a focus on ease of installation, reduction of costs, and increased diagnostics.