The material handling sector will see both changes and challenges in the upcoming year, if the word coming out of MHI's annual conference in Tucson, Ariz., last month is any indication. Among other announcements, the trade group shared news regarding planned changes to its Modex trade show and unveiled a forecast that called for a modest economic recession in 2017.
Some things stay constant, however, and where MHI is concerned, few are as constant as the support of John Hill. Hill, now a director for the logistics consultancy St. Onge Co., helped found the group's Material Handling Education Foundation (MHEFI) in 1976 and has served on the MHEFI board of directors since 1978. Hill has also contributed a lifetime of service to the MHI board and roundtable, serving in multiple capacities since 1977.
During a ceremony at the conference to honor his years of service, Hill was designated an emeritus member of the roundtable advisory committee at MHI and a lifetime director of MHEFI.
A former president of MHEFI and MHI, Hill is also a former COO, CEO, or other officer of various automatic data collection and supply chain execution systems companies and has helped with more than 100 installations of automatic identification (AIDC) systems (such as bar-code and RFID systems), warehouse equipment and warehouse management systems (WMS), and transportation management systems (TMS), according to MHI.
