"Because of you, a wonderful experience has happened to a fellow forklift professional from Canada. Thank you for being the catalyst for this. I'll start from the beginning.

Last fall I read a new post in the Forkliftaction.com Discussion Forums that read:

'We are a lift truck manufacturer in Thailand mainly in electric stackers, pallet trucks and tow tractors (very similar to BlueGiant product range). Currently seriously looking for a well-experienced engineer or expert to help improve our existing product quality as well as develop new products. Our focus is on tow tractor improvement and development. Would appreciate any advice on where to search for the above-mentioned persons. Thank you very much.' - Pin

I responded to Forkliftaction.com, which forwarded my email address to Mr Pin, who contacted me the next day. We corresponded via email over the next few months and this resulted in me travelling to Thailand for the first time. Was I in for a pleasant surprise.

The head office was a very modern building in the city while the factory was on the outskirts in an enclosed complex with security. The factory was made up of several large buildings that were clean and well organized. Many different products were manufactured there. I have to say that in Thailand, I found the oddest mix of old and new I had ever encountered. For example, everyone could speak English, was computer literate, drove late model vehicles, and had the latest electronic cameras. But, the factory did not own a voltmeter, an ampmeter, a dial gauge, a tachometer, a sound level meter or electronic calipers. These were not available easily and we had to borrow them from the engineering department of the University of Bangkok before I could teach the engineers how to use each tool.

The engineers hard at work.

I taught the engineers from 9am to 9pm daily. We covered an extensive range of technical topics and the transfer of knowledge was very effective. They video recorded everything I said and did for eight days. The factory was surprisingly efficient and the production workers very skilled. They were a fine group of guys. I did not see them competing against each other or criticising one another. That allowed for some very productive discussions and everyone was always in top learning mood. I had a truly wonderful time with my new friends.

In short, my Thai trip was the most unbelievable experience I had ever encountered.

Mr Pin presents a 'thank you' gift to Al Sloan.

I was treated like a king. They laid out the red carpet and hospitality was incredible. Bangkok city is modern with a population of 12.2 million, and triple the traffic of Vancouver, all flowing with almost no congestion or traffic jams. We have a lot to learn about civil engineering, as the traffic flow was five levels high at times. Time went fast and before I knew it I was heading home.

We are currently working on a longer-term agreement for future co-operation.
Sawadikha, everyone."

Al Sloan spent 27 years as a 'journeyman forklift mechanic', dabbled in forklift sales for a period, and is currently senior instructor for the Alberta Forklift Safety Council. He is an active member of Forkliftaction.com's Discussion Forums