Almere, The Netherlands--There is a new face at Cascade Europe, the worldwide leading manufacturer of forks and attachments for lift trucks. Herre Y. Hoekstra was recently named Vice President and Managing Director of Cascade Europe.

Hoekstra brings extensive senior level management experience to the Cascade Executive Team through various assignments around the world, including Royal Ten Cate and Shell. As a member of Cascade's global management team Hoekstra will work with the company's executive team in setting strategic goals for the corporation.

Lending a hand at the fork plant in Hagen, Germany:
In order to gain insight into Cascade's production processes, Hoekstra is presently traveling throughout Europe to visit each facility. Dressed in overalls and safety glasses, Hoekstra arrived at Cascade's Hagen plant at 6:00 a.m. sharp recently to give the workers a hand. He wanted to see for himself how heavy a fork is, how hot it can sometimes get near the production equipment, and how important protective measures and safety regulations are in a facility that uses high temperatures to bend a piece of steel into a fork. He was impressed by the know-how of each staff member, by the collegiality and cooperativeness, and, of course, by the "German thoroughness".

Hoekstra says his 8-hour shift was a valuable experience. "I want to get to know the people at our plants, to understand their needs, and to communicate my philosophy to them. Only if we all join forces will we be able to reach our goals." Hoekstra also worked at the assembly line at Cascade's attachment plant in Almere, The Netherlands. "I recommend that every manager work at the manufacturing level at least once," he said.

Focusing on the customer:
The 44-year-old Dutchman, who has comprehensive production-related knowledge as well as great experience in marketing, brings his philosophy to Cascade's European headquarters:

* Consistent customer orientation
* Prompt delivery
* Flat organization, where all employees are invested in the quality of the product
and service

Hoekstra envisions Cascade Europe developing from an industrial enterprise-with highly technical production lines, great experience and a long tradition-to a modern service enterprise. No other company in the industry has a comparable amount of expertise, experience in production, and know-how. By focusing on his philosophy, Hoekstra plans to lead Cascade Europe to a new level of excellence.

"It is our goal to cooperate closely with our customers so that they can be successful," he says. "To achieve this goal, we must constantly improve the quality of our products as well as our service."

Leading the industry in innovative product development:
Part of improving service, Hoekstra says, is to use Cascade's worldwide knowledge base to benefit his European customers even more. Cascade's global team of engineers works together, 24-7, to continuously develop new and improved products. This means that if a customer requires a new product immediately, engineers from around the world can collaborate to develop and deliver the final product to meet their deadline.

Some of Cascade's recent innovations include:

* The new generations of paper roll clamps with AFC (Adaptive Force Control), a computer-controlled clamping system, transparent to the driver, which automatically controls the clamp force in proportion to the load weight. Using a preprogrammed ratio based on roll weight and paper type, AFC sets the optimal clamp force each time a roll is grabbed, without demanding driver input.
* The "smart" white goods clamp, which offers the industry's best distribution of clamp force, meaning that white goods are handled gently, without damage.
* The 55K fork positioner with RF (Radio Frequency) Hydraulic Control, which provides a simple, cost effective means to position the forks. RFHC permits the use of a single auxiliary valve to control an additional hydraulic function. This new product eliminates the need for hydraulic hoses or electric cables and offers a minimum of installation time.

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