Dear reader,
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MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #99 - 20 March
2003 of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
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1.
THE BATTLE FOR CLARK EUROPE HEATS UP 
MULHEIM, Germany
Young An Hat
Company Ltd (YAHC), which bought Clark Material Handling
Company (CMHC) in the United States to bring it out of
bankruptcy in January, is close to securing a similar
buyout deal with the receivers of Clark Material
Handling Europe (CMHE) in Mulheim, Germany.
CMHE
was put into receivership when YAHC bought CMHC. CMHC
chief executive Kevin Reardon said another company was
also bidding for Clark MHE. He would not name it, but
said it was a large US material handling company with a
big presence in Europe. He would not reveal the value
of YAHCs bid.
If the YAHC bid were accepted,
CMHE would continue to operate in its present form,
although staff numbers would be reduced. If YAHCs bid
was not successful, naming rights would be retained, and
YAHC would open a distributorship in the region. Mr
Reardon said that was an unlikely outcome.
Well
be there one way or another. If we [YHAC] were to lose
the bid, we'd set up a sales and marketing branch there,
so European customers would still be able to access
Clark products and service, regardless of the outcome,
he said.
Mr Reardon told Forkliftaction.com News
that, under German laws, the government had supported
CMHEs payroll since the receivership.
Clark
company management was removed from CMHE when the
receivers took over, but the company established
temporary offices in Ratigen, 10 kilometres from the
Mulheim plant. The YAHC buyout agreement is expected to
be finalised on April 1, the day the governments 90-day
support scheme expires.
None of the Clark MHE
workers has missed a pay day, Mr Reardon said. Under
this plan, there will be no gap in their
payments.
He said staff cuts were necessary, as
the number of staff created a significant overhead cost
and was one of CMHEs biggest problems.
Well
try to preserve as many jobs as possible, but some jobs
will be lost. Well work with all parties to secure a
satisfactory agreement for all concerned, he
said.
Mr Reardon said negotiations on
restructuring the debts of Clark Material Handling Asia
were progressing, and once Clark Asia and CMHE deals
were secured, a new Clark would
emerge.
Already in the USA the thinking is all
about the direction of the company, not like it was 12
months ago, when the major concern was whether we could
make payroll, he said.
Its been a slow
process, but hopefully well be back to business in the
next few weeks. Weve done it piece by piece, and weve
done it right. We just want to get back to making
forklifts and having fun.
- Clark MHC website -
2.
DAEWOO LOGS MANUTENTION ORDERS
SEOUL, Korea, South
Daewoo Heavy
Industries & Machinery Ltd booked USD12 million in
forklift orders at Manutention 2003, the international
logistics exhibition in Paris from March 11 to March
14.
A company official told Yonhap English News
that Daewoos exhibit was very busy throughout the
four-day event. Daewoo exhibited six types of forklifts,
including an oil-cooled disc brake model.
Daewoo
exports 37 percent of its forklift production to Europe,
and plans to increase that by 10 percent to USD51
million this year.
- Euro Daewoo website
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3.
JUNGHEINRICH PRODUCTS HIT WORLD STAGE
HAMBURG, Germany
Jungheinrich is
expanding in the world materials handling warehousing
market.
Since mid-2002, the company has released
new products which include the AMX, the AMX-E and the Am
2000 Inox Pro scissor pallet truck, a stainless steel
version of its AM 2000 pallet truck.
Jungheinrich
says the design of the scissor pallet trucks means that,
through an electro-hydraulic system (AMX-E) or a
quick-action stroke pump (AMX), the forks can be raised
to 800 millimetres, turning the pallet truck into a
lifting table or a work bench. Additional support legs
automatically stabilise the trucks from a certain fork
height onward.
The AMX and AMX-E work with only
one lifting cylinder, simplifying maintenance. The AMX-E
conserves energy as the battery does not lift with the
fork. An integrated battery charger with automatic
cut-out allows fast, simple charging.
