Top 20 Worldwide Materials Handling System Suppliers in 2019

Records continue to topple as the industry achieves robust, global and nearly universal growth.

Modern's 22nd-annual Top 20 Systems Suppliers list showcases the performance of companies that have spent the previous year working to help clients manage staggering change. Some spokespeople from companies on this list even acknowledged the risks—to themselves and customers—of taking on too much too fast.

“The Top 20 and many others are so busy, they are not bidding on RFPs for large automated systems,” says Norm Saenz, managing director at St. Onge Co., who adds that spending on automation is not slowing down. “In 2019, the suppliers that can fabricate and integrate the required equipment within the approved capital budgets and expected leads times will continue to dominate the top of the list. Fall behind, and the new start-ups and smaller system providers may start to gain more share of the ever-increasing capital spend on automation.”

For now, there’s not much to complain about. Following a 16.5% surge in 2017, the list’s combined 2018 revenues grew 12%. The scope of available hardware and software solutions continues to broaden, but whether tried, trusted or transformative, solutions must be future-proof and protect against the guaranteed disruption that lies ahead.

The Top 10

Pulling even further ahead of the pack, Daifuku retains the No.1 spot after reporting 2018 revenues of $4.2 billion, a 14% increase. The growth follows a 25% increase in 2017 that results in a three-year growth rate of 53%.

Stuart Oliphant in Daifuku’s corporate communications department says 2018 sales grew steadily as a result of enhanced production capacity in line with robust demand from a range of industries including e-commerce and other distribution sectors, semiconductor, flat-panel display (FPD), automotive and airport systems.

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SSI Schaefer Systems International held steady at No. 2, posting a 5% increase to $3.2 billion.

We continue to see both retail and wholesale work toward omni-channel solutions,” says Michael Mohr, executive vice president of sales for SSI Schaefer. Manufacturers are also starting to fulfill orders directly to the consumer with their own e-commerce programs as online shopping continues to grow.”

As clients work to lower costs and save on labor, Mohr says enhancements to Schaefer’s warehouse management software are providing greater visibility throughout the entire supply chain and operations.

Following its acquisition by forklift and logistics leader KION Group in late 2016, Dematic is now a supply chain solutions operating unit of KION. The unit includes Dematic as well as Egemin, an automatic industrial vehicle specialist that previously placed 18th on this list and was acquired by KION in 2015.

Dematic again finished third with $2.4 billion in revenue. Growing about 4% year over year, the company has achieved a three-year growth rate of 18%.

Climbing from sixth to fourth, Honeywell Intelligrated’s estimated $1.7 billion in revenues represents a 70% increase. The number is based on the $6.3 billion in revenues reported by Honeywell’s Safety and Productivity Solutions business, 27% of which is from the warehouse automation division.

“We saw strong growth in the warehouse automation sector in 2018,” says Pieter Krynauw, president of Honeywell Intelligrated. “This was the result of improving the user experience for our customers, introducing efficiencies throughout our supply chain and continuing to invest in our Connected Distribution Center offerings.”

Making the list

To qualify for Modern's Top 20 list, companies must be suppliers of materials handling systems, not just equipment providers. In addition to manufacturing at least two major handling system components, a company must also employ full-time staff that designs, installs and integrates materials handling systems.

These systems include at least two of the following:

• transportation devices,

• storage and staging equipment,

• picking units,

• sortation systems,

• information management systems,

• data capture technologies and other types of handling equipment.

To be considered worldwide suppliers, companies must have a presence in North America and must also be able to report materials handling revenues to Modern. (Lockheed Martin, for example, is a systems supplier with a North American presence, but isn’t included in our Top 20 list because they can’t single out the revenue that comes from materials handling contracts.)

Krynauw highlighted the November acquisition of conveyor solutions provider Transnorm, which he says expands Honeywell Intelligrated’s solutions portfolio to support distribution centers and parcel delivery providers globally. In the years since Intelligrated placed 15th on the 2009 Top 20 list, it has grown by double digits in all but one year. In a 2016 transaction valued at $1.5 billion, Honeywell acquired Intelligrated.

