In preparation for the annual meeting of the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA), Modern Materials Handling surveyed their readers to get a feel on what conveyor users want. It’s the fifth annual survey they’ve done, going back to 2006. They received 351 responses - the second highest number of responses ever gotten for this survey and most of the respondents were end users, not OEMs or consultants.

Some of what they learned was business as usual. Belt conveyor remained the most common technology in use (75%) followed by roller conveyor (74%) and motor driven roller conveyor (59%). Those figures were close to the same as last year. What was most interesting were the types of equipment end users say they’re going to purchase in the next 18 months and what is most important to them when selecting equipment.

They also asked how important were certain factors in their purchasing decision for conveyor. The reliability of the system was clearly number one, at 78%, followed by 56% who reported that the price of the system was very important. That’s nearly double the number of end users who reported that price was very important in 2006. By contrast, only 21% of end users are looking for the latest and greatest technological innovations.

To read the complete article by Bob Trebilcock of MMH, click here.