Jungheinrich supports disaster aid
Hamburg, Germany
Jungheinrich will donate a customised reach truck to "action medeor", Europe's largest medical aid organisation.
The reach truck will be used to transport pharmaceuticals and food from the Tönisvorst warehouse to drought and hunger victims in East Africa.
Since the onset of the severe famine, action medeor has shipped 633 parcels and 17 T of medical supplies. "Problem-free logistics is one of the keys to transporting and shipping pharmaceuticals," says organisation president Heinz Gommans.
According to the United Nations, over 12 million people are affected by the humanitarian situation in the Ethiopia-Somalia-Kenya tri-border region, which is not expected to improve before 2012.

Konecranes signs new loan
Hyvinkää, Finland
Konecranes has signed a new EUR100 million (USD137.7 million), five-year loan with Pohjola Bank.
The loan will be used for general corporate purposes and to prolong the maturity profile of the group's financial liabilities.
Konecranes' group sales totaled EUR1.546 billion (USD2.129 billion) in 2010. It has 11,200 employees in 46 countries.

Palletforce receives award
Burton-upon-Trent, United Kingdom
Palletforce has been awarded the Investors in People (IIP) standard for its business performance and successful staff management methods.
Feedback from IIP after interviews with staff showed the employees felt a lot of pride in their workplace, had a clear understanding of their duties and enjoyed an open-door policy of communication amongst each other.

Traditional wheelbarrows at an allotment have been replaced with a BT Lifter hand pallet truck.

BT Lifter gives a hand
Hammersmith and Fulham, United Kingdom
Traditional wheelbarrows used for years at an allotment in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have been replaced with a BT Lifter hand pallet truck.
Members of the allotment pooled their resources to buy the hand pallet truck, allowing heavier loads to be moved around the site with ease.
The Fulham Palace Meadows Allotment Association says the allotment was a gift from the Bishop of London in 1916 and plays a vital role in local life.

TraPac orders automated Kalmar equipment
Wilmington, CA, United States
Container terminal operator and stevedore TraPac Inc of Wilmington is slated to become the first US customer for Kalmar automated stacking cranes and the first worldwide customer for fully robotised AutoStrad-brand one-over-one shuttle carriers. Terms were not disclosed.
Kalmar, a business of Helsinki, Finland-based Cargotec Corp, received orders for 10 automated stacking cranes and 17 customer-specific automatic shuttle carriers for TraPac's use in Port of Los Angeles berths.
Deliveries for all of the equipment are scheduled during 2012 and 2013.
"Since 1990, we have steadily developed our track record in the field of port automation, and this order would not have been achieved without our recent efforts in port automation," says Lennart Brelin, Cargotec executive vice president for the Americas. "This is our first large automation order in the Americas region, and it strengthens our position globally in port automation."
Joint venture Patrick Technology & Services of Sydney, Australia developed the AutoStrad automated shuttle carriers, which have motion control and navigation systems allowing around-the-clock unmanned operations.
TraPac is a business of Tokyo-based international shipper Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd.