GREENE – The Historic Sherwood Hotel in Greene hosted the Raymond Corporation’s annual Inventors Club Luncheon on Wednesday, an event focused on honoring current and former Raymond engineers whose patents have been filed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As model of fostering innovation and design, some 32 patents filed by 19 Raymond employees have been awarded by the U.S. Patent office in just the past four years, averaging six per year in the last 15 years; and since 1929 employees of the Greene plant have been responsible for nearly 200 patents.
Keynote speaker Lance R. Collins, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering at Cornell University, spoke on the importance of innovative engineering and the relationships between engineering academia and industry.
Michael Field, CEO of Raymond lauded the dedication and hard work of Raymond engineers and said that he believes that patents are key to advancing the company in a forward direction.
“Companies speak publicly of innovation all the time. Thirty-two patents in four years shows that we act on that conversation and Raymond is truly invested in innovation,” said Field. “With this event, we are showcasing and honoring the people at Raymond who embody our philosophy of continuous improvement and innovation. Their dedication to this philosophy plays a large role in Raymond’s success today, and we thank them for that.”
For more than 20 years, the Raymond Inventors Club has compiled a list of some 44 members, comprised of Raymond employees and retirees who have been awarded patents throughout the years. During the recognition event, seven of the 19 engineers were newly inducted into the Inventors Club.
Many of the patents recognized during the gathering specialize in the areas of data collection, improved performance of the trucks, and energy usage. And as the global leader in warehouse technology and logistics looks ahead, producing unmanned forklifts that operate remotely is just one goal that Raymond anticipates will become a reality though the continued ingenuity of its team.
“Eventually as the [workforce] ages, we need to support [forklift operators] to give them additional capabilities; sort of like what is going on with cars right now,” said Steve Medwin who serves as Director of Research and New Business Development at Raymond.
Medwin likened the future direction of Raymond innovation to technology such as lane changing assist and navigation applications that currently enhance the driving experience in the automotive industry. “We're not necessarily interested in replacing the operator, but enhancing their performance.”
“At the end of the day, it really comes down to us as a company identifying what challenges our customers face and finding the best possible solution for them; because if our customers are not making money with their warehouse products, we’re not making money – which is why recognizing our engineers and innovators is so important,” said Fields.