Warehouse efficiency, productivity, safety and quality control depend to a large extent on conveyors.   These critical warehouse equipment systems have to match their application precisely.  In other words, they have to be selected based on the product or products to be moved — the weight and size, where the product is being moved and so on.  The application determines the conveyor type.

So, like any other material handling equipment, the type of conveyor and its configuration must match the function to be fulfilled.  Still, even though you can’t just substitute one conveyor for another simply on the basis of cost, the amount of money you have to spend is an important consideration, especially nowadays.  You have to keep costs as low as possible and meet the specifications. 

It is possible to shop around for conveyors and find a good deal.  An alternative to a new conveyor that’s worth exploring is a reconditioned version that meets the same requirements.  In Kansas City, Missouri, Warehouse1, a warehouse equipment dealer, offers a variety of reconditioned material handling equipment, such as used forklifts, used pallet racking systems and used warehouse shelving, among others.  Warehouse1 operates its own reconditioning shop, working on equipment obtained from mostly large warehouse operations that are downsizing, moving or updating their warehouse operations.

Four categories pretty much cover the types of conveyors available today.  They include flexible, lifts/carousels, power and gravity.  Gravity conveyors, as the name suggests, do not require a motor.  Products are moved by their own weight or by pushing.  Power conveyors use a motor to move product.  Either gravity or a motor can be the force behind flexible conveyors.  In the case of lifts and carousels, products can be moved up and down or horizontally for order picking.  Here, the subjects are flexible conveyors and lifts/carousels. 

Flexible gravity or power conveyors are designed to be adjusted, reconfigured and moved, depending on the application they must fulfill at any given time.  For example, they can be used in the packaging and shipping area at one time and for loading and unloading trucks at another time.

Vertical lift modules contribute to personnel safety and worker productivity, as well as improved efficiency.  They have an extractor mechanism between two stationary racking sections.  Product is stored on trays in the racks.  The lift modules eliminate climbing, reaching and bending.

Vertical reciprocating conveyors move products to multiple levels.  They can be installed through floors or to reach higher level from the outside.

Vertical and horizontal carousels reduce inventory losses and labor costs.  They also increase storage density.  They are constructed of a series of carriers on a vertical or horizontal track.