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Dear reader, WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM, MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE. This is issue #300 - 08 March 2007 of the weekly newsletter for industry professionals. |
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 “Pallet prices rise significantly in Europe.” |
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Chicago lawyer: "Case to educate dealers" MINNEAPOLIS, MN, United States A US attorney who helped a former Raymond dealer recover nearly USD13 million in lost profits said many manufacturers were “routinely conducting themselves in violation of state dealership laws”. Gary Leydig, the attorney who represented Minnesota Supply Company (MSC) in its court battle against Raymond Corp, was commenting on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit’s decision last week to deny Raymond Corp’s application for a rehearing. On December 28, 2006, the Court of Appeals had affirmed a District Court judgement against Raymond, awarding USD12,864,117.54 to MSC. MSC sued Raymond in 1999 for wrongfully terminating its dealership agreement in 1997 (Forkliftaction.com News #113). Forkliftaction.com News reported in issue#113 that MSC lost profits of more than USD14 million, due to the cost of maintaining separate lines for Caterpillar and Raymond. But Leydig said the forklift dealer lost profits due to the termination of its Raymond dealership, not expenses incurred for maintaining separate lines. Raymond Corp president and CEO James J Malvaso said in a statement: “We knew going in that our chances on this appeal were very slim. We are not surprised by the ruling. As I stated before, this is a sad example of the current state of our legal system. “Our plans for this company will not be impacted in any way by the decision.” Leydig said that, over the course of the case, MSC’s claims were looked at by a US magistrate judge, a US District Court judge, a 12-person jury and by three Circuit Court judges on the US Court of Appeals. “They all came to the same conclusion that Raymond violated the Minnesota statute, wrongfully terminated MSC’s dealership and inflicted damages on MSC in excess of USD12.8 million. “I hope the appellate court’s recent decisions and orders will cause Raymond, and others who think like Raymond, to reconsider the obviously self-serving and wrong-headed outlook on the greatest and fairest legal system in the world. “A large part of my practice involves representing dealers. Many dealers are unaware that these and similar statutes exist for their protection. I hope this case educates dealers about their potential rights and causes manufacturers to draft fairer contracts and treat their dealers with the good faith and fairness these statutes require,” he said. Leydig, from the Riordan, Fulkerson, Hupert & Coleman law firm, in Chicago, Illinois, specialises in business litigation and representing distributors and franchisees. June 2003 US District Court jury finds Raymond wrongfully terminated dealership agreement, awards USD14 million to MSC. January 2004 US District Court judge enters new judgement amount of USD12,864,117.54 after recalculating interest. December 2006 US Court of Appeals affirms the US District Court’s decision. March 1, 2007 US Court of Appeals denies Raymond’s application for rehearing. March 5, 2007 US Court of Appeals awards MSC USD122,050.95 in fees and expenses incurred in responding to Raymond’s appeal. The trial judge had awarded MSC lawyer’s fees and litigation expenses of USD748,593.27 in early 2004.  Pallet prices up in Europe WEYBRIDGE, United Kingdom The rising price of timber across Europe is increasing the cost of pallets and leading to pallet shortages, says pooled pallet service provider Chep. In a media release promoting Chep’s pooled pallet service, Chep said higher timber prices had also led to cost increases for the alternative white pallet exchange. The statement said Chep was largely insulated from the timber price rises. The pooled pallet service provider had more than 120 million pallets in its European pool that were recyled and reused “almost indefinitely”. Chep pallets are painted blue and regularly returned to service centres for maintenance. Chep Europe marketing director Robert Hutchison said companies participating in the “white” pallet pool used unpainted pallets. Companies “buy pallets to ship goods and receive empty pallets in exchange. As a pool member, they are responsible for repairing damaged pallets”, he said. Timber prices increased substantially in the past year because of growing demand from China, Russia and the Baltic states. Poor weather conditions in Austria and Germany also impacted negatively on the harvest. The European federation representing national associations in the pallet and packaging industry, FEFPEB, said in a December media that there had been “significant upward pressure on timber supplies to the European pallet and packaging industry” since June. “The supply situation has not improved, on the contrary, it has deteriorated in some European regions.” Chep cited the German Timber Price Index from Bloomberg showing timber prices in Germany increased about 500 per cent from July 2005 to July 2006.  