With thousands of materials handling and logistics professionals at Chicago’s McCormick Place for ProMat 2017, Yale Materials Handling Corporation introduces the latest innovation in its robotic lift truck lineup. At booth #S1003, attendees can view a dynamic demonstration of the Yale^® MC10-15 Driven by Balyo, a counterbalanced stacker model capable of not only point-to-point horizontal transportation, but vertical movement, able to autonomously retrieve or deposit pallets from elevated spaces.
 
This vertical capability offers the versatility to accomplish a variety of warehouse tasks using a single robotic lift truck, including easy transfer of pallets from floor-level staging areas to conveyor lines, loading and unloading in cross-docking applications and stacking on elevated storage racks. The solution offers additional flexibility by switching from automatic to manual mode at the touch of a button or move of the tiller, providing additional capacity to handle unplanned challenges or fluctuating demand.
 
“The ability to lift and lower loads expands the application of robotic lift trucks to a new range of repetitive tasks,” says Lou Micheletto, Manager of Integrated Solutions, Yale Materials Handling Corporation. “As warehousing and distribution operations are challenged to find and retain quality labor, this solution enables them to reassign employees to higher value-added tasks for improved retention and career development, all while reducing total operating costs.”
 
The counterbalanced stacker model uses the same infrastructure-free navigation technology as the Yale^® MO70T tow tractor and MPE080-VG end rider Driven by Balyo models. It does not require installation of any extra infrastructure like wire, magnets or tape, offering easy route adjustment to changing layouts and faster startup at reduced cost compared to traditional automated guided vehicles.