Thanks for your words Ed, and I also enjoyed meeting you in Houston on occasion and reading your input on here.
16 years in the business working with the same brands with the last 10 years at the factory, 4 of which based in Dubai may be enough for me....especially as I'm only 32 ;)
I've decided I'll be staying in Dubai for a little longer and as I've just closed the MCFE office here it's time to look for greener pastures. Not so sure I'll be staying in the materials handling, but we shall see, and I hope I've left things in good hands. We'll see what happens to The Diagnozer and Up-Time (My creations) amongst other things from here on out.

Daniel, personally I hope your next stop will still be in the material handling/ forklift industry. I have enjoyed having your input here, and enjoyed meeting you. thanks for all you have helped with.
Good luck in what ever is next for you, I am sure you will be a great addition to what ever is next on your plate.

millreef, it's a bit unclear still today as to what functions will remain in Holland and what the split will be with Finland.
I see the majority of sales and aftersales services remaining where it is.....although without me as of tomorrow ;)

daniel, Thanks for that clarification. Will the technical dept still be in Almere??

Yes the Impact boy's will be looking forward to more new overalls; it's a while since they were Orange, then Blue then black, what's next. On a positive note the boys spend most of the year on product courses. Look at what you could have fixed!. This time next year rodders , will be fixing ___ _______ ______ __________ ?

millreef, the factory in China is not a joint venture but a brand new plant built and owned 100% by MHI. The previous joint venture that was with the chinese forklift manufacturer Dalian was disolved at the time the new factory came online, and under the previous joint venture it was only for the supply of units to the Chinese domestic market.
There are a number of production shifts within the MCF organisation that have taken or are taking place at this moment.
The Cat brand is not going anywhere soon.

MCFE recently anounced they are to close their production plant in Almere, Netherlands at the end of 2012 and move electric c/bal production to Rocla in Finland!! IC product will be suplied to European dealers from China, Japan and USA plants.

What exactly is this about?

What the.. ( is that better mods?)

First we hear that their joint venture with Chinese company Dalian is to increase production, followed by this news. Looks as if the Dalian IC truck will be available in red, green, yellow or grey. As for moving electric production to Finland, just confirms that the people at MCFE have totally lost the plot. Out of an expensive to build plant into a very expensive one!!