Dear Linette,
WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM,
MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE.
This is issue #159 - 27 May 2004
of the weekly newsletter for industry
professionals.
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1.
JLG WITH OMNIQUIP BOOSTS Q3 SALES 55% 
McCONNELLSBURG, PA, United
States
In reporting a third quarter sales jump of
55%, JLG Industries Inc said it was ramping up
production to meet demand and coping with some component
shortages.
In the OmniQuip line, "some models are
sold out until August", said Bill Lasky, chairman,
president and CEO.
OmniQuip was making 40
telehandlers a week when JLG bought the company on
August 1 last year. Production of OmniQuip-related
telehandler models at the McConnellsburg plant was now
"at about 60 (a week), and sales is asking us to ramp up
to 80 a week," Mr Lasky said.
JLG is experiencing
similar increased demand for its Gradall
telehandlers.
JLG reported profit of USD8.7
million on sales of USD318.7 million for the quarter,
which ended on April 30. JLG had a profit of USD2.2
million on sales of USD205.8 million in last year's
comparable quarter.
Of the increased sales,
OmniQuip products accounted for USD67.1 million, and
traditional JLG products for USD45.9 million, up
22%.
Mr Lasky said concerns remained about raw
material and energy prices, although interest rates had
been stable. In mid-March, JLG imposed a 2.755%
surcharge on steel, partially offsetting steel price
increases and surcharges JLG had absorbed. Continued
pressures existed in obtaining steel components and
petroleum-based products.
On the steel surcharge,
"we felt as leaders in (the) access industry, we would
lead", Mr Lasky said. "Some followers did not follow.
The biggest ones did."
Two years ago, JLG was
considering shutting down facilities, but now the
company had added 400 personnel and was expanding
operations in McConnellsburg and in some underutilised
facilities, Mr Lasky said.
JLG has maintained
operations at OmniQuip's Oakes, North Dakota, plant and,
in recent months, has transferred production of numerous
telehandler parts to Oakes from a JLG plant in New
Philadelphia, Ohio. Activities at five other OmniQuip
sites were relocated, and the facilities
closed.
JLG said the US economy continued to
strengthen, reflecting positive trends in construction
spending, capacity utilisation and consumer confidence.
European economic indicators were also positive,
although they lagged the US recovery.
JLG also
said George Kempton had retired from the company's board
of directors, effective from May 20, after more than 10
years' service. Mr Kempton is the retired chairman and
CEO of Kysor Industrial Corp.
- JLG Industries website -
2.
WANDALEX SEES MAJOR PROFIT JUMP
WARSAW, Poland
Polish
forklift supplier Wandalex SA posted a net profit of
PLN1.5 million (USD391,644) for 2003, a massive jump
from the PLN242,000 (USD63,185) achieved in
2002.
The company's operating profit increased to
PLN3.5 million (USD913,838) from PLN1.8 million
(USD469,973), according to the Polish News Digest. Sales
revenue reached PLN59.2 million (USD15.5 million),
compared to PLN49.6 million (USD12.9 million) in 2002.
Pre-tax profit grew to PLN2 million (USD522,193) from
PLN453,500 (USD118,407).
Besides forklifts,
Wandalex manufactures warehouse shelves, conveyors and
logistics systems. Wandalex cooperates with companies
such as Combilift, CVS Ferrari and Yale.
- Wandalex website -
3.
OMEGA 40-TONNER AHEAD OF THE REST
SYDNEY, Australia
Clark
Equipment Australia's Omega division will soon deliver
its 60th 54D 40-tonne container handler.
Omega
estimates the 54D fleet has now accumulated more than
200,000 hours' running time since the first unit was
delivered in 2000. Major 54D fleet owners include
P&O, Patrick, FCL, Queensland Rail, Pacific
National, Freight link, Hobart Port Corporation and the
Port of Timaru in New Zealand.
When introduced,
the 54D, with its 40-tonne capacity at full reach and
five-high stacking capabilities, set new standards,
which competitors had struggled to match, Clark
said.
According to a company spokesperson,
imitation was "the sincerest form of flattery" as
competitors had been playing catch-up with
"counterweight options" for existing models and new
models similar to the 54D.
- Clark Equipment
Australia website -
4.
**ANNOUNCEMENT** FORKLIFTACTION.COM DISCUSSION FORUMS -
NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
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Discussion Forums are now open for Forkliftaction.com
members. The forums are where you can meet other
members, share ideas and find answers to your questions.
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may need help on technical questions. There's even a
forum for executives to discuss business issues. The
forums are the place for discussion; we all know we can
do better business with a little help from our
colleagues. Check it out: www.forkliftaction.com/forum.
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5.
KALMAR RTG ORDERS ROLL IN
STOCKHOLM, Sweden
Kalmar
Industries has reported a surge in orders for
rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), having secured 100%
of RTG sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in
the first quarter of 2004.
The company says the
orders reflect the growing interest in its 16-wheel RTG
and its Smartrail® autosteering and container
positioning system.
JSC PetroLesPort, at the Port
of St Petersburg, has ordered one 16-wheel unit, while
Liscont Container Terminal, at the Port of Lisbon, has
ordered three 16-wheel RTGs with
Smartrail.
Turkey's Kumport has ordered one
eight-wheel unit with Smartrail to join the three
already in operation, and Laem Chabang Container
Terminal 1 Ltd, in Thailand, is increasing its fleet of
eight-wheel RTGs to five with an order for three more
Smartrail units.
