Having a Service Trade is a good thing. Our nation is headed in the direction of a "Service Nation".
Our manufacturing strength is declining and we will see the day when many of our everyday goods will be shipped in.
Many of the companies that we in the material handling business deal with, much of their goods are shipped in and warehoused in large distribution centers. Seems to be a trend these days. But that will be good for us.

Now is the time to become a valuable asset to our employer as we are in this together. Soon, average material handling equipment techs will be a-dime-a-dozen.
As companies "Thin their herds", the less productive, and less "Valuable" techs will be loose their jobs. The "Slackers" will be on the "Indangered Species" list, which does not hurt my feelings.
Sometimes an economic downturn is a good thing. It causes companies to make adjustments and clean out all the "Dead-Wood" that has accumulated.

It is going to be interesting to see how this pans out.

-I- will still be in this industry 5 years from now, I have seen the "boom and busts" in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and now the 00s, and while none were fun, nor was any of them a spot in which forklift techs suddenly became as wealthy as doctors, it is one of the advantages of being underpaid (in relation to the investment you make to be in this industry), that in bad times, even fewer people are willing to invest the money in tools and the time in learning to become the type of tech people are willing to pay to have around. it will not be likely that someone used to using a forklift to move pallets of material will be willing to pay a person to move the same weight by breaking down the load and carrying it on their shoulders, and the demand for food is not likley to stop any time soon.
In this corner of this industry (forklift service techs) we don't get wealthy in the upturn, but we don't fall as far in the downturn either... (in part because there is not so far to fall until you hit bottom)
You may not get to buy that bigger boat you had your eyes on, but until you decide to sell your tools, you will still be able to feed and provide shelter to your family.

The new president said hes going to fix it all.All kidding aside I wish best ok luck to all and hope that maybe we will all have jobs in 5 years

Cleveland has been hit hard with this downturn. All I can say is that I have seen the market go up and have enjoyed it, and go down, which is obviously less desirable, and that the worse it gets the better the recovery will be for those of us that can weather the storm.

Happy New Year Dave.

Cornelious, the internet does tell the truth about the building being sold but it probably left out the fact that Clarklift signed a five year lease on the building or that we just odered a new sign for the front of the store. I bet it failed to mention that in December we hired 3 new people in Tampa to help take care of all the new service customers we are picking up from our competitors. People have a way of taking part of the truth and spinning it in to a rumor. As a customer you should ask your Clarklift rep for his side of the story and then decide what the truth is.

Rumor or Truth? As a customer myself how would I know which is which. It must be hard to keep the faith when the President/Owner of your company has sold the building your Tampa branch is in. Rumor or Truth?
This is the TRUTH the papers were filed on Dec. 29 and can be viewed on-line.
Customers have got to learn to do their research to separate the rumors from the truth before making any decision.
This is a sign on just how hard the economy has hit, as everyone knows, now is not the time to sell, it is definitely a buyers market.

I am a salesman at Clarklift of Florida and it is very tough to battle the rumors about my company. There are a handfull of dealers in Tampa that use those rumors against me on the street. I guess that is par for the course, considering everything we ( the Clark dealer ) have been through since I started in 2002. In November I sold 4 new trucks to a company that discarded the quotes from that handfull of dealers for using negative selling techniques.

slowing down on the west coast here for the guys servicing the lumber industry but we still have labour shortages and are always looking for GOOD help, a lot of the industry has shifted to the used end and service, which is making up for the shortfalls.

Regarding the comment about Clarklift of Florida never filing for bankruptcy; it is absolutely false. Just google (clarklift of florida bankrupcty) and you will see that they filed chapter 11 in august 2007.

johnr i, You directed this to me because ??????? My comment was not personal.
You seem to have missed the point, so let me spell it out for you.

When a company files for bankruptcy, this has a trickle affect. This does not just involve their company and its employees but it affects the vendors that are caught up in it and their employees and once you add the economy on top of it, this just equals harder economic times. Some companies obviously are in denial. You do not need to be an insider to see that.

May I say - opinions are like a holes everybody has got one.

Re: Clarklift.
I don't know or care who is right or wrong however I would not want to argue about the facts of my company over a chat forum on the internet. Unfortunately or not it is an unwinnable argument.

Bino2,
Here are a couple of things to consider:
1. The great thing we have in this country is called free enterprise and part of that is the fact that companies for a myraid of reasons go out of business adn people loose their jobs -especially when the economy goes South. When it happens to you *** it up and move foward - can't cry over spilled milk. I know well I work for a $2billion/year company for 14 years and they died they death of a rag doll.

2. As I was once told, unless you are in the inside of any situation, good, bad or otherwise, the rumor mill get in high gear. The best policy is to disregard the rumors unless you know all the facts. It seems Mr. Allen is definitely the insider here. Public records do not tell all the story.

My name is Larry Allen and I approve this message"

lol

Public records show that Clarklift of Florida is a new entity that bought Clarklift of Orlando, which is now dissolved. That is not a name change! The new owners have invested millions of dollars in private money to bring the Clark brand back to prominence. We have many open trade accounts and I'll provide bank references to anyone because we are strong. Clark has been making forklifts for over ninety years and we have great products. Clark is becoming a force once again. My name is Larry Allen and I can be reached at 321-504-0515 if anyone has a question.

Thanks Bino2. Fact is they were in bankruptcy until Mr. Allen and another investor came along. I have friends in every major dealer in town. All of them had recieved notification a little over a year ago and all of them still have Mr. Allen on COD. So he has gotten mad and put everyone else on COD. Shall we talk about the stories of trying to get credit under a different name. Dont tell me what I know Mr. Allen. As Bino2 stated you cant deny public record. Over the last 20 years I have been offered work there many times and once again I gotta say not in a million years.

You can change the name but you can not change the facts, they are public record.
I wonder how many vendors are still bleeding GREEN and how many employees have lost their jobs due to this bankruptcy and economy?

Hey Ed stop by and give me a lift,Ill pay gas.Dont think they like it when I drive the van to put in apps.Merry Christmas

Which branch should all the new techs show up at tomorrow? :-)

To bad it isnt in tennessee.Lot of guys going home early.Dont look good.