Carton flow
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Carton Flow is a form of shelving that uses a gravity-feed rear load design. Each unit consists of one or more inclined runways. Merchandise is loaded in the rear of each runway. As an item is removed from the front, the item directly behind it slides forward in place of the previous. [1]
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[edit] History
Lansing Peter Shield, President of Grand Union Co., applied to patent (2443871, D157092, 2623641, 2649207) the original gravity-feed rear load design using Unistrut & Nylon strips in 1945 (later approved in 1948). The unit consisted of several inclined runways. The device was driven by gravity. A stockman would place merchandise in the rear of each runway, and as a shopper selected an item, the item behind it would slide forward in place of the previous one.[1][2]
Grand Union formed a company called Food-O-Mat to sell the carton flow system, and made Gardner Hinckley the President. Gauer Metal Products, Inc manufactured the carton flow units for Grand Union/Food-O-Mat. [2] When Lansing Shield died of a heart attack, Thomas Butler was appointed the new president. Butler had no interest in continuing to use carton flow units in Grand Union Supermarkets so Food-O-Mat went off on its own to sell the product with Gauer Metal Products, Inc as its manufacturer. [3][4] [5]
[edit] Carton flow today
The carton flow design has gone through countless changes over the years, and has now evolved to full shelving units like the Gauer Flo-Rak System. These units consist of polyethylene roller runways and can be both stand alone racks or can be installed into pallet rack. Conveyor systems are sometimes used as an alternate option to carton flow shelving. These systems, although a viable alternative, are not adjustable and are difficult if the users' product lines change. [6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Description.
- ^ a b About.
- ^ Food-O-Mat System.
- ^ Manufacturing.
- ^ Gauer Metal Products.
- ^ Carton Flow Today.
