Dear reader,
WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM,
MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #148 - 11 March
2004 of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
|
 | |
 |
Forkliftaction.com has relaunched its Business Directory. Thank you to all those
members who took part in our preliminary testing phase; your
feedback is much appreciated.
Use the Business Directory to
find suppliers, and check if your own company is listed.
The
Forkliftaction.com Business Directory is the first of a series
of great new website features planned for launch this
year.
Forkliftaction.com News this week features our
review of IMHX 2004, which finished last week. What did you
think of the show? Post your review in our events calendar.
|
| |
 |
1.
AIRTRAX BUYS MAJORITY STAKE IN FILCO 
HAMMONTON, NJ, United States
Airtrax
Inc, the US developer of the Sidewinder omni-directional
forklift, will acquire 51% of Filco GmbH, the new owner
of the formerly bankrupt Clark Europe.
Filco
acquired Clark Material Handling GmbH, in Mulheim,
Germany, last April (Forkliftaction.com News #104). The
200,000-square-foot plant in Mulheim is leased by Filco
with an option to purchase.
Airtrax will buy the
51% interest in Filco from Fil Filipov, principal
shareholder. In exchange, Airtrax will pay Mr Filipov
EUR12,750 (USD15,590) and provide USD1.3 million in
working capital loans over three months. Airtrax also
gave Mr Filipov a seat on its board, and options to
900,000 Airtrax shares.
Airtrax president Peter
Amico said: "Beyond the past sales and production
capabilities attained at this facility, we hope the
agreement will enable us to leverage Filco's established
production facilities and European associations for our
Sidewinder [forklift], as well as provide a platform for
us to [market] private-label, non-omni-directional
forklifts on a worldwide basis."
- Airtrax website -
2.
IMHX 2004 - THE UK'S BACK ON THE MAP
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom
Last week
IMHX 2004 was run successfully at the National
Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, and, though some
exhibitors and visitors took ages to reach the NEC by
car, it was worth the trouble. The UK is back on the
map! Forkliftaction.com staff were among the thousands
of visitors mingling in the stands. Correspondent Luc
De Smet reviews Europe's biggest show of the
year.
Click here for the
story.
- IMHX 2004 website -
3.
BT INDUSTRIES: DEMAND UP, SALES DOWN
MJLBY, Sweden
BT Industries says
global demand for forklifts rose almost 7% in 2003, with
the largest increase in combustion-powered,
counterbalanced forklifts.
In a financial report
for 2003, BT said the most substantial increases were
outside the mature markets of Europe and the USA. The
world market was estimated at 633,000 units. The
warehouse segment, BT's core market, accounted for
250,000 units, and grew 3%.
BT's global warehouse
market share declined slightly, and sat at slightly more
than 20% for the year.
"One reason is that we
have had an unfavourable market mix," CEO Per Zaunders
said. "The markets where [we have] strong positions have
experienced weaker development than markets where [we]
traditionally have a low market share.
"The most
important example of this is the USA, where BT
Industries has a relatively high share. Because of the
trend in recent years, this region now represents a
smaller share of the global market than
before."
The group's total 2003 orders amounted
to SEK12 billion (USD1.6 billion), a decrease of 4% from
2002. Net sales totalled SEK11.88 billion (USD1.58
billion), also a 4% decrease.
"The predominant
reason for the decrease in orders received and net sales
was the translation of the weaker US dollar," Mr
Zaunders said.
Of the group's net sales, 54% were
in Western Europe, 36% in North America and 10% in the
rest of the world. Income after net financial items
decreased 8% to SEK736 million (USD98.2
million).
"Economic conditions going forward in
priority segments are looking better. We are well
prepared for a likely upswing, and we anticipate
maintaining a high rate of product renewal to capitalise
on increasingly positive market conditions," Mr Zaunders
said.
- BT
Industries website -
4.
**ADVERTISEMENT** RUBBER TYRED GANTRIES TO
CLEAR
MAKE: PACECO
MODEL: 150M
YEAR:
1982
CAPACITY: 40.64 tonnes
GAUGE: 22
metres
HEIGHT: Approx 20 metres
POWER SOURCE
(Prime): Cummins 6 CT8-3
POWER SOURCE (Secondary): 65
KW DC Generator
SPREADER: Telescopic 20' /
40'
HOIST SPEED: 15 metres per minute
LOCATION:
East Coast , Australia.
PRICE: Negotiable
MORE
INFO?
Please email: iogilvie@globequip.biz
5.
SPOTLIGHT ON HONG KONG
HONG KONG, China
Hong Kong forklift
buyers prefer Japanese forklifts, according to industry
insiders contacted by Forkliftaction.com
News.
Dealer Horace Industrial Equipment Ltd
sales manager William Chan says: "We only offer the
electric-powered (battery) type of platform lift. The
forklift is generally known as a power stacker. Our
power lift comes from Italy, a Carrelli. In Hong Kong,
90% of the market uses Japanese forklifts, and most are
from Toyota.
"The industry here prefers to
purchase forklifts from Japan, as there is a vibrant
second-hand market in these and their spare parts, and
used and renewed forklifts are easy to come by. It is
important to end users that spare parts are conveniently
purchased."
According to Mr Chan, Chinese-made
forklifts, though cheaper, are not popular in Hong Kong
and users prefer buying second-hand Japanese products
than new Chinese forklifts, which suffer from quality
and reliability problems.
