Woodshop Panel Handling: Even Small Shops Can Automate It, says Hartmut Schrage of  Bargstedt. Schrage speaks at Wood Tech Summit 2012, Oct. 22-23 at the University of British Columbia downtown Vancouver, BC campus.

Bargstedt manufactures automated materials handling systems, that allow panel inventory to be stored flat on the floor in closely ordered piles just inches apart. Moving above the piles on a gantry, the systems use vacuum lifts to bring panels from storage to product cells - so no aisles are required for forklifts, allowing inventory to be stored very compactly.

Schrage will address this and other systems for automated materials handling, even in small shops.

Registration is open for Wood Tech Summit, a management level conference for North American woodworking professionals, Oct. 22-23, 2012, at the University of British Columbia’s Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver.

Wood Tech Summit represents the latest collaboration between the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at UBC and Woodworking Network. The two-day event will feature three comprehensive full-day conferences — Wood Finishing, Plant Productivity and Business Development. The event will also feature a Networking Reception on the evening of Monday, Oct. 22, including tabletop displays by leading industry suppliers.

Highlights of 2012 Wood Tech Summit include:

In addition to Schrage's presentation, Wood Tech Summit will include:

• Judson Beaumont, owner of Straight Line Designs, Inc. and a one-of-a-kind designer and fabricator of custom wood products, will keynote Wood Tech Summit 2012.

• Finishing & Business Development presentations by Bernie Bottens, contributing finishing expert for Woodworking Network and Custom Woodworking Business magazine;

• Finishing Conference presentation by Denis Staples, president of Deslaurier Custom Cabinets, whose successful rebuild of the shop he co-owns after a devastating fire is featured in the book, That’ll Never Work, Business Lessons From Successful Canadian Entrepreneurs;

• Plant Productivity presentation on North America’s first fully automated lights out wood products manufacturing operation;

• Plus, Finishing R&D, Green Marketing, Drumming Up Business with Social Media, 21st Century Prototyping and Integrating CAD/CAM with CNC Machining.

Register and learn more about Wood Tech Summit, including confirmed presentations, at WoodTechSummit.com.

For more information about attending the Wood Tech Summit or exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, contact: Iain Macdonald, Managing Director, Centre for Advanced Wood Processing at 604-822-1472, e-mail [email protected]; or Rich Christianson, Vance Communications, 847-415-8024, e-mail [email protected].