 Engineers and technicians use the gauges to track chain wear. |
Gold giveaway marks 25 years
Letchworth Garden City, United KingdomFB Chain Ltd is giving away several limited edition gold-coloured professional chain wear gauges to mark its 25th anniversary this year.
Engineers and technicians use the gauges to track chain wear when servicing chain-driven equipment like conveyors and forklifts.
The Consolidated Fork Truck Services' Chas Day endorses FB Chain's chain wear gauge: "Most chain wear gauges only tell you if a chain is worn or not worn. The FB Chain's chain wear gauge makes it easy to decide if a chain could be dangerously worn out before the next service, leading to the equipment being used dangerously ... I consider the gauge to be the industry standard."
The chain wear gauges have been sold in over 40 countries. To win one, go to
www.chainweargauge.com/win.
Toyota honours top performers
Irvine, CA, United StatesToyota Material Handling USA Inc (TMHU) has recognised its top dealer technicians and technical trainers with Platinum Level and Master Technician awards.
Nine Toyota technicians and three certified trainers who were the top 10% of those who answered a test related to the service and maintenance of Toyota forklifts received the Platinum Level award.
Over 70% of TMHU dealers' 2,100 technicians received the Master Technician awardthrough Toyota's Master Technician Technical Training Program.
Yale awards dealers
Greenville, NC, United StatesYale Materials Handling Corp has honoured 21 of its dealers through Yale's Challenge of Excellence Program. Seventeen of its top dealers were awarded the Dealer of Excellence award and four dealers received the Dealer of Merit award.
Under the 17-year-old program, an award-winning dealer must reach goals in customer satisfaction, dealer performance, general management, truck sales, short-term rental, training, aftermarket sales, and parts and service operations.
PSA International wins again
SingaporePSA International has won the Best Container Terminal Operating Company award for the sixth time, while PSA Singapore Terminals was voted Best Container Terminal-Asia (over 4 million TEUs a year) for the 22nd time.
The global port group received the honours at the 25th Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) ceremony in Singapore last month.
The annual AFSCA event is organised by Cargonews Asia. Over 13,000 of the newspaper's readers were polled to select the best-in-class companies in 40 industry-specific categories.
Crown plans to nearly double Indiana facility
New Bremen, OH, United StatesCrown Equipment Corp has hired Browning Construction Inc to nearly double the size of a facility in Greencastle, Indiana. Crown may boost employment there by more than 40%.
Randy Niekamp, Crown vice president, says, "The 160,000 sqft. (14,400 sqm) expansion will provide additional manufacturing space and will also include additional office and training areas." The project is scheduled for completion in October or November.
In earlier reports, the project was said to involve 136,110 sqft. (12,250 sqm) of warehouse space and nearly 9,700 sqft. (873 sqm) of office space with a projected construction cost of USD7 million. A revised construction value was not available although new equipment may cost about USD11 million.
"Some of the new products we've introduced during the last 18 months have led to an increase in product volume at the facility and the need for additional space," Niekamp notes. "The expansion will take place to the east of the existing building," which now occupies 161,666 sqft. (14,550 sqm).
On 8 March, the Greencastle City Council approved a 10-year tax abatement on the construction and equipment that "helped make this growth possible", Niekamp says.
New Bremen-based global forklift manufacturer Crown began operations at the Greencastle facility in 1995 and anticipates adding approximately 143 positions there. Now, the site employs about 341.
Indianapolis, Indiana-based Browning deals with development, construction and management of investment real estate projects including office buildings and industrial parks.
CVS SpA creditors okay Manitex asset purchase
Bridgeview, IL, United StatesA majority of the creditors of CVS SpA voted in favour of a proposal under which the CVS Ferrari srl subsidiary of Manitex International Inc would purchase certain assets of CVS SpA from an Italian court's receivership.
The Manitex subsidiary has used those assets of CVS SpA since July 2010 under a rental agreement authorised through the Concordato Preventivo proceeding in the court in Piacenza, Italy.
Recently, a majority of CVS SpA creditors approved a final liquidation plan that allows CVS Ferrari srl to purchase the assets including certain drawings, designs and equipment of the container-handling-equipment operation in Rovoleti di Cadeo, Italy near Milan. Completion of court approval and legal documentation is expected during the third quarter of 2011.
"We are very pleased with the completion of the next step in the process, and now, with the approval of the creditors secured, we expect to complete the transaction in the near future," says David Langevin, Manitex chairman and chief executive officer.
Bridgeview-based publicly traded Manitex gained a foothold in the European market through the CVS arrangement. Manitex provides engineered lifting solutions including boom truck cranes, rough-terrain forklifts, container handling equipment and special mission-oriented vehicles.
Raymond's Muscatine plant receives award
Muscatine, IA, United States Parent company Toyota Industries Corp presented its president's manufacturing excellence award to the Muscatine factory of Raymond Corp on 9 May. The award recognises exemplary use of Toyota Production System principles to transform several production lines. The work resulted in improvements in the areas of quality, cost and delivery.
Based on the production system's "philosophies and principles, Toyota executives evaluated several locations in November 2010 to help determine which should receive this prestigious manufacturing award", says James Malvaso, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Materials Handling North America. "As a result, Raymond's Muscatine facility exceeded expectations in all areas of manufacturing and production through the use of the Toyota Production System tools and processes."
Along with an award plaque, Toyota Industries issued a monetary award that plant managers used to host an employee luncheon at the Iowa facility.
NMHG reports first quarter sales jump of 56.3%
Mayfield Heights, OH, United StatesThe materials handling group NMHG had a profit of USD22.3 million on sales of USD586.6 million for the quarter ended 31 March.
NMHG saw a significant increase in unit volume in all geographic markets, an increase in parts volume and a favourable effect of unit price increases implemented in late 2010 in the Americas and Europe.
NMHG had profit of USD8.0 million on sales of USD375.4 million - a 56.3% jump - in the comparable 2010 first quarter.
NMHG does not anticipate significant supply chain constraints or disruptions, despite the earthquake-related events in Japan. The vast majority of NMHG's supplier plants are not in the affected areas, but, nevertheless, NMHG intends to monitor this situation closely.
NMHG has been in continuing contact with the personnel of its joint venture, Sumitomo Nacco Materials Handling, in Japan. None of the venture's employees have been injured by the earthquake-induced events.
During the quarter, NMHG globally shipped 19,400 new units in contrast to approximately 11,100 units in the 2010 first quarter and 19,700 units in the 2010 fourth quarter. NMHG's worldwide backlog was approximately 24,800 units at 31 March compared with 16,900 units a year earlier and 23,000 units at 31 December.
For all operations - NMHG, appliances, kitchenware and coal - during the 2011 first quarter, Mayfield Heights-based Nacco Industries reports profit of USD62.8 million on sales of USD745.5 million versus profit of USD11.7 million on sales of USD557.6 million for the 2010 first quarter.