High level changes at Komatsu Forklift parent  TOKYO, Japan Komatsu Group has announced high-level management changes, which take effect in June. Masahiro Sakane, Komatsu Ltd’s president and CEO, will replace Toshitaka Hagiwara as chairman of the board. Sakane, 66, who was born in Shimane prefecture, graduated from Osaka City University’s engineering faculty in 1963. He joined Komatsu Ltd the same year. He was made a director in June 1989. In November 1990, Sakane became chief operating officer of Komatsu Dresser Company, now known as Komatsu America Corp. In 1999, he became executive vice president then, in 2001, president and, in 2003, president and CEO. Hagiwara will be appointed Komatsu Ltd’s consultant and senior adviser. Kunio Noji, Komatsu Ltd’s director and senior executive officer, will be appointed president and CEO. Noji, born in Fukui prefecture, graduated from Osaka University’s school of engineering science in 1969. He joined Komatsu Ltd in April 1969. In February 1993, he was appointed general manager of the production control department in the technical division. In July 1995, he was made plant manager of the Chattanooga manufacturing operation at Komatsu Dresser Company. Before becoming director, senior executive officer and president of the production division, Noji held a string of executive positions that included supervising Komatsu’s constructing and mining equipment business. Noji is married with two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing and mountain climbing. Komatsu Forklift Co Ltd, its parent company Komatsu Ltd, and other companies belong to the Komatsu Group. Komatsu Forklift Co Ltd and Komatsu Zenoah Co Ltd will merge on April 1, 2007 and be known as Komatsu Utility Co Ltd. Komatsu Forklift Co Ltd president Takeo Shibuya will be appointed chairman of Komatsu Utility Co Ltd. Komatsu Ltd production division’s current president, Susumu Isoda, will become Komatsu Utility president (Forkliftaction.com News #294).  For Sale: Clark Components and Spare Parts - Very Large Package For Sale A very large package of New Clark Forklift Spare Parts including frames, counterweights, mast assemblies, carriages, steer axles and hundreds of original OEM production smaller parts originally purchased from the Manufacturer's Germany location for models CMP 40/50 is offerred for sale. The package is now warehoused in Texas U.S.A. Package(s) by negotiation. Listing by part number and quantity available on request. Please send your enquiry and/or expression of interest to William (Bill) Lowry at wlowry@lowryindlift.com   Telehandler backs workers RINGWOOD, United Kingdom After 20 years of watching block layers damage their backs, the owner of Norfolk, UK-based On-level Paving Ltd (OLP), decided to use a telehandler for laying paving. Mark Read and David Ellis, who have been professional paving-layers for 20 years, bought OLP seven years ago. Read was concerned by the degree of back injuries suffered by block layers. “Inevitably, that means a serious risk of permanent back injury by the early 40s. And, that simply is not acceptable or moral these days,” he said. Instead of workers manually lifting individual blocks and placing them below foot level, OLP now uses a Probst laying machine, which places one square metre of paving at a time. A Merlo Panoramic P34.7 TOP model telehandler with a “whacker” attachment, made by Stehr, in Germany, is used to tamp down blocks and then, with a sweeper attachment, sweep the area after sanding. Each man in a team can lay up to 40 square metres of blocks a day but, using the machines, a two-man team can lay up to 600 square metres a day. Read said no manufacturer he approached could provide the “fine speed control” he required for the application. “Only Merlo, with its hydrostatic drive, could offer the potentiometer speed control,” he said. Merlo spokesperson Peter Grant said that, to his knowledge, Merlo was the only telehandler manufacturer to fit “as standard” a potentiometer speed control. “Because we use a hydrostatic drive with electronic management, a simple potentiometer can be used to very accurately set speed. “It is most commonly used on agricultural applications where a close control of forward speed is needed for spraying. In this application, the driver can dial in a forward speed to suit the type of blocks [being] laid and the degree of tamping needed,” he said. Modifications to the telehandler include a boom suspension system, an additional hydraulic cooler and semi-industrial tyres. Briefs Linde signs Potter RIPON, United Kingdom UK road and rail logistics service provider The Potter Group has signed a five-year contract hire agreement with Linde Material Handling to supply and maintain its forklift fleet. Linde reviewed the group’s fleet, in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the West Midlands and the UK’s South East, and, through rationalisation, reduced the fleet size from about 130 to 100 units. Three Linde X range reach trucks have been delivered to the group’s Selby, Yorkshire, centre and more units will be shipped by the end of 2007. Rocla wins Fennia JÄRVENPÄÄ, Finland Rocla Humanic reach trucks have been awarded the Fennia Prize Grand Prix design award. Rocla design manager Petteri Masalin said Rocla’s designers conducted comprehensive research on what forklift drivers liked and needed. “We also studied the spaces in which trucks were being used. The results served as the basis for the design of the truck,” he said. Manufacturers join TECMA MEXICO CITY, Mexico The Mexican Association of Machinery Distributors will sponsor the International Mexican Machine Tool Exhibition (TECMA) at the Expo Bancomer Santa Fe, in Mexico City, from March 6 to March 9. According to Forkliftaction.com News’s South of the Border columnist Rolf Slobotzky, Raymond, Yales, Moffett, Intrupa and SMH will exhibit at the biennial show. “Whoever has or needs a machine tool manufactures something that has to be moved. Therefore this makes them automatically forklift users,” Slobotzky said.  