Bus has innovation in store

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

poland

A massive bus outfitted with the latest in grocery-store technology rolled into town Tuesday morning on the second day of its nationwide tour of local grocers.

Pan-Oston, a manufacturer of grocery-store fixtures, visited local grocery- store company H.P. Nemenz to showcase new technologies and products as part of the company’s Utopia Across America Tour.

H.P. Nemenz representatives, including founder Henry Nemenz, toured the bus, or “Innovation Center,” and heard presentations on products ranging from self-service checkout stations to reusable bag racks.

“The goal is to decrease the workload on the cashier and increase efficiency for the customer,” said Jeff Geron, Pan-Oston’s director for new business development. “And we are showing a customer that there are choices.”

The bus, which left Monday from the company’s headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky., will spend the next five months visiting independently owned grocery and convenience stores across the country.

Although the bus features only Pan-Oston products, the purpose of the tour is “more educational than promotional,” Geron said.

The tour is designed to introduce independent store owners to advanced products that can help local grocery stores compete with major chains, he said.

“We want to show independent grocers the technologies and advancements that will help them adapt to the current marketplace,” Geron said.

The main feature of the bus is two self-service checkout stands. The stands, which start at $14,995, are increasingly popular among customers, Geron said.

“Today’s customer is changing, and now customers want choice,” Geron said. About 80 percent of customers say they want their grocery store to have a self-checkout option, he added.

Nemenz said the company has started to consider installing self-service checkouts. The company operates 18 Save A Lot stores and three IGA stores in the Mahoning Valley.

Nemenz said he has heard of stores where up to 44 percent of sales go through self-service counters. Those numbers, and the fact that older people are increasingly using the machines, have forced the company to give serious consideration to making the investment.