Exhibitors at the International Materials Handling Exhibition (IMHX) are now counting down the days until The BIG One begins! Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham, from 13-16th March, IMHX is the UK's premier logistics event and will showcase thousands of products and services from the handling and storage industry.

IMHX is the UK's undisputed leader in logistics events, expected to attract 20,000 visitors from the UK and overseas. With a total footprint of 45,000m2 and 314 exhibitors, the show takes place only once every three years, making it an unmissable date for supply chain professionals. This year's show promises dozens of BIG ideas from exhibitors that will make your logistics more efficient and cost-effective. All visitors to the show will be entered into The BIG Draw, with hundreds of prizes on offer, including donations from organisers Quartz to Comic Relief to tie in with Red Nose Day on the Friday of the show.

Show highlights

The speedboat which will attempt to beat the world record with electric power will be exhibited on the stand of Chloride Motive Power (stand 19L110). CMP will be supplying the batteries ¬- the same type as used in forklifts - to power the boat. The team behind the record attempt is the same one which set a new world record of 68.09 mph in November 2005 on Coniston Water with the boat 'An Stradag', also powered by CMP batteries. This time the team and pilot, 25-year-old Helen Loney, hope to smash the 100 mph barrier with their brand-new hydroplane. The other focus of CMP's stand will be to demonstrate the environmental credentials of its product range and to inform customers about its battery collection and recycling scheme. In addition to highlighting the benefits of 'clean, quiet power', CMP will be exhibiting cutting edge-technology such as its 'Copper Stretched Metal' battery.

Briggs Equipment UK, the American-owned company that acquired Finning Materials Handling in September 2006, is the sole distributor of Caterpillar counterbalance trucks and warehouse equipment in the UK. Its two-storey stand (17P150) will feature a catwalk design, with performances by a dance troupe to reflect the agility and fluid performance of its trucks. The company will be showing its recently launched NR-N range of reach trucks. Ranging in capacity from 1400kg to 2500kg, the new series has been designed with the driver in mind, featuring storage areas for drinks and mobile 'phones, as well as a fully adjustable seat, fingertip controls and a flip-up steering console.

Visitors to the JCB stand (20G101) will be able to view the revolutionary Teletruk. Unlike traditional counterbalanced forklifts, the Teletruk has a telescopic boom instead of the usual vertical mast. This not only improves visibility, resulting in significantly improved safety, but also allows palletised loads to be lifted and placed quickly and easily in a wide range of situations. The truck's unique design enables lorries to be loaded and unloaded from only one side, saving both time and space.

This year's Toyota stand (18N100) will feature the company's latest innovations in materials handling plus the popular F1 simulator, giving visitors the chance to put their racing skills to the test. Forklifts on show will include the Generation 7 IC truck, recently revealed as the most popular forklift in the world, with sales passing the 250,000 mark. The Toyota stand will also feature the company's ground-breaking fuel cell hybrid forklift prototype, FCHV-F, the first to be developed by a forklift manufacturer. Using hydrogen as its main power source, a fuel cell forklift produces electricity without combustion and generates zero CO2 emissions.

IMHX will be the UK launch pad for the world's first 6-tonne reach truck, the Hubtex 4120, on stand 17P100. The electric AC powered 4120, which allows heavy loads to be handled in much smaller spaces than a conventional counterbalance truck would allow, can be specified to work on indoor or outdoor surfaces. The truck has been developed to handle heavy steel coils but suits a variety of applications.

Dozens of product launches

Leading fork-lift company Barloworld (stand 19J150) will be presenting Hyster's new H4.00-5.50FT Fortens range of counterbalance lift trucks, as well as new and extended fleet management solutions for fleet operators.

Exhibiting on stand 19J100, Linde will be demonstrating a number of exciting new products. These include the revolutionary X range reach truck, a recently launched high performance compact electric counterbalance truck with unique integrated drive axle and energy management system, and the latest additions to the 39X series of engine-powered forklifts with direct-drive hydrostatic transmission and capacities up to 2.0 tonnes.

Doosan Infracore, the South Korean concern which has dropped the Daewoo branding from its forklifts from January 2007, will be exhibiting on stand 19H120. The company is investing in £170 million in a new factory in South Korea, which will enable its forklift production to increase from 35,000 to 55,000 units per annum. At IMHX, Doosan will launch a completely new range of forklifts - the Pro5 Series - featuring diesel, gas and electric models.

Lift truck firm Samuk+HC will launch a raft of new products at IMHX. With its new 'R' series, alongside extensions to its established 'H' series, more than 12 new counterbalance, reach, pallet and stacker trucks will be shown for the first time.

EnerSys Motive Power, the world's largest producer of batteries and chargers for handling equipment, will present its new range of Hawker cost-saving, high frequency (HF) chargers - the Lifetech series - on its stand 19H90. Comprising 24-volt, single-phase, multi-capacity units for charging vented and gel motive power batteries, the Lifetech chargers are lightweight and compact, enabling them to be wall-mounted to save valuable warehouse floor space.

On stand 20F80, Curtis Instruments UK Ltd will show its range of on-board and off-board chargers - using flooded, gel and low-maintenance batteries in various market sectors - all supplied with 5 years' warranty.

Irish firm, Combilift Ltd (stand 20F92), will be showing its range of sideloaders for handling long loads such as timber and steel. Exhibits will include two new models launched in 2006: the C5000L semi-rough terrain forklift for the lumber sector and the GT stand-on truck for operation in aisles even narrower than a conventional Combilift.

Visitors to stand 17P90 will be able to see the latest generation of the FLEXI articulated truck from Narrow Aisle Ltd, the FLEXI G4. An electric-powered truck, the G4 boasts all of the design features that have established the FLEXI as Europe's biggest selling articulated forklift, but also includes a number of significant advances. For example, with safety in mind, an operator presence switch is fitted within the seat to prevent operation unless the driver is in the sitting position.

BITA (The British Industrial Truck Association) - co-owner of IMHX alongside event organisers Quartz Publishing and Exhibitions - will be representing the interests of its members on stand 20A30. BITA will use the show to promote the new specification for safe working practice for on-site maintenance and repair of industrial trucks, PAS90. It is hoped that PAS90 will replace the proliferation of schemes currently in existence, which cause confusion for end-users. Training modules for PAS90 will be launched at IMHX.

Still will be displaying the environmentally friendly new RX 70 range of diesel and LP gas forklift trucks on stand 20C100. As the only hybrid forklift truck available in the world, the RX 70 offers unbeatable fuel economy - just 2.5 litres per hour (RX 70-25, 2.5 tonnes diesel in accordance with VDI 2198 new) - resulting in a very low total cost of ownership. Other highlights on the STILL stand include the RX 50, RX 20 and RX 60-50 electric counterbalance trucks, as well as various models in STILL's warehouse truck range, including the EK order picker and EXU-S pedestrian powered pallet truck.

You could be a winner in The BIG Draw!
Much excitement surrounds a brand-new promotion at IMHX entitled The BIG Draw. All visitors to the show will receive a scratch card on arrival, giving them the chance to win one of a range of prizes offered by exhibitors. Winning tickets need to be presented at the stands of the donor companies for collection of the prizes, which will range from items such as footballs, caps, pens and mugs through bottles of wine, memory sticks and golf umbrellas to DVD players, Nintendo Wii consoles, digital cameras and a Playstation 3. Many scratch cards will reveal a donation by show organisers Quartz to Comic Relief, tying in with Red Nose Day on the Friday of IMHX. Pre-registered visitors will get double the chance of winning a prize, as they will receive two scratch cards on arrival at the show!

On-line registration available

Visitors wanting to pre-register for free tickets to attend IMHX 2007 can do so on-line by visiting the IMHX web site at www.imhxonline.com.



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