Kelvin Wong, chief
salesman with Crown Motors, distributor and sole agent
for Toyota in Hong Kong, confirmed Toyota forklifts held
the largest market share in Hong Kong.
"Our
technology is more sophisticated than other firms and
our product is more stable," he said. "Another factor is
that Hong Kong people are familiar with Toyota products.
Many taxis in Hong Kong are Toyotas, so familiarity with
the brand name helps."
Crown Motors does not sell
second-hand forklifts but, Mr Wong said there were many
traders handling the second-hand market.
6.
SAFETY FIRST: WAYNE CHORNOHUS
VANCOUVER, Canada
Congratulations to
Michael Riley for having the best answer to the question
posed last month about proper use of the
pedals on a sit down counterbalance internal combustion
automatic transmission forklift. There are other pedal
arrangements, such as those used on hydrostatic
transmission-powered vehicles, but we are talking about
the most common configurations.
Continued...
7.
KALMAR LAUNCHES 5-9 TONNE FORKLIFTS
LJUNGBY, Sweden
Kalmar continues to
expand its materials handling equipment range with the
launch of a new series of five-tonne to nine-tonne
forklifts.
Kalmar managing director Christer
Granskog said Kalmar hoped to grow through introducing
new products.
"In recent years we have expanded
our container handling business significantly, through
acquisitions and organic growth. We have also
consolidated our position in the heavy industrial
field," he said.
The "5-9" range follows the
launch of a nine-tonne to 18-tonne range in 2002. Kalmar
had now filled the weight class below, said Kalmar
Industrial Systems manager Leif Wallin.
"The
launch of our new series is an important part of our
expansion. It provides excellent breadth, ranging from
the premium model to a more basically equipped model
that will give us the opportunity to reach customers in
new markets."
-
Kalmar Industries website -
8.
**ADVERTISEMENT** LINDE TRUCKS MUST BE
SOLD
We have new six Linde A13 narrow aisle
electric turret trucks for urgent sale. These trucks are
brand new, and surplus to our materials handling
requirements. All offers will be considered, and a
discount is offered for a bulk buy.
Capacity:1350 Kg
Mast Height: 4960mm, 6210mm
extended
Turning radius: 2080mm
Polyurethane
tyres
Electric power steering
Centrally-controlled functions
Similar specs and
photo: see Spec-Checker.
For more
information, visit www.famcouae.com.
Contact Ayman
Ismail Ahmed
Tel: +97142135223
Fax:
+97142135523
Mobile: +971506684302
Email: ayman.ahmed@alfuttaim.ae
9.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
GUELPH, Canada
Bill Harrison,
chairman and CEO of mast manufacturer Lift Technologies
Inc, has announced a major restructure of the company's
executive team.
Sales & market development
vice-president Brian Lamb becomes president and
chief operating officer for the American
markets.
Konrad Ostmeier has been appointed
managing director for the company's European
operations.
David McBride, chief financial
officer and vice-president of finance, has had his
responsibilities expanded. He is now also vice-president
for information systems and human resources.
The
company has appointed Dave Chrismer as director
of quality, answering directly to Mr Harrison.
Mr
Harrison's responsibilities will be to coordinate the
company's strategic outsourcing initiatives, alliances
with OEMs, and strategic planning, product strategy and
mergers and acquisitions.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, United
States - Rental Service Corp has named Kevin
O'Brien vice-president of its Midwest region. An
accountant, Mr O'Brien most recently served as Midwest
region controller for the company.
10.
SEEING FORKLIFTS IN YOUR SLEEP?
,
Here's one for committed forklift
professionals who work day in, day out in materials
handling companies around the world. According to
Hyperdictionary.com, an online service with off-centre
definitions for everything, if you see or use forklifts
in your dreams, "you need to rearrange some of your
ideals to find a solution to a problem. It may also mean
you need to clear out old emotions and/or
memories".
-
Hyperdictionary.com website -
| | |
 |
11.
HI-TECH DIGITAL CHARGERS FOR LESS!
JAMCO is
looking for distributors worldwide for its MTL Digital
Charger, the latest, most technologically-advanced
battery charger to come out of Bassi, Italy. To be
globally-competitive, we have priced ourselves
accordingly, and boast higher quality than any competing
charger.
Key Features of The MTL Digital
Charger:
Fully Automatic
Programmable Start
Delay
Wrong Battery Detection
Equalization-Selectable Desulphation Cycle
much
more
All this for 50% less than any other charger in
its class. All MTL chargers meet CSA, CE & UL
standards. For more info, visit www.eagletronicchargers.com, Tel +1
(519) 748-5400, or Fax +1 (519) 748-5454.
Click here for the full text of this
release, including pictures.
| | |
 |
17.
TERRITORY MANAGER - FULL TIME
Central
Pennsylvania, United States
18.
PARTS MANAGER - FULL TIME
Santa Ana,
California, United States
19.
FLEET MANAGER - CONTRACT / TEMP
Chicago,
Illinois or Battle Creek, Mich., United States
20.
SALES EXECUTIVE - RENTALS - FULL TIME
NSW,
Australia
21.
SLIP-SHEET/ PULL PACK FORKLIFT OPERATOR - FULL
TIME
Golden, United States
22.
SALES & PRODUCT TRAINING MANAGER - FULL
TIME
Irvine, United States
23.
PRODUCT CONSULTANT - FULL TIME
Houston,
United States
24.
SERVICE MANAGER - FULL TIME
Camden, AR.,
United States
| | |
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 | |
