Heckmondwike is a leading British manufacturer of commercial carpets located in Liversedge, West Yorkshire. It also manufactures sports surfaces for its sister division, Playrite. Since 1967, Heckmondwike has supplied its floor coverings to a vast number of universities, commercial offices, colleges, and care homes across the UK. Heckmondwike’s commercial carpets are designed to be used in areas where high amounts of footfall and traffic mean that the durability of the carpet is as important as the aesthetic design.
Heckmondwike had employed radio based antennas and handsets at its 15.5 acre manufacturing and warehouse site. However, as the system had aged, these devices were becoming increasingly unreliable with patchy coverage and would only work with Unix-based central server applications. As part of its ongoing and continual investment in upgrading IT infrastructure, Heckmondwike decided to implement a cutting edge wireless system with the latest mobile computing solutions. A need was identified to give more future proofing, with the ability to talk to a variety of server-based applications.
Heckmondwike FB has a long standing relationship with Datalogic partner Multi User Maintenance (aka “MUM”) and turned to MUM to implement a complete wireless network and provide the ability to scan barcode labels on rolls of carpet for dispatch, stocktaking and all warehousing purposes. MUM proposed a number of rugged devices to Heckmondwike and after careful evaluation, the Falcon™ X3 mobile computer with Windows® CE6 software was selected. Joe Ozog, Director of MUM, explains why: “the Falcon X3 mobile computer suited Heckmondwike’s needs exactly. It connected to the Unix-based system seamlessly by means of the Wavelink® terminal emulator, assuring a seamless transition from the old radio guns. The Wavelink emulator also made the setting up of multiple devices easy, allowing the configurations to be saved and downloaded as required. The Wavelink solution scored heavily in Datalogic’s favor. When compared to other devices, some manufacturers’ prices seemed less, but only Datalogic’s Falcon X3 mobile computer had everything included in the box with the full Wavelink solution.”
Andrew Sykes, Heckmondwike and Playrite Managing Director, commented: “MUM delivered a cost-effective solution that gave us the capability to manage our stock much more efficiently than with the previous equipment. Our investment in wireless technology was made to ensure that the high standard of customer service that we pride ourselves on will continue into the future. We reviewed a number of barcode scanning devices and the Falcon X3 mobile computer was a clear winner.”
Customer: Heckmondwike
Industry: Manufacturing
Application: Warehousing and Store
Country: UK
Datalogic Products: Falcon™ X3
Datalogic Partner: MUM