Kalmar yard cranes
vice-president Keijo Parviainen said half of Kalmar's
order backlog was for 16-wheel models.
"In
theory, a 16-wheel model puts less stress on the
terminal surface as the ground pressure is lower," he
said. "A second advantage (is) that, unlike the
eight-wheel model, the wheels counter-rotate when the
unit is turning, which means less wear on the
tyres."
- Kalmar
Industries website -
6.
**FORK TALK** FLTA ANNOUNCES SAFETY CONFERENCE
2004
ALTON, United Kingdom
The
Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) will host its second
annual safety conference on Wednesday, September 22, at
Warwick University, Coventry.
Building on the
success of last year's inaugural event, which attracted
more than 200 delegates, this year's conference will
offer practical solutions to practical problems. Aimed
directly at forklift end users, the event's content will
be up to date, concise, relevant, and applicable to
everyday work situations.
The main aims of the
conference are to:
• Help end users operate forklifts
more safely and efficiently,
• Highlight current
safety issues and recommend best practice,
• Help
users meet and understand legal obligations,
•
Provide a basis for improved training, and
•
Highlight key issues of concern within the
industry.
Packed with high-quality content and
presented by authoritative speakers, the 2004 conference
will reflect the interests and concerns of the FLTA Safe
User Group, whose members are a representative cross
section of British industry.
Full details of
individual sessions will be announced soon, but topics
already confirmed include:
• New rules for using
working platforms
• Working safely with electric
trucks
• Working safely with LPG trucks
•
Reversing safely
- FLTA website -
7.
SAFETY FIRST: WAYNE CHORNOHUS
VANCOUVER, Canada
After
every training session there are always students who say
they can't possibly operate properly or they would be
unproductive. They say they would be reprimanded if they
didn't go fast and take shortcuts. I ask my students to
remember the old saying about machinery, "fast is slow,
slow is fast". When management and operators realise
there is a time to speed up and a time to slow down,
accidents will be reduced and productivity will
increase.
8.
**ADVERTISEMENT** NEXEN: MANUFACTURING PARTNERS
WANTED
Nexen is now looking for
partners to manufacture future models, following the
success of the Nexen brand since its launch,. The
company is planning a seven or eight-tonne machine and
also a rough-terrain forklift.
IMHX 2004 was Nexen's
first major exhibition, and the company and its products
were met with great enthusiasm.
Director Pam Oakes
said: "We are very pleased with the enquiries we
received, not only from the UK, but a lot of overseas
companies interested in becoming dealers."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Phone: +44 1502 532211
Fax: +44 1502
508273
Email: info@nexengroup.co.uk
Website: www.nexengroup.co.uk
9.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
JÄRVENPÄÄ, Finland -
Jouni Salonen has been appointed country manager
for Rocla Oyj's customer solutions division. He reports
to Jukka Viinikainen, general manager, customer
solutions.
MARENGO, IL, United States -
Ralph Petrek has joined Nissan Forklift Corp as
vice president of customer satisfaction, replacing
Larry Borre, a 20-year industry veteran, who
retired in March.
10.
DRIVER RECOVERS USD1.25 MILLION AFTER FORKLIFT
ACCIDENT
NEWARK, NJ, United
States
A truck driver who claimed to have suffered
permanent facial injuries in a forklift accident has
agreed to a USD1.25 million settlement.
According
to the New Jersey Law Journal, Diego Jaramillo, 39, was
unloading his truck at a Whitehurst & Clark Inc
warehouse in Edison in January last year when a pallet
loaded with boxes fell onto him from a forklift. He
claimed Whitehurst & Clark's forklift driver lacked
proper training and was negligent for lifting two
stacked pallets at once.
Jaramillo suffered
fractures of the jaw, nose and bones surrounding his
right eye, leaving him with a sunken right cheek and a
crooked nose. The parties settled on April 30 after a
conference with Essex County Superior Court Judge James
Rothschild Jr.
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11.
CASCADE INTRODUCES 55H FORK
POSITIONER
Cascade Corp has introduced the
55H Fork Positioner, a cost-effective fork positioning
system for class II, hook-type carriages.
The 55H
Fork Positioner comes in 37, 41, 49-inch widths, and
other widths are available on request. With a 5500lbs.
capacity and a simple, no-weld installation design, the
55H uses standard forks and provides excellent
visibility.
Fork positioners allow drivers to
position forks from the driver's seat - an inexpensive
way to dramatically increase productivity.
Use
Cascade's ROI calculator (www.cascorp.com/forkpositioners) to
see how you'll have a return on your investment in under
a year or call 800-CASCADE (227-2233).
12.
CELLEX POWER PRODUCTS TO TRIAL HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS AT
WAL-MART
VANCOUVER, Canada
Cellex Power™
has announced that a Wal-Mart subsidiary will field
trial Cellex's fuel cell products for electric
forklifts.
President Chris Reid said "Lead acid
batteries typically last only 4 to 8 hours. A depleted
battery is replaced with a freshly charged battery 2 to
3 times a day, reducing productivity and increasing
costs." Reid added "our hydrogen fuel cell products
increase productivity and decrease operational costs,
produce zero harmful emissions and will possess
additional environmental benefits."
For more
information on Cellex:
CONTACT: Blair Lill,
Marketing Manager. Phone: 604.248.3552, email: blill@cellexpower.com, website: www.cellexpower.com.
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16.
4 PALLET INVERTERS
New Cumberland, PA, United
States
Closing: 11 June 2004 3:00pm - Contract:
SB3100-4127-3091
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