"What we're introducing here is not just a product but a platform," HK Systems Senior Vice President Mike Kotecki said. He was referring to HK's new aluminum automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) series, the HK75/x, which offers low maintenance costs and the ability to handle weights up to 75 pounds per extractor as well as self-diagnostics.

HK Systems President and CEO Michael L. Gonzalez said that he believes that the company's new AS/RS as well as other cost-cutting material handling technologies will help companies remain competitive in these tough economic times. As a result, he is bullish about HK's future. "We should flourish in times like this," he said.