John Maybury

Meet John Maybury, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) president, for 2006. He's a passionate man who wants to see more "new edgers" involved in the materials handling industry. Forkliftaction.com News reporter Christine Liew spoke with him this week.

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John Maybury's interest in machinery started young. As a boy, he had an acute interest in all things motorised. Motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats, lawn motors - you name it, if it had a motor, Maybury was excited.

Having a father, Tom Maybury, in the materials handling business helped spur young Maybury's interest in forklifts and machinery. He remembers sitting at dinner being fascinated by his father's stories of his projects.

Maybury was eight when he first saw a forklift; ten when he first rode on one.

"In the 1960s, things were quite different. There was no focus on safety and business rules. I used to go to dad's workplace and there were forklifts and personnel carriers. I used to climb all over them," he said.

"In high school I had several cars and would change the cars' motors. My first car was a Triumph DT Spitfire 1969. I enjoyed metal shop, woodwork and auto motor repair classes."

A charcoal drawing of the Maybury home where John Maybury and his father Tom worked from in 1977.

In 1976, while still a student at Western New England College, Maybury started Maybury Material Handling (MMH) in his hometown of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. His father had left a materials handling distributor in 1970 to launch a consultancy for materials handling companies. With the help of his father's contacts, MMH flourished and, in the first year, sales of workbenches and tools exceeded USD100,000. Maybury initially ran his business part time, as he was still in college. He credits his enterprising spirit, low overhead costs and his father's influence for MMH's initial success.

"When dad saw how well it was doing, he joined the business in 1977 and it became a father-and-son venture," Maybury said. Sales reached USD1 million that year and Maybury left college in 1978 to devote himself to the growing business.

Today, MMH has grown from a two-person business operating from the family home to 73 employees working at a 42,000-square foot facility. The materials handling distributor's annual revenue is split 50-50 between forklift sales and maintenance and engineered systems.

MMH did not start distributing forklifts until the mid 1980s. Maybury said a significant impact on the company's growth came when MMH was appointed Crown forklifts' exclusive distributor for Connecticut and western Massachusetts in 1986. Following the Crown franchise, MMH's business model and focus changed significantly and today Crown forklifts are its primary products. In 2005, MMH's sales revenue exceeded USD12.5 million.

Today it is not surprising to find Maybury talking about blogs and edgers.
He explained: "An edger is young person who is passionate about the business [in this case, materials handling distribution] and contributes to the present and future success of the business."

The East Longmeadow premises of Maybury Material Handling today.

As Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA)'s 52nd president, Maybury plans activities for the association around its 2006 theme, Sharpen your Edge. To broaden the industry's appeal to young people, Maybury and the MHEDA board of directors coined the term "edger".

"The challenge for the industry is to raise its profile and attract and retain young talent. If you go to a party, start talking about different careers, and say you are in the materials handling industry as a distributor, the conversation usually doesn't last long.

"If the general populace isn't aware, how would the young populace be?"

Maybury said the industry was increasing in glamour and sophistication as new technology developed and established prominence.

"New technology has become a larger part of the formula."

Use of technology as a marketing tool is evident in the online MHEDA magazine, The MHEDA Edge, a joint effort between MHEDA and trade association magazine publisher Data Key Communications of New York. Launched in August 2005, the online internet magazine contains a blog, or internet diary, popular with internet-savvy young people.

Maybury said the blog was a good example of MHEDA's efforts to educate young people about the industry.

"We are consistently trying to deploy new technology to get to the edgers."

On the MHEDA Edge website, there is a rotating, colour-changing sphere with the word BLOG on it. Visitors can click on the 'What's a blog' link above the sphere to find out more. The MHEDA Edge can be downloaded in pdf format and the blog accessed from the pdf. This month's blog contributor Judy C Flanagan is described in a mini-biodata as "remaining cutting edge by listening to her Edger colleagues". In the February and March issues, readers were introduced to the "Edger editor" and invited to read an article titled "Ford designs vehicles for Edgers".

"We are branding the word 'edger', making the industry more appealing to the next generation and educating people about our industry at the same time," Maybury said.

With his passion for the industry still strong after 30 years, Maybury is definitely an edger. He notes some changes that have taken place over the years.

"There's a lot more focus on safety. The competition situation customers and distributors face has continued to accelerate. There's far more new technology available that's affecting productivity of equipment and hence distributors and manufacturers," he said.

When Maybury is not busy running MMH or helping guide the activities of MHEDA, he spends his free time working on his home or enjoying time with his family. His wife Sandy works in MMH and he has two teenaged sons, whom he says have some interest in the family business.

"They have some interest but it's too early to tell if they will be interested at a later point. I recognise that they might want to pursue their own dreams. I'm not forcing them in but I'm not keeping them out either," Maybury said.


From April 29 - May 3, around 600 materials handling professionals will meet in Marco Island, Florida, to attend MHEDA's annual convention. The 2006 theme is 'Sharpen your Edge'. Visit www.mheda.org for details.