Finning International Inc's materials handling assets in the United Kingdom and the Lex Harvey operations continue to come together.

"Integration of the Lex Harvey operations into our existing operations is proceeding on plan, and the financial performance of our operations has been very encouraging," said Anthony Guglielmin, Finning vice president and corporate treasurer.

"Looking to 2004, we expect the Lex operations to be fully integrated into our Finning (UK) operations under the leadership of Tom McCloy, divisional director, materials handling."

Strategically, "the forklift operation in the UK is an integral part of our global strategy to increase our presence in the more stable rental business", Mr Guglielmin said.

The May acquisition increased Finning's total UK operations by 25%. Finning UK employs 2,500 people at 14 branches and nine depots.

While Finning does not disclose segment financial data, the Vancouver-based firm reported profit of CAD36.6 million (USD27.1 million) on record sales of CAD925.0 million (USD683.7 million) for the third quarter ended September 30.