Dear reader,
WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM,
MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #120 - 14 August
2003 of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
|
 | |
 |
|
|
 |
1.
AIRTRAX IN NAVY DEMONSTRATIONS 
HAMMONTON, NJ, United States
Airtrax
Inc has demonstrated its omni-directional weapons
transporter to the US Navy.
Airtrax conducted two
demonstrations of its multi-purpose mobility platform,
named MP2, on July 16 and July 17 at the Naval Air
Warfare Centre Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, New
Jersey.
The MP2 uses Airtrax's patented omni
wheels, which give a smooth ride and support greater
loads than any previous wheel of that type. The MP2 was
demonstrated alongside the MHU191 weapons transportation
dolly it is designed to replace.
Airtrax
president Peter Amico said omni-directional technology
was ideal for the pressured environment of aircraft
carriers.
"The MP2 and other omni-directional
equipment will reduce the need for human-powered
materials handling (which is) presently employed.
Airtrax is actively pursuing several follow-on
opportunities for MP2," he said.
Airtrax's
ATX-3000, the world's first omni-directional forklift to
enter the mainstream, is scheduled for release this
year.
- Airtrax
website -
2.
KCI KONECRANES TO SLASH JOBS IN
RESTRUCTURE
HYVINK, Finland
KCI Konecranes
will cut 200 jobs and focus on internal
efficiencies.
The plan, announced with
Konecranes' first half results on August 7, includes
further consolidation of production facilities in
Europe. President Stig Gustavson said the job losses
would not affect production capacity. Restructuring has
already cost the company EUR7 million (USD7.9 million)
in the first half.
Konecranes' policy had been to
introduce global product ranges at a slow pace,
safeguarding market shares, Mr Gustavson said. But high
market acceptance of its modern products and a lack of
market recovery had spurred the company to quicken the
pace.
Konecranes' Frankfurt operations, and other
European facilities still to be identified, will be
closed. The workforce would be trimmed in Finland, but
Chinese component operations would be ramped
up.
Konecranes said there was no market recovery
in sight. Sales in all business areas, except internal
sales, suffered, and total sales for the half, at
EUR312.5 million (USD353.2 million) were down 9.9%
compared to EUR346.8 million (USD392 million) last year.
Orders received closed at EUR298.7 million (USD337.7
million), down 8.7% from EUR327.3 million (USD370
million) posted in the first half of 2002.
Sales
in Europe fell 13.4% from EUR188.1 million (USD212.6
million) to EUR162.9 million (USD184.1 million) compared
to the first half of 2002. Business in America was
stable. Only the Asia-Pacific operations saw a
noticeable upswing.
Comparing results for July
2002-June 2003 with July 2001-June 2002, this year's
sales, at EUR679.3 million (USD767.9 million), were down
8.8% from EUR744.7 million (USD841.8 million). Orders
received fell 10.3% to EUR570.3 million (USD644.7
million) from EUR636.1 million (USD719 million) in
2002.
- KCI
Konecranes website -
3.
**SAFETY FIRST** IS YOUR FORKLIFT A TOOL OR A
WEAPON?
VANCOUVER, Canada
Forklift
technology has come a long way. Manufacturers are now
building vehicles with in-built safety features to
reduce accidents through automatic deployment of
stability devices.
Some lift trucks are now
equipped with automatic levelling measures, while others
feature memory functions to improve accuracy in
repetitive tasks.
Click
here to read the full text of this special
feature.
4.
PINGUELY-HAULOTTE SEES GROWTH, DESPITE FALLING
MARKET
L'HORME, France
Pinguely-Haulotte,
the world's third-largest manufacturer of aerial work
platforms, has posted consolidated sales of EUR107.4
million (USD121.5 million) for the first half of 2003, a
10% increase from the first half of
2002.
Turnover for the second quarter finished at
EUR67.2 million (USD76.1 million), up 7% on the EUR62.5
million (USD70.7 million) reported for Q2,
2002.
A Pinguely-Haulotte statement said its
results improved due to an expansion of products and
services to include financing, training and
maintenance.
The expansion had allowed the
company to increase turnover, despite the worldwide
market downturn, "which shows a projected decrease of
10% in 2003".
"Given (decreasing exchange rates)
and unclear economic prospects for the second half, the
company confirms its cautious forecast for 2003 and
continues optimising its production and sales
facilities," the statement said.
- Pinguely-Haulotte
website -
5.
FORKLIFT SAFETY BLITZ LAUNCHED
MELBOURNE, Australia
Forklifts are
the major focus of a blitz on workplace safety taking
place in Swan Hill, in country Victoria, next
week.
The week-long operation will be conducted
by WorkSafe Victoria, the state government's workplace
health & safety authority.
WorkSafe transport
& storage director Trevor Martin said a 53-year-old
man was crushed between the mast and roll cage of a
forklift in June.
"Forklifts are one of the most
dangerous pieces of equipment in the workplace. Since
1958, they have been responsible for 50 deaths and more
than 6000 injuries in Victoria," Mr Martin
said.
"What is unique about forklifts is that
more than half the people who died were not even using
the machines. They were pedestrians, including the
public, hit by forklifts or crushed by falling
loads."
Mr Martin said it was still common to
find workplaces where forklifts and pedestrians were
working together with no traffic management
plan.
This year WorkSafe produced an information
pack to help employers prevent forklift incidents
through improved forklift management.
"The pack
was the result of cooperation between WorkSafe, academia
and industry to find the best solutions to common
problems. It is the best safety tool any company using
forklifts can have," Mr Martin said.
- Download the information pack -
6.
DRIVERS VIE FOR NZ CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
PLAMERSTON NORTH, New
Zealand
Forklift operators are in training as the
township of Palmerston North prepares to defend New
Zealand's National Forklift Driving Championship title
for a second time.
The past two national winners
have hailed from Palmerston North.
Competitors
will contest the regional championships from August 26
to August 28. The winner of the Palmerston North
contest, considered the toughest of the five regional
finals, will represent the region and compete for a
NZ7500 (USD4410) prize at the national titles in
Auckland this year, the Evening Standard newspaper
reported.
Chief judge Maurice Flood said the
competition had been popular since it began in 1992, and
he believed it had helped decrease NZ forklift
fatalities from six a year in 1992 to two last
year.
| | |
 
FEEDBACK
We appreciate your
feedback and will reply promptly. A form to register your comments
is at: www.forkliftaction.com
or simply email us at
info@forkliftaction.com.
If forklifts are your business and you have news, press releases,
photos or tender information to publish, we'd love to hear from you.
Please email us at: info@forkliftaction.com.
COPYRIGHT
Forkliftaction.com
News is copyright. Unauthorised reproduction is illegal. We are
happy for you to onforward this newsletter to potential new
subscribers. If you would like to discuss syndication of
reproduction of our news on your website, please contact us at biz@forkliftaction.com | |
