Dear reader,
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This is issue #125 - 18
September 2003 of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
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This week
Forkliftaction.com's research team has revised some
specifications in the Equipment
Catalogue for Komatsu and Soosung forklifts and the
Mustang range of all-terrain telehandlers. If you deal with
these brands, please check our entries and contact Rodger Lamb if
changes are required.
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1.
FINANCING LAWSUIT DROPS FIVE DEFENDANTS 
MEMPHIS, TN, United States
Citigroup
Inc has narrowed the list of defendants in a forklift
financing dispute pending in the US District Court in
Memphis.
In a September 11 court filing, three
commercial financing units of New York-based Citigroup
deleted five defendants from the lawsuit without
prejudice.
Toyota Material Handling USA Inc
(TMHU), Toyota Financial Services Americas Corp, Lilly
Co, of Memphis, BancorpSouth Bank, of Tupelo,
Mississippi, and SouthTrust Bank, of Birmingham,
Alabama, were dismissed as defendants.
The
remaining defendants are CTK Inc, four related CTK
businesses, controlling CTK shareholder Bernard
Panchikal, a related rental business, and CTK employee
George Terrell.
CTK has operated as Lift X
Technology, ToyotaLift South, CTK Services LLC and
Equipment Engineering Co and, through Mr Panchikal, Lift
Truck Service & Rentals.
Forklift distributor
TMHU, of Irvine, California, terminated Memphis-based
CTK as a Toyota dealer six weeks ago in the culmination
of a frayed relationship.
"TMHU and CTK had
discussions in January regarding the status of the
dealership, and the decision to terminate was not made
until shortly before the actual August 1, 2003,
termination date," said TMHU general counsel Ronald
Roensch.
Plaintiffs CitiCapital Commercial Corp
and CitiCapital Equipment Leasing Corp, both of Irving,
Texas, and Citicorp Del-lease Inc, of Harrison, New
York, filed the federal lawsuit in Memphis on August 18
(Forkliftaction.com News #122).
-
Citigroup website -
2.
**FORK TALK** UK FORKLIFT MARKET HEADED FOR RECORD
YEAR
SUNNINGHILL, United Kingdom
The
British Industrial Truck Association's (BITA) report on
the UK market's second-quarter performance has returned
results pointing to a record 2003.
BITA members
reported sales of more than 7,000 forklifts in Q2, down
slightly on sales for Q2 2002, but following a record
first quarter, when almost 8,000 machines were
sold.
"The combined first and second quarter
figures show that, with a total of almost 14,900 unit
orders, 2003 has seen the best first six months ever
recorded by a margin of around 500 units," BITA's report
said.
"With such a good start to 2003, a second
consecutive record year for the UK industry is a
distinct possibility."
A breakdown of the figures
showed that, in the first half, 58% of forklifts sold by
BITA members were counterbalance machines. Powered
pallet trucks accounted for 16%, and 11% of forklifts
sold were reach trucks, a buying pattern BITA said was
"in line with recent trends".
- BITA website -
3.
BALKANCAR WOES CONTINUE
SOFIA, Bulgaria
Embattled Balkancar
Holding EAD, once the world's largest per-capita
forklift manufacturer, made just 320 forklifts from
January to July.
According to the Bulgarian News
Digest, the company's output was as high as 4,316
forklift trucks in 1994. Production dropped to 522 in
2000 and 400 in 2001.
After several failed
privatisation attempts, Balkancar was declared insolvent
in September 2002 with debts totalling 400,000 levs
(USD99.7 million). The company's largest creditors are
Roseximbank, to which it owes 111.7 million levs
(USD61.8 million), Yorset Holding, 31 million levs
(USD17.2 million) and Biochim Bank, 1.2 million levs
(USD700,000).
In the late 1980s, the state-owned
company made Bulgaria the world's number one per capita
producer of forklifts. Balkancar forklifts led the
Eastern Europe and Comecon markets, and the company sold
its products in Asia and Africa. Comecon was an economic
organisation similar to the EU, linking the former USSR
with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
East Germany, Mongolia, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania and
Yugoslavia. It was disbanded in June 1991. With EU
approval in 1997, Balkancar forklifts were sold in
England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey, the Czech
Republic and Croatia.
4.
AUSTRALIAN STATE LAUNCHES FORKLIFT SAFETY
CODE
MELBOURNE, Australia
The Victorian
state government is developing a forklift safety code of
conduct to be distributed to forklift owners early next
year.
WorkSafe Victoria is developing the code
with manufacturers and suppliers in the latest move to
fight forklift-related fatalities, an Australian
Associated Press report said. Fifty people have died in
forklift accidents in Victoria since
1985.
WorkSafe's transport, storage & trade
operational strategy manager, Lance Kenningham, said the
code, expected to be implemented by January, would cover
minimum safety requirements for all forklifts.
A
study found 28 of the 50 forklift victims were working
around the vehicles, 15 operators were crushed, six
deaths followed falls from forklifts and one person died
from inhaling exhaust fumes.
"Forklifts have
become such a common feature in the workplace that
people start to get blas about them," Mr Kenningham
said. "They are an extremely dangerous piece of
equipment.
"We intend to target employers and
suppliers of forklifts who don't do the right thing,
very vigorously," he said.
- WorkSafe
website -
5.
**SAFETY FIRST** GIVE ME A BRAKE
VANCOUVER, Canada
Sit-down
counterbalance forklifts can be very difficult to stop,
particularly on wet surfaces. Many operators don't know
the vehicles have brakes only on the front
wheels. 
6.
FORKLIFT DELIVERS A SPECIAL GIFT
HESSTON, KS, United States
A
forklift has helped bring four metres of joy to children
at a non-profit day care centre in Hesston,
Kansas.
The two-storey playhouse, which features
two-metre ceilings, carpet, curtains and a staircase,
swayed back and forth as the forklift delivered it to
Hesston Community Child Care Centre this week (pictured).
The playhouse,
constructed as a fundraiser for the Court Appointed
Special Advocate Association, was donated by the
winners, Wayne and Edna Decker, according to the Newton
Kansan newspaper.
Picture courtesy of the Newton
Kansan newspaper.
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13.
MAINTENANCE OF FORKLIFTS ETC
APO, AE,
09094-3115, Germany
Closing: 19 September 2003 2:00pm
- Contract: FF4070-3188-0100
14.
PAINTING/TRANSPORTATION LOADERS AND
FORKLIFTS
Travis AFB, United
States
Closing: 23 September 2003 TBA - Contract:
F1305831781000
15.
FORKLIFT, 2 EA., 4K CLEAN BURN DIESEL, 4,000LB
CAPACITY
Fort Richardson, AK, United
States
Closing: 25 September 2003 12:00pm - Contract:
DABQ03-03-T-0090
16.
DOUBLE BRIDGE CRANE SYSTEM
Keyport, WA,
United States
Closing: 26 September 2003 TBA -
Contract: N0025303Q0310
17.
LIFTING AND HANDLING EQUIPMENT AND
PARTS
Linkoeping, Sweden
Closing: 08
October 2003 TBA - Contract: CPV:29220000
18.
SCISSOR LIFT WORK PLATFORMS QTY 8 + 2
Tinker
AFB, United States
Closing: 10 October 2003 TBA -
Contract: F34650-03-T-0236
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