Advertise with Forkliftaction.com Six years ago Forkliftaction.com’s internet portal was launched (19 December 2001). Since that day the industry web portal has grown remarkably in both content and traffic. Today Forkliftaction.com is the biggest materials handling industry portal. The industry newsletter circulates to over 95,ooo mail boxes every week. Take advantage of Forkliftaction.com’s wide audience to advertise your products or to strengthen your brand. Our member community consists of forklift suppliers (41%), forklift owners & fleet managers (31%), manufacturers (23%), and other industry professionals such as trainers and mechanics (5%). Forkliftaction.com offers an exciting range of opportunities, catering for both international and local advertising campaigns. Give your advertisements a local flavour and target the readers in your business region only: all newsletter inserts can be focused to target the readers in selected regions. Our team is trained to help tailor an advertising package that meets your marketing strategy and budget. We can assist you with user statistics, profiles, advertising results, campaign proposals and advertising schedules. You’ll find our advertising products very competitive with print equivalents. For more information or a no obligation quote, contact us: Email marketing@forkliftaction.com, phone +61 7 3369 9090 or fax +61 7 3369 9096. Stolen equipment unrecovered NEW YORK, NY, United States Less than 10 per cent of stolen equipment is recovered, according to the National Equipment Register’s (NER) fourth annual report on equipment theft in the US. The report estimates USD300 million to USD1 billion of equipment is stolen annually. There is currently no central place where equipment losses are recorded so existing figures were used in making estimates. The report is based on data from NER’s database of more than 82,000 entries of construction and farm equipment thefts, and information from the Insurance Services Office (ISO). Tom Stone, FBI-LEEDA executive director, said it was the “most complete analysis of equipment theft trends to date” and an “excellent example of how a public-private partnership can benefit law enforcement and private industry”. Skid steer loaders, tractors and backhoe loaders were the top three most stolen items of equipment. Lifting equipment, dozers and trenchers, making up less than 10 per cent, were the bottom three. Based on 4,858 theft reports submitted to the NER, the states of Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia accounted for 38 per cent of all thefts. The report said theft levels related to the amount of equipment in particular areas. Theft “hot spots” also emerged when organised groups of thieves worked in particular areas. Noticeable drops in theft rates were sometimes seen when groups were detected. The report said it was insufficient to focus on security of premises and worksites. Equipment must be secured by locks and immobilisers and through the deterrence of unique paint schemes and markings and registration programs. More equipment was stolen from “other’s premises”, like worksites, than insureds’ premises. In contrast to car theft, newer pieces of equipment were more likely to be stolen. New cars had sophisticated anti-theft technology while equipment design was still mainly driven by productivity, the report said. No statistics were available to create a general profile of thieves but information from theft and recovery investigations indicated thieves had good knowledge of equipment and weaknesses in physical security. NER advised equipment owners to make accurate information about equipment ownership accessible to law enforcement 24 hours a day. “The minimum requirement is for owners to keep accurate lists of equipment with PIN/serial numbers and to report this to law enforcement, their insurer and NER as soon as a theft is discovered,” the report said. An analysis of thefts reported to ISO showed only 6.5 per cent of stolen equipment was recovered. FBI-LEEDA, the FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association, is a non-profit association aiming to advance the science and art of police management and administration worldwide. It originated at the FBI Academy, in Quantico, Virginia.  Konecranes strong performance for 2006 HYVINKÄÄ, Finland Konecranes’ operating income more than doubled for fiscal 2006 and business grew for all segments and geographic regions. Konecranes’ operating income was EUR105.5 million (USD138.7 million) in 2006 compared to EUR49.3 million (USD64.8 million) in 2005. Net sales for the year jumped 52.7 per cent from EUR970.8 million (USD1,276.4 million) in 2005 to EUR1,482.5 million (USD1,949.2 million). Sales in all Konecranes’ business segments, service, standard lifting and heavy lifting, grew. Sales in standard lifting grew the most, at 81.7 per cent. Sales in MMH Holdings Inc amounted to EUR104 million (USD136.7 million) in the seven-month period it was included in the group figures. Konecranes acquired MMH Holdings Inc for USD64.6 million (USD84.9 million) in June 2006 (Forkliftaction.com News #265). Service sales grew 26.1 per cent compared to 2005 but decreased in proportion to total sales due to strong new equipment sales. There was a “somewhat higher” turnover in service personnel because of a tight labour market in some geographical regions. This increased difficulty in recruiting skilled labour and limited growth in the service segment. Orders growth was strongest in Germany and the US. Emerging markets China and Russia “continued to grow at a good pace”, a company statement said. Konecranes received strong demand for its container handling equipment from India, Bangladesh, Brazil, South Korea and new areas in China, Turkey and parts of Africa. Last year Konecranes dropped KCI from its name, introduced a new logo and adopted “Lifting businesses” as a global tagline (Forkliftaction.com News #276).
