From left, front: James Ralphs, Mike Adamski, Corey Steele, Shane Donald, Alex Lam and Eric Symons. Back: Rajender Sohi, Nav Mander, Rui Paiva, Randy Langwell, Gary Siu and Chris Bronson.

Forty-seven entrants from 24 companies participated in the 16th BC Championship Forklift Rally of the Canadian Material Handling & Distribution Society (CMHDS).

"I was thrilled with the turnout," says Dan Beer, president of the non-profit CMHDS, which serves the logistics industry in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The rally took place on 13 September at the Cloverdale Agriplex in Surrey and included challenges such as forklift basketball, bowling and soccer. CMHDS posted a gallery of 74 photos from the 2014 rally.

First place finishers were Rajender Sohi of EV Logistics in Langley in the power pallet jack category; James Ralphs of London Drugs Ltd in Richmond on a reach truck; Rui Paiva of Toyota Canada Inc in Richmond on a counterbalance electric; and Mike Adamski of Chalifour Canada Ltd in Surrey on a counterbalance propane.

Second places went to Eric Symons of London Drugs Ltd in Richmond on a power pallet jack; Shane Donald of Cold Logic Corp in Langley on a reach truck; Randy Langwell of AmeriCold Logistics LLC in Lynden, Washington, US, on a counterbalance electric; and Corey Steele of Convoy Supply Ltd in Delta on a counterbalance propane.

Third places went to Chris Bronson of VersaCold Logistics (Cliveden) in Delta on a power pallet jack; Alex Lam of VersaCold Logistics (Derwent) in Delta on a reach truck; Gary Siu of London Drugs Ltd in Richmond on a counterbalance electric; and Nav Mander of EV Logistics in Langley on a counterbalance propane.

Each competitor chose from supplier-provided equipment for participation in the rally. Prize money totaling CAD4,000 was awarded.

The event was organised by CMHDS general manager John Gilder, with Grant MacKenzie of Pivot Services responsible for judging.

Sponsors included the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia in Richmond operating as WorkSafeBC; the Delta branch of Raymond and BT dealership GN Johnston Equipment Co Ltd; Linde forklift and Bobcat skid steer loader dealership Williams Machinery of Vancouver; Yale industrial truck dealership Harding Forklift Services Ltd of Surrey; Hyster dealer Wajax Equipment with BC branches in Kamloops, Langley, Nanaimo, Sparwood and Tumbler Ridge; Deka industrial battery maker East Penn Manufacturing Co of Lyons, Pennsylvania; the Trucking Safety Council of British Columbia in Langley operating as SafetyDriven; and the Forkliftaction.com online news service and business centre for materials handling.

Beer adds, "We had suppliers' support from great companies like London Drugs, Best Buy, Pepsi, Exel and VersaCold who truly care about the safety of their employees. The entire community celebrated the finest of our forklift athletes." Beer is director of sales for Forklift Blackbelt Training Inc in Vancouver, BC, and Blaine, Washington, US.

Bob Carlson of Toyota Parts Distribution Center (TPDC) competed for the 16th time meaning he has participated in every CMHDS forklift rally. "This was Bob's final appearance as he is retiring from TPDC," Beer says. "It is my honour to present Bob with our first lifetime achievement award. Congratulations, Bob."