History
Bastian Material Handling was originally incorporated on October 31, 1952
by Elgan Stark, the father-in-law of Bill Bastian Sr. In the beginning, the
primary lines of material handling equipment consisted of fairly conventional
products such as casters, hand trucks, and carts.
The marketing motto was "If It Rolls - We Supply It." The business began to grow as a result of excellent customer service and hard work and, in 1962, Bill Bastian, Sr. purchased the company from Mr. Stark and became the new President. The breadth of material handling equipment suppliers continued to grow including: conveyors, rack systems, and ergonomic lifts. This provided BMH a wide spectrum of products to meet most customers’ material handling needs.
The company expanded its coverage to include the state of Kentucky
by opening a satellite office in Louisville (1965), followed by the
opening of a satellite office in Fort Wayne, Indiana (1969). A third
satellite office and warehouse was opened in 1988 in Evansville, Indiana.
During the 1980's BMH became more and more involved with Material Handling
Systems to control the flow of products in distribution centers, manufacturing
facilities, and warehousing operations. With the proliferation of microcomputers,
BMH also was drawn in to managing the information flow that accompanied
the material flow. Toward the end of the 1980's, it became clear that
well-designed material handling systems were a real strategic advantage
for industrial companies to reduce labor and quickly get their products
to market to provide better customer service.
BMH moved its corporate headquarters to a new office and warehouse
facility on the North side of Indianapolis in 1989. In January
of 1992, Bill Bastian II purchased BMH from Bill Bastian Sr. and became
the new President of Bastian Material Handling. BMH continued to grow
throughout the 1990’s, adding offices in Kentucky, Michigan,
and Missouri. In 1997, BMH purchased ASAP Automation, a company
who developed Supply Chain Execution software. In 1998, ASAP
created a wholly owned software development company in Bangalore, India. ASAP
Automation India Private Limited provides additional software development
resources for ASAP Automation U.S. and integrates automated material
handling systems domestically in India.
Halo LLC was formed in 2001 to serve as a holding company for BMH,
ASAP Automation, and future acquisitions or start-ups. In 2003, BMH
purchased Hytrol of California and opened a satellite office in Los
Angles, California to service the western United States. BMH also formed
Blue Arc Engineering in 2003 as a sister company under the Halo umbrella.
Blue Arc Engineering provides custom engineering and fabrication of
material handling equipment that is typically not mass manufactured. BMH
continued its steady growth with the purchase of VanPak in February
of 2005, diverse palletizing and robotics integrator and specialty manufacturer. BMH Robotics focuses on solutions for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer
industries.
Bastian Material Handling has continued to enhance its products and
services in the 21st century. These include; Conceptual Design
and Engineering, 3-Dimensional CAD Layouts, Simulation, Animations,
Detailed Equipment Specifications, RFID Integration, WCS Controls,
Inventory Management Software (WMS), Project Management, Installation,
and After-Sale Support. Today, BMH continues to provide the finest
material handling equipment and integrated systems expertise to industry
throughout North America.