After climbing up to fourth place last year, Vanderlande Industries was unable to report revenues by press time, so its 2017 revenues of $1.5 billion have been carried over. The same goes for Murata Machinery, whose 2017 revenues are good enough for sixth place.

Shortly before publication of the 2017 Top 20 list—when Vanderlande posted the highest growth rate on that list at 18%—Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) acquired the company. Following TICO’s 2017 acquisition of 16th-place Bastian Solutions, Vanderlande became the second business to join TICO’s new business division called Toyota Advanced Logistics Solutions (TALS), which manages North American activities in the area of logistics solutions.

Knapp’s last taste of the Top 10 was when it secured 10th place in 2013. It has now reappeared in seventh, climbing four ranks after growing more than 60% to cross the billion-dollar mark with $1.05 billion.

“Last year was a very good year, and longer-range projections are also very good,” says Kevin Reader, director of marketing and business development. “Knapp continues to grow significantly in North America and globally with a three-year, 370% increase in order intake.”

Reader noted strong demand for highly automated warehousing, distribution, fulfillment and e-commerce solutions driven by strong consumer demand, labor shortages and an aging workforce in the United States. He also emphasized development of solutions optimized for the digital supply chain to leverage big data, predictive modeling, analytics and artificial intelligence.

In February 2018, Knapp acquired Apostore/KHT Group. KHT’s product range includes devices for the weighing and measuring of stock items in warehousing, distribution and fulfillment operations. Apostore develops automated picking robots for pharmacies and wholesalers and is expected to complement Knapp’s ongoing expansion into urban fulfillment and retail operations.

Retaining in eighth place, Beumer Corp. crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time on this list, an 11% improvement. “Last year was a very strong, successful year with both order intake and revenue on record level,” says Uwe Kinski, CFO of Beumer Corp.

Gaining one spot to finish at No. 9, Swisslog reported global revenues of $923 million. According to a representative, the company is the top integrator of AutoStore, with 130 systems sold, and its CarryPick automated goods-to-person solution is rapidly gaining market adoption. Swisslog’s next generation ItemPiQ robotic picking solution was demonstrated at ProMat and is already in pilot operation for several accounts.

“We are seeing the benefits of focusing our organization around two key market segments: e-commerce/retail and consumer goods,” says Markus Schmidt, president of Swisslog Logistics Automation, Americas. “Strong interest from these segments in our flexible, robotic and data-driven solutions resulted in another record year in 2018.”

Swisslog, which is now fully integrated into the KUKA Group worldwide, acquired Power Automation Systems (PAS) in April 2016. PAS manufactures the PowerStore, a leading pallet shuttle system. Swisslog has also fully integrated both PAS and Forte Industries, which it acquired in April 2015 under the Swisslog brand.

Rounding out the Top 10 is newcomer Material Handling Systems (MHS). Business units include Parcel North America, Lifecycle Performance Services and research and development offices in Mount Washington, Ky., as well as distribution and fulfillment offices in Atlanta.

MHS acquired control system integrator Atronix in November 2017, global integrator VanRiet in May 2018, materials handling equipment integrator A2i in July, and sortation specialist OCM in August 2018.

“The continued transformation of retail and labor trends push companies to invest more heavily in supply chain infrastructure and automation in particular,” says Tony Mouser, CEO of Material Handling Systems. “Strategic investments and acquisitions have come together to expand our capabilities as an efficient, single-source partner, while remaining singularly focused on doing what’s best for customers.”

For years, this list illustrated decidedly top-heavy growth. In recent years, it shows there is plenty of business for everyone. In 2017, the combined revenues of the Top 5 totaled $11.5 billion and comprised 60% of the Top 20’s total value. The same cohort now stands at $13 billion, a 12.6% increase. The other 15 companies on the list collectively grew more than 10%.