Dear reader,
WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM,
MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #69 - 08 August 2002 of
the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
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1.
LID LIFTED ON CLARK MHC'S CH 11 EXIT
STRATEGY 
LEXINGTON, United States
Clark
Material Handling Company will emerge from Chapter 11
bankruptcy by year-end following court approval this
week of a planned USD25 million financing arrangement
with private equity firm Sun Capital Partners,
Inc.
In an exclusive interview with
Forkliftaction.com News, Clark MHC chief executive Kevin
Reardon said the company was confident it would re-enter
the marketplace as a fully-funded entity in December
"unless something crazy happens".
Under the
agreement, approved by the US Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Clark has 75 days to tender a plan for
reorganisation, and allow Sun Capital to perform due
diligence. Mr Reardon said the plan should be tendered
by the end of this month.
"The plan then enters a
25-day approval process, after which the court will give
us a hearing, so we expect that to be in early October,"
he said. "The hearing will set a 60-day clock on which
the approval and plan is acted upon, meaning that,
unless something crazy happens, Clark will emerge from
Chapter 11 status by December at the latest.
"I
see nothing in the woodpile that would jeopardise this
plan."
Assuming the plan proceeds smoothly, Mr
Reardon said debtors owed about USD252 million before
Clark's Chapter 11 filing would be offered settlements
by Sun Capital, leaving the company with USD90 million
of debt with German and Asian banks. Deferment would be
negotiated on those debts, Mr Reardon said.
"We
have focused on fixing the business and completing all
the industrial restructuring necessary to attract new
investors," Mr Reardon said. "I am very appreciative of
our dealers, customers and suppliers who have supported
Clark through this difficult period, and we are
extremely excited about Clark's
future.
"Obtaining and receiving approval to
begin implementing this plan represents an important
step in (the) reorganisation process."
Clark
applied for and won Chapter 11 debt protection in April
2000, listing assets of USD349 million and liabilities
of USD374 million as at February 2000.
- Clark MHC website -
2.
COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER PROJECT ON BRINK OF
COLLAPSE
BRISBANE, Australia
An
industry-first project to launch a collapsible container
is set to fold after the investment scheme coordinating
its fundraising was found to be illegal.
McNally
Australia Pty Ltd, which promoted a loan scheme to raise
funds for Foltainer International Ltd between February
2001 and January this year, has agreed to repay
AUD722,000 (USD380,638) to 59 investors by October 1
after an investigation by the Australian Securities
& Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia’s
corporate watchdog.
The foltainer is a container
that can be collapsed to one-third of its size in less
than one minute by two men and a forklift. Foltainer
International director Geoff Antcliffe told
Forkliftaction.com News last year that the foltainer
offered great cost savings, because three empty
foltainers could be stacked on a truck instead of
one.
ASIC said Foltainer chairman Robert Walsh
and McNally Australia directors Peter McNally and
Richard Ashton were operating an unregistered managed
investment scheme and providing investment advice
without the licences required under Australian
laws.
Investors were told their money would be
used to develop foltainer and other inventions, and that
they would receive interest until they requested
repayment. Last month Messrs Ashton, McNally and Walsh
offered an enforceable undertaking to ASIC that the
investors would be repaid after acknowledging the scheme
was illegal.
ASIC enforcement director Allen
Turton said the directors had also agreed not to offer
investment products or securities advice in
contravention of the law again.
"Companies which
raise funds from the public must ensure their activities
comply with the Corporations Act - and investors should
obtain independent advice before making an investment
decision," he said.
McNally Australia did not
return Forkliftaction.com News’s calls. Mr Walsh could
not be reached.
3.
PARTEK JANUARY TO JUNE RESULTS DOWN
HELSINKI, Finland
Partek has booked
EUR1.333 billion in net sales from January to June 2002,
down from EUR1.361 billion in the corresponding period
of 2001.
Operating profit for the half slipped to
EUR38.9 million, down from EUR47 million in 2001. The
first quarter operating profit was only EUR14 million,
but the second quarter saw a strong recovery to EUR24.9
million.
Orders received accounted for EUR1.242
billion, up from EUR1.236 million for the 2001
corresponding period.
