Forklift News - Poll recognises eight forklift makers

by US correspondent Roger Renstrom
Plant Services, a monthly trade magazine, has listed Caterpillar, Clark, Crown, Hyster, Nissan, Raymond, Toyota and Yale as forklift-category recipients of its 2006 readers’ choice awards.

Readers recognised Genie and JLG in the category for aerial work platforms, Columbus McKinnon, Demag, Milwaukee/Budgit, P&H and Yale for cranes and hoists and Kelley and Rite-Hite for dock equipment, excluding doors.

The magazine conducts the poll using a fill-in-the-blank electronic format and, in each of 60 categories, asks readers to name suppliers delivering the best value.

In late 2005, Plant Services distributed ballots to an e-mail database of about 40,000 pre-qualified subscribers, including technicians, supervisors, engineers and plant managers.

The magazine tries to electronically secure the survey against multiple responses from an original address or unauthorised votes from anyone not on the subscriber list. "Every supplier has an equal chance," said Paul Studebaker, editor in chief of Plant Services magazine. About 300 readers, less than one per cent of those polled, submitted ballots.

For its 2005 readers’ choice awards, the magazine published a percentage result for each award recipient, but decided not to published percentage results for the 2006 poll.

Toyota Material Handling USA Inc (TMHU) took the initiative to contact the Itasca-based magazine and inquired about its ranking in the forklift category award.

"They did come out on top," Studebaker said. In the 2005 awards, Toyota also ranked first among forklift makers. In 2005, Columbus McKinnon was first among crane and hoist makers and Rite-Hite was first among dock equipment makers.

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