The AM 2000
Inox Pro hand pallet truck is made entirely of stainless
steel, removing the threat of rust. Enclosed fork tips
ensure no dirt can find its way onto transported goods
via the rollers, meaning the AM 2000 Inox Pro can be
used in the food industry and corrosion-endangered
areas.
Jungheinrich is the worlds largest
producer of battery-electric forklifts.
- Jungheinrich
website -
4.
TOYOTA USA ANNOUNCES 2002 PRESIDENT'S AWARD
WINNERS
IRVINE, United States
Toyota
Material Handling USA has presented the 2002 Presidents
Award, formerly known as the quality dealer award, to 15
of its 79 US dealers.
The award recognises
excellence in parts, service, sales, customer
satisfaction and overall dealership operations. The
winners were acknowledged at Toyotas national dealer
meeting in Dana Point, California, late last
month.
Award recipients were Atlantic Coast
Toyotalift; Atlas Lift Truck Rentals & Sales;
Florida Lift Systems; Hull Lift Truck; ILT Toyota-Lift,
L.I.F.T.; Madland Toyota-Lift; ProLift Industrial
Equipment and ProLift Industrial Equipment Co; Shoppas
Material Handling; Southeast Industrial Equipment;
ToyotaLift of Houston; Toyota Material Handling Northern
California; WD Matthews Machinery; and Williams Toyota
Lift.
Winners were presented with a crystal award
and will receive a trip to Italy in May.
- Toyota USA
website -
5.
CD EASES ATTACHMENT PURCHASES
ST PETERS, United States
Meyer
Wainwright Lifttruck Attachments (MWLA) has developed an
interactive business-card CD containing its entire
catalogue of forklift attachments and a database of
available forklifts in the USA.
The CD, available
through the MWLA website, allows customers to combine
any Meyer Wainwright attachment with an available
forklift. It gives access to demonstration videos and
technical specifications for all possible
combinations.
MWLA products and spare parts are
manufactured in St Peters, Missouri, USA. The range
includes carton clamps, push-pulls, paper roll clamps,
bale and pulp clamps, rotators, multi-pallet handlers,
fork positioners and multi-purpose clamps.
- MWLA website -
6.
FORKLIFT USED TO MOVE 56-STONE MAN
SUFFOLK, United Kingdom
Firefighters
were forced to demolish a wall and use a forklift to
carry a 56-stone (355 kilograms) sick man from his
bed.
Paul Mason, 42, lived on a
20,000-calorie-a-day diet, equivalent to 81 hamburgers,
said a report in The Express.
So obese that he
could no longer move himself, Mr Mason was too heavy to
be lifted when paramedics tried to take him to hospital
for a hernia operation.
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7.
FREE MASTER PARTS CATALOGUE
BRISBANE,
Australia
QFS Australia Pty Ltd has released its
Master Parts Catalogue - 1150 pages featuring more than
seven million known part numbers and 270,000 different
items.
QFS is offering a complimentary copy of
the catalogue, which features complete detailed
descriptions, pictures and measurement specifications,
to users at its new website - www.qfsaustralia.com.au/main/.
QFS,
which supplies parts for more than 50 forklift brands,
offers fast delivery of all stocked parts, and can
access items not in stock within days.
For more
information, visit www.qfsaustralia.com.au/main/, call
1800-506-814 (if outside Australia, call
+61-7-3277-0877) or email info@qfsaustralia.com.au.
Click
here for the full text of this media
release.
8.
NEW RONCARI USA FORKLIFT ATTACHMENT PARTS DEPOT
ONLINE
FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, United
States
Unit Load Handling Systems, Inc. and Roncari
USA have opened a spare parts depot in Friendswood,
Texas. The depot will ensure next-day availability for
first and second echelon spares.
This depot will
provide the shortest supply chain possible to support
our users and dealers, said Roncari USA/ULHS president
Brian Scally. Our inventories will go a long way to
strengthen our USA entry and reassure
customers.
Unit Load Handling/Roncari USA
distributes Roncari forklift attachments throughout
north America.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phone +1
281-992-2006, email bscally@earthlink.net
or visit www.unitloadhandling.com.
Click
here for pictures and the full text of this
release.
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