Mark Manninen

UniCarriers Americas recently promoted Mark Manninen to the position of vice president, sales and marketing. Manninen, a 28-year company veteran, was most recently senior director, retail operations and acquisitions, for UCA. Forkliftaction News had some questions for Mark:

FLA: Prior to this promotion, what has been your biggest achievement?
MM: My biggest achievement is serving as president of UCA's factory-owned dealer, New England Industrial Truck (NEIT). Serving in this capacity gave me the opportunity to learn the factory store side of our business and to help promote its development and growth.

FLA: What excites you most about the materials handling industry?
MM: I'm excited to work with our varied base of customers and help them improve their operations. In a single day, we can make sales calls with customers who are manufacturers, trucking companies and retail operators. Our customers are so diverse. There is always something new and exciting each day to help them with.

FLA: What is the most significant change you have seen in the industry in your time?
MM: The biggest change is the growth we have seen within the AGV sector of our business. It has been expanding over the last 10 years, and I expect that expansion to accelerate significantly over the next five years as well.

FLA: What is the biggest opportunity that you see in your new role?
MM: My biggest opportunity is to start working with our dealers again throughout North and South America. For most of my career, I have worked directly with our dealer base. However, during the last three and a half years, I have focused most of my time on UCA's two factory dealerships, NEIT and Capital Equipment & Handling.
Reconnecting with our independent dealers really excites me, because it gives me the opportunity to explore how we can support our dealers by better understanding their businesses and creating opportunities for them. In the end, I want to demonstrate how better results begin with better partnerships.

FLA: Can you share one piece of information about yourself which would surprise our readers?
MM: I try to stay involved at my local church by participating in our outreach ministry programs. Additionally, I deliver sermons to the congregation on a regular basis.