Container-handling machine
orders dropped 17 percent to 370 from 445 in the same
period in 2001. Load-handling machine orders were down
four percent.
Orders for loader cranes increased.
Good sales of new models had a positive effect on load
handling's net sales, despite the segment falling 12
percent to EUR65 million compared to EUR75 million for
the 2001 period.
"The first six months of the
year have largely followed (forecasted) developments.
After a poor first quarter, profitability improved in
the second quarter. The strengthening of orders received
has markedly improved the order book," the company's
half-year financial report said.
"In spite of
continuing economic uncertainty, profit in the second
half of the year is expected to be better than in
(2001). The target to achieve a better full-year profit
than last year remains unchanged."
- Partek website -
4.
KALMAR NEGOTIATIONS END WITH 150 OUT OF
WORK
TAMPERE, Finland
Kalmar Industries
will cut 150 jobs at its Tampere plant as its strategy
to create single-product manufacturing centres gets into
full swing.
Negotiations with 170 workers
resulted in 150 lay-offs, which will be achieved through
part-retirements and termination of fixed-term
contracts, the company said in a statement. No other
planned job cuts have been made public.
The
change of operating structure, detailed in May, would
see each Kalmar product having a single product supply
centre, responsible for product development, marketing
and production. Kalmar said at the time that the
strategy would have "personnel
implications".
Under the new structure, straddle
carriers, rubber-tyred gantry cranes and
four-wheel-drive terminal tractors will be produced in
Tampere; reachstackers and container-handling forklifts
will be produced in Lidhult, Sweden; industrial
forklifts in Ljungby, Sweden, ship-to-shore and
rail-mounted gantry cranes in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands; and production of regular terminal tractors
will cease in Texas and be moved to Ottawa, in Kansas,
USA.
- Kalmar
website -
5.
JCB WINS GBP1 MILLION RAF DEAL
ROCESTER, United Kingdom
JCB has won
a GBP1 million (USD1.5 million) contract to supply the
Royal Air Force (RAF) with 27 JCB Loadall
telehandlers.
Most of the 525-50 telehandlers,
which will be used to move ammunition and weapons, have
been built to meet RAF requirements, but two have also
been modified to work at extremely cold temperatures.
All the machines have been delivered. Each telehandler
has specially-fitted lifting points to enable air
lifting by helicopter.
The machines, made at JCB
Compact Products, in Cheadle, Staffordshire, have a
maximum payload of 2.5 tonnes and a maximum lift height
of five metres. Most munitions are received in
containers.
The RAF said in a statement that the
telehandlers would replace an ageing fleet of JCB 410
machines, purchased in 1984, which would be phased out
over two years.
"The contract went out to tender
and it was judged that the JCB 525-50 Loadalls afforded
the correct mix of value for money, operational
capability and future supportability," the statement
said.
- JCB website -
6.
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BRISBANE, Australia
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Click here to make a bid now -
7.
CAPTION COMPETITION NUMBER TWO
BRISBANE, Australia
Following the
success of Forkliftaction.com's caption competition, our
office was flooded with new, amusing pictures of
materials-handling mishaps.
So, by popular
demand, this week's Forkliftaction.com News marks the
return of the Forkliftaction.com caption
competition.
For those not familiar with the
contest, readers are invited to submit captions to
Forkliftaction.com's photo. The competition will run for
a month, with the winner's caption being included in the
newsletter.
The instructions are simple: click on
the hyperlink below to take you to a page on the
Forkliftaction.com website. Look at the photo, think of
a funny caption, and email your suggestion to
info@forkliftaction.com.
Here is an example to
get you started: "The board ordered an immediate review
of the master stevedore's new 'container pooling' plan."
Good luck!
Please note: only readers with full
free memberships can view the picture. If you are not
yet a member, you may be prompted to complete your free
registration after clicking the hyperlink.
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Click here to view the picture -
8.
FAST-GROWING CHINESE MARKET LURES NISSAN
TOKYO, Japan
Nissan has established
a forklift and materials handling equipment subsidiary
in China.
Nissan Forklift (Shanghai) Ltd, a 100
percent owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co Ltd, was
established in response to "the fast-growing forklift
market in China", a Nissan statement said.
Nissan
Forklift Shanghai, under the stewardship of Mikio Saido,
stocked parts and had a service centre. The company
would provide technical expertise to dealers and
customer support services to Nissan forklift users in
China, Nissan said.
- Nissan website -
9.
MITSUBISHI CATERPILLAR FORKLIFT AMERICA TURNS
10
HOUSTON, United States
Mitsubishi
Caterpillar Forklift America (MCFA) celebrates its 10th
birthday this year.
MCFA began manufacturing
forklifts in July 1992.
The company, which
manufactures and sells forklifts under the Caterpillar
and Mitsubishi brands, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony
last month to open its new headquarters in Houston,
Texas.
The ceremony was performed by MCFA’s
current president, Tadashi Sotoike, and former
presidents Yoichiro Okazaki (1997-2001) and Tetsu Okuno
(1992-1997).
"Only through collaboration can we
achieve our goals; only by expecting more from ourselves
can we capitalise on our potential. We have achieved our
goals over the past 10 years and I look forward to many
more successful years to come," Mr Sotoike
said.
MCFA has produced more than 175,000
forklifts in the last 10 years, and has opened four
parts distribution centres across the USA. The company
has 97 Cat and 105 Mitsubishi dealers in the USA, Canada
and Latin America.
-
MCFA website -
10.
YALE WINS ‘CORKER’ CONTRACT
PORTELA DE SACAVEM, Portugal
Yale
Europe, through its Portuguese dealer Auto Sueco, has
been appointed sole forklift supplier to cork producer
Fabricor.
Based in Portugal, Fabricor is one of
the world’s leading cork processors. The cork is used
for bottle corks and shuttlecocks.
Yale was
selected from 12 manufacturers that submitted forklifts
for one-week tests. Yale has supplied Fabricor with a
selection of forklifts from its ATF and AAF ranges of
electric three and four-wheel counterbalance
forklifts.
A Yale statement said Auto Sueco would
provide service support for the machines. No details of
the contract value were disclosed.
- Yale Europe website
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11.
FORKLIFT ALMOST COLLAPSES BUILDING
BRIXHAM, United Kingdom
A forklift
has badly damaged a support stanchion at Brixham
harbour's busy fish storage area.
Support props
have been placed under an office to support the existing
column, damaged when clipped by the passing forklift, a
Herald Express report said.
Heavy rain had caused
cracks in the stanchion to widen, and sturdier props
originally used repairing a car park were put in place
as a precaution.
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12.
FORKLIFTACTION.COM AND TIMBERWEB ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIP
BRISBANE,
Australia
Forkliftaction.com, the global marketplace
for forklifts and container handling equipment, and
TIMBERWeb, the world's leading business-to-business
(B2B) eMarket for timber and lumber, are pleased to
announce a strategic partnership and co-marketing
agreement, through which the two companies will promote
each other’s brands within their respective
marketplaces.
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16.
2 PIECES OF POST PANAMAX GANTRY CRANE
Ankara,
Turkey
Closing: 05 September 2002 10:00am -
Contract: CPV:29221410 - Cranes
17.
RENTAL OF TWO (2) NEW FORKLIFTS, 4000LB
CAPACITY
Corpus Christi, TX, United
States
Closing: 28 August 2002 TBA - Contract:
N68836-02-T-0285
18.
PURCHASE AND MAINTENANCE OF TWO FORK-LIFT
TRUCKS.
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Closing:
14 August 2002 TBA - Contract: ND:116166-2002
19.
ALL TERRAIN FORKLIFT
Palmer, AK, 99645,
United States
Closing: 16 August 2002 TBA - Contract:
1050
20.
RENTAL OF FORKLIFTS UP TO 30,000LB
CAPACITY,
Petawawa, ON, Canada
Closing:
14 August 2002 2:00pm - Contract: W0107-02TN10/A
21.
4-POST ELECTRO - MECHANICAL LIFT, 44,000
LB
Hull Quebec, Canada
Closing: 10
September 2002 2:00pm - Contract: K2322-020005/A
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