Victoria has Australia’s safest workplaces MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia The Victorian Work Cover Authority (VWA) says its latest financial and operational results helped Victoria maintain its status as having Australia’s safest workplaces. “Once again we’ve returned strong results showing Victoria is now a safer, more cost-effective place to work and do business,” VWA chair Elana Rubin said. “The turnaround in workplace safety, premiums and support for injured workers has only been achieved because of strong partnerships we’ve built with stakeholders and the community.” VWA’s half-year financial results showed improved management of workers’ compensation claims had resulted in a strong performance from insurance operations (AUD331 million). VWA reduced long-term claims costs by AUD139 million, adding to the almost AUD1.5 billion reduction since 2001/02. “The results reflect the impact of the market environment, with more than AUD885 million coming in from investments, driving a net profit of AUD675 million and taking the VWA’s funding positioning to a historic high of 128 per cent, up from 115 per cent on the previous half-year,” Rubin said. According to VWA, other improvements for the six months to December 31, 2006, included the lowest ever injury rate, lowest ever average premium rate of 1.62 per cent of payroll, the introduction of improved benefits for workers, and increased satisfaction among injured workers and employers. SALES REPRESENTATIVE Forkliftaction.com, publisher of this international industry publication and web portal, is looking for a motivated sales representative to join the team. If you feel you can develop a good raport with Forklift Dealers, Rental Fleet Companies and Parts & Components Suppliers to the industry, please contact us. We need someone to represent us in the Australian and New Zealand market from our offices, based in Brisbane. For more information on this exciting work opportunity, click here, or contact the Forkliftaction.com team: email info@forkliftaction.com, fax +61 (0)7 3369 9096 or phone +61 (0)7 3369 9090 and ask for Ann.  Send this newsletter to an associate
SMH Promotes Gaughan to Director of Business Development Systems Material Handling (SMH), Olathe, KS is proud to announce the promotion of John Gaughan to Director of Business Development. Located in the Grayslake, IL facility Gaughan will have will have direct responsibility for all US Sales for the brands Intrupa, LPM, and TotalSource. Click here for the full text of this release, including pictures. Western Tydens will be at IMHX Western Tydens, a British exhaust manufacturer, together with our partners Engine Control Systems (ECS), will be exhibiting our Combifilter range of Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF), Catalytic Converters and Spark Arresters at the IMHX show in Birmingham. Click here for the full text of this release, including pictures. LOGISTEX 2007, Warehousing and Transport Expo, Poland. The Kolporter EXPO company invites you to LOGISTEX 2007, which is to be held on 24-26 April 2007, EXPO Hall, Lodz, Poland. The fair will be dedicated to logistic sector and it will provide an excellent platform for service providers and producers to show their products and services to decision makers from logistic sector. Click here for the full text of this release, including pictures. 
Hytsu’s release new products to meet the world market Click here for more information on this product, including pictures. Introducing the All-New TCM PRO Lift Trucks Click here for more information on this product, including pictures. Cascade Europe Introduces New Multiple Load Handler Click here for more information on this product, including pictures.
AEM initiative to attract young talent MILWAUKEE, WI, United States The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has developed a youth-oriented critical thinking and creative problem-solving competition in partnership with Destination ImagiNation Inc. Click here for the full Fork Talk feature, including pictures.
Gaynel Phillips, Nissan Forklift Corp - United States MARENGO, IL, United States Click here for the full Industry Profile feature, including pictures. Liz Richards, MHEDA - United States VERNON HILLS, IL, United States Click here for the full Industry Profile feature, including pictures. Sang Tian, E-P Equipment Co Ltd - China HANGZHOU, China Click here for the full Industry Profile feature, including pictures. Diane Talbot, Starline Forklifts Pty Ltd - Australia BRISBANE, QLD, Australia Diane Talbot, of Starline Forklifts Pty Ltd, believes there is no room for “girlie-girls” in the forklift industry. Click here for the full Industry Profile feature, including pictures.  |
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Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. 
