Calendar years are nothing more than units quantifying time and providing a timeline to modern history. So, it comes as no surprise that the same extraordinary circumstances that marked the past three years are still impacting our industry in 2023. I won’t list the many pressures, disruptions and shortages at play, as I know that we have all experienced these on multiple levels - both at work and at home. For a good overview I suggest you read the End-Of-Year report recently compiled by our editor, Allan Leibowitz.  

I would like to talk about how Forkliftaction.com positions itself within this turbulent market, how we try to make sense and add value for our many loyal subscribers. 

Economic pressures inspire motion, a crusade of innovation, of risk-taking, of investments and expansions. Our industry has stoically proven its resilience and ingenuity on many occasions throughout its history, as we have reported over the past 22 years of industry news. I believe this storm is no different, in that our industry will weather it, staying vibrant and agile, and forever evolving.

Within the whirlwind of adversity, confrontation, and renovation, we hope to be a rock of stability and reliability. Our aim is to keep providing a platform that speaks to and offers value across the entire industry. We want to help businesses - small and large - bridge the gap in their knowledge and stay tuned into the market throughout its many hiccups and transformations.

Forkliftaction News brings you the stories of disruptions and shortages, as well as the stories of relief work and innovation that characterise the strength of our industry. Through Forkliftaction’s weekly snapshot of news from your region and the wider world, through industry blogs bringing expert insights in latest trends and conundrums that need managing, and through first-hand stories directly from the diverse materials handling workforce — Forkliftaction helps you keep your head well above the waves.

But Forkliftaction is not just about bringing news and stories. We want to provide a platform where business people can connect both on the micro level, with buyers, employees, and associates, and at a macro level, reaching out to new markets or finding answers in a community of experts that extends worldwide.

We know that this is not a simple mission. It requires the same tenacity and creativity from us that is shown by you, as you successfully ride the waves, and grow and adapt your business. So, with the limited resources available to us, and a small but gung-ho team that carries our project forward, we keep adding new features to our platform. 

Currently in the pipeline are works to better present the vast amount of information on our platform. We are improving and decluttering the layout of our web pages. We are rearranging content, bringing you the most relevant (and local) content faster. It will become easier for you to find information, to compare products, to ask for expert advice, to connect with suppliers, and to seek applications for your many vacancies.

With these changes, we will make our platform more accessible, shining a light on the many unique materials handling companies that make up our industry. We hope that these changes will make your visit to Forkliftaction.com more effective and enjoyable, and will encourage a broader participation within the Forkliftaction community. 

As we create new opportunities for you to share your perspectives and find an audience, we encourage you to contribute. We want to hear first-hand stories from forklift operators, technicians and fleet managers; from forklift designers, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers - from all parts of the world. Don’t hesitate, there is no tale too small or too big, give it a go and tell us your story! 

We will keep tweaking and improving this platform. As always, watch this space, there is much more to come from Forkliftaction.com in 2023!

As much as I appreciate every single member of our community, there are two groups of patrons I’d like to take a quick opportunity to tip my hat to as we begin another year.

To the many technicians who offer support via our Trouble-Shooting forum: we see how you help to keep forklifts big and small on their shifts and we applaud you. Your high level of expertise and your willingness to share it with peers throughout the world is not only valuable to our industry, but also inspiring. We urge anyone who has benefitted from the advice in these forums to pay it forward, as for each one of you who has received an answer, there is someone else out there that can use your help.

To our advertisers, all the brands that support and fund us: we feel immense gratitude toward you. There is no denying it – you keep us alive. For you, we have worked hard, and we will continue working hard to give you the best outcomes possible. 

We promise to maintain transparency in our work with you, to always listen to your goals and expectations, to provide flexibility and support to match your campaign with your ambitions and budget, and above-all, to always give your campaign our best shot. 

We understand the importance for brands to keep going in challenging times. It is our hope that our commitment to a competitive upfront CPM value (Cost-per-1,000 Impressions) and our rewarding pricing structure will afford you the certainty to keep investing in long-term strategies.

In our goal to connect the Forkliftaction community, we need to connect with you, to listen to your unique perspectives and suggestions. If this little blog raises ideas with you, then we invite you to share them with us, we look forward to your feedback! We take your ideas very seriously and make sure to respond. 

There is no doubt that our industry and all of us in it will continue to be faced with impediments in 2023. But your stories about how you generously support your community through hard times do not go unnoticed. Nor do we miss how you cleverly build on emerging energy sources, technologies and capabilities to produce a range of enhanced materials handling solutions that helps propel businesses ahead of their economic and environmental challenges. 

These stories lead me to have hope that together, informed and connected, we can keep turning challenges into opportunities, losses into growth, and contacts into valuable connections. 

Keep in touch!