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 |  |  | | |  Forkliftaction.com's research team brings members free tenders from around the world EVERY week. In fact, more than 150 tenders from more than 30 countries have been listed in the past eight months - more than USD15 million in contracts.
Right now, there is a tender online for one year of supplying industrial tyres! Click here for details.
Member feedback suggests Forkliftaction.com is the only place on the internet where such specialised information if available free-of-charge. Forkliftaction.com members can opt to have tenders emailed to them with their newsletter each week. Click here to edit your preferences. Not yet a Forkliftaction.com member? Click here to sign up for your free membership.
CORRECTION: An article in Forkliftaction.com News #180 wrongly stated that MLA Holdings Pty Ltd, the Australian distributor of Mitsubishi forklifts, also represented Shinko. The corrected article can be seen here. Forkliftaction.com News apologises for the error. |
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Airtrax launches finance arm
HAMMONTON, NJ, United States
Airtrax, Inc, the developer of the upcoming Sidewinder omni-directional forklift, has launched a financing subsidiary, Airtrax Financial Services, LLC (AFS).
AFS will procure financing for the lease and purchase of Airtrax equipment. AFS plans to introduce new loan programs and services targeted to consumers and dealers as well as third-party contractors.
Airtrax president Peter Amico said offering finance options would encourage more rapid adoption of the company’s products.
“As the growth of the materials handling equipment industry continues, AFS offers companies the ability to finance new and replacement forklifts and aerial work platforms,” he said. “AFS will also help to strengthen our dealer and client relationships, and create the opportunity for higher resale values.”
Amico recently announced that the Sidewinder forklift would be available this year, after wheel manufacturer Timken delivered the first production versions of the forklift’s innovative wheels (Forkliftaction.com News #172).
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BT Rolatruc wins 1400-machine supply contract
SLOUGH, United Kingdom
BT Rolatruc has won a contract to supply more than 400 industrial trucks and 1000 hand pallet trucks from Grampian Country Food Group (GCFG), the UK’s leading independent agri-food business.
BT did not release the value of the five year full service rental supply contract.
One of GCFG’s key operations in the UK is its site near Haverhill, Suffolk. The Haverhill operation is large enough, with about 70 forklifts, to require a resident BT engineer.
The Haverhill site will receive equipment from the ORION powered pallet, CARGO counterbalance, REFLEX reach and IXION stacker truck families. But the deal also means BT will supply forklifts and materials handling machines to all GCFG UK sites, as contracts with other suppliers expire.
Part of the truck replacement program included a two-day orientation by BT for GCFG at the Haverhill site, where examples of each type of forklift were available for demonstration.
“This is a major investment for us and we wanted to involve our people, who will be using the new trucks,” a GCFG spokesman said. “One of the best things to come from the roadshow was that they introduced us to new models.”
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Kalmar sells Velsa to focus on materials handling
STOCKHOLM, Sweden
Kalmar Industries has sold cab manufacturer Velsa Inc to Finland’s Rautaruukki Corporation, so it can “concentrate on container and heavy materials handling equipment”.
Kalmar chief executive Christer Granskog said Velsa, which reported turnover of EUR42 million (USD53.4 million) last year, would remain Kalmar’s sole supplier of industrial machinery cabins to its European factories.
“The key to providing the best service to our customers involves staying close to them, developing and assembling good products and offering efficient services based on our knowledge of their needs,” he said.
“This set-up gives us greater volume flexibility to cope with both the upswings and downturns in our very cyclical business environment, and enables us to better meet our customers’ demands.”
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Four new cranes boost South Harbor expansion
MANILA, Philippines
Asian Terminals Inc (ATI) has commissioned four new high-capacity, rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes in Manila’s South Harbour International Container Terminal.
ATI is the exclusive operator of the South Harbour terminal.
The Mitsui-Paceco RTGs were manufactured in Oita, Japan. Each crane weighs 120 tons and has the capacity to lift one container over a five-container-high stack of up to six-container-wide stacking.
The cranes are part of a decade-long, multi-million dollar development program for the harbor. