Dear reader,
WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM,
MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #124 - 11
September 2003 of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
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A very special member of the
Forkliftaction.com team, tireless administrator Lyn
Perrett, celebrates a very special birthday this week.
Best wishes from all of us Lyn.
This week
Forkliftaction.com's research team has revised some
specifications in the Equipment
Catalogue for Komatsu and Soosung forklifts as well as the
Mustang range of all-terrain telehandlers. If you deal with
these brands, please check our entries and contact Rodger Lamb if
changes are required.
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1.
TOYOTA OPENS NEW DEALER IN THE MID-SOUTH 
MEMPHIS, TN, United States
Forklift
distributor Toyota Material Handling USA Inc (TMHU)
formed a relationship on September 4 with a
newly-created Memphis-based dealer.
In August,
industry luminary Thomas J Clark III established the new
corporation, Mid-South Lift Trucks Inc (MLTI), to serve
the needs of TMHU in the region. Arrangements with
funding sources were nearing completion, and MLTI
expected to be operational within days, sources
said.
As dealer principal, Mr Clark located the
new dealership on four sites already occupied by the
Lilly Co, of which he is president.
In early
August, TMHU reached an understanding with Lilly that it
would be an agent for service and delivery of Toyota
equipment. That arrangement was structured at a level
below a dealer relationship.
Lilly had
represented distributor Yale Materials Handling Corp
(YMHC) and, tenuously, continues that relationship.
Yale's parent, the materials handling group of Nacco
Industries Inc, is fighting the Toyota-Lilly
link.
YMHC, of Greenville, North Carolina, has
said it seeks to retain representation through the Lilly
dealership and has filed a lawsuit against Toyota and
Lilly in US District Court in Memphis (Forkliftaction.com News
#121).
Ronald Roensch, general counsel with
TMHU, in Irvine, California, said Lilly was unable to
finance Toyota equipment, based on Lilly's pre-existing
financial covenants with Yale.
Mr Clark
established MLTI as a totally separate corporation "to
eliminate secured creditor squabbles", Mr Roensch said.
The new relationship allowed MLTI to finance the
purchase of Toyota equipment, he said.
MLTI and
Lilly are both based in Memphis and now share branch
locations in Jackson, Tennessee, and Jackson and Tupelo,
Mississippi. A possible additional MLTI site is the
Lilly branch in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
In January,
TMHU decided to drop the dealership services of CTK Inc,
of Memphis, Mr Roensch said. CTK entities still
represented TMHU in portions of western Tennessee,
northern Mississippi and north-eastern Arkansas until
August 1, when TMHU terminated the dealer
relationship.
Subsequently, on August 19, a grand
jury indicted CTK's controlling shareholder, Bernard
Panchikal, for false insurance claims (Forkliftaction.com News
#123).
Forkliftaction.com News's US
correspondent Roger Renstrom this week analyses the
Mid-South's forklift market. Click here to read more.
- Toyota USA
website -
2.
ENTANGLEMENTS SPOTLIGHT MID-SOUTH REGION
MEMPHIS, TN, United States
Forklift
industry legal and business developments in Memphis have
highlighted the Mid-South region's dealerships and their
distribution and manufacturing relationships.
Click here for the full text of this
special feature. 
3.
LARGEST-EVER RTG ORDER FOR KONECRANES
HYVINK, Finland
KCI Konecranes has
received its largest-ever order for rubber-tyred gantry
cranes from the Israel Ports Authority (IPA).
The
24-unit order, placed with subsidiary Konecranes VLC, is
worth EUR29 million (USD32.26 million) and has an option
for 15 more RTGs. KCI Konecranes said deliveries would
start next April.
Konecranes VLC managing
director Mikko Uhari said the IPA order signalled the
success of KCI Konecranes's RTG range.
"Since
introducing our new design eight years ago we have seen
rapid growth in market share. The world market for RTGs
is about 300 units a year and, during the last year,
Konecranes VLC has sold 75. We are very proud of this
development," he said.
The RTGs have been ordered
for a new IPA project at Ashdod port, Israel's main
general cargo, mineral and container port. IPA, which
owns and operates seaports in Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat,
says cargo growth will increase 6% annually in coming
years.
The 16-wheel RTGs have a lifting height of
50 feet (15.2 metres) and a span of 74 feet (22.5
metres). The cranes will be one-over-four containers
high and six-plus-truck lane wide.
- KCI Konecranes website
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4.
IMHX TO STAGE FORKLIFT DRIVER CONTEST
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom
A
national forklift drivers' competition will be held over
the three days of the IMHX 2004 exhibition next
March.
Conference organisers said the contest
"aims to attract the UK's most proficient forklift
drivers", and would promote the importance of the driver
in overall efficiency and safety.
The competition
will be in the exhibition halls and is expected to be a
centrepiece of interest on each day of the show, which
runs from March 2 to March 4. A specially-designed
course will assess drivers' skills based on speed,
accuracy and safe driving practice.
Exhibition
director Richard Hease said organisers were "planning to
set new standards for content and value for exhibitors
and visitors.
"This is a very exciting, new
concept for the event that puts direct focus on the
importance of forklift drivers. Many of our major
exhibitors have identified how drivers play a vital role
in operating efficiency and cost."
Other new
initiatives for IMHX 2004 include knowledge zone, which
is three theatres with continuous presentation programs
covering current affairs, case studies and new products
and services.
Companies interested in
participating in the IMHX truck driver competition
should contact IMHX or log onto www.IMHX2004.co.uk.
5.
MONARK GROWS, DESPITE FLAT ECONOMY
MANILA, Philippines
Despite a
slow-down in the Philippines economy in the second
quarter, the rental business of Monark Equipment,
exclusive national distributor of Caterpillar forklifts,
grew 10% in the first half of 2003.
Monark
chairman Jose Banson said the rental division rode the
storm despite a weak Philippines peso and concerns about
the country's political instability dampening business
sentiment.
The company's rental rate for new
three-tonne forklifts is 40,000.00 pesos (USD727) a
month. The average rental period is two years, Mr Banson
said.
- Monark
website -
6.
**MOVERS & SHAKERS**
BRISBANE, Australia
NEW SALES,
MARKETING GM FOR TVH AUSTRALASIA
Brisbane-based
TVH Australasia Pty Ltd has appointed Rob Whitmore as
sales & marketing general manager.
Mr
Whitmore joins TVH after three years with NMHG
Asia-Pacific. TVH Australasia was QFS Australia before a
name change was announced last month.
MANAGEMENT
CHANGE AT M&W TOYOTA HANDLING
MIDLAND, United
Kingdom - Forklift dealer M&W Toyota Handling has
appointed Toshio Honjo as managing director. Mr Honjo
joins the business after 23 years working for the Toyota
Tsusho Corporation, in Japan.
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7.
CASCADE CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY
PORTLAND,
OR, United States
Cascade Corporation celebrated its
60th anniversary in conjunction with its Annual Sales
Meeting at the Resort at the Mountain, near Mt.
Hood.
Robert Warren, Jr., CEO, concluded four days of
product meetings by cutting the anniversary cake and
speaking on how far the company has come since it began
as a small machine shop with four employees in
1943.
That year, Cascade manufactured stainless steel
valves, winches and pipe fittings.
Today, with 1,400
employees and 26 facilities in 19 countries worldwide,
Cascade is the world leader in material handling
products for lift trucks.
Contact: Email webmaster@cascorp.com
or visit www.cascorp.com.
Click here for the full release and
pictures.
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14.
OVERHEAD BRIDGE CRANE REQUIRED
Karachi,
Pakistan
Closing: 16 September 2003 TBA - Contract:
TBA
15.
36 VOLT ELECTRICAL STAND-UP COUNTERBALANCED FORKLIFT
TRUCK
Morganfield, KY, United
States
Closing: 02 October 2003 TBA - Contract:
A-030
16.
LIFTING TRUCKS.
Athina, Greece
Closing: 22
October 2003 10:15am - Contract: CPV: 29221510
17.
CRANES
Athens, Greece
Closing: 22 October
2003 10:15am - Contract: CPV: 29221410
18.
SELF PROPELLED MANLIFT WITH ARTICULATING
BOOM.
West Point, NY, United
States
Closing: 16 September 2003 3:00pm - Contract:
DABJ4503TMANLIFT
19.
QTY 5, 5 TON JIB CRANES
Draper, UT, United
States
Closing: 12 September 2003 TBA - Contract:
DAHA42-03-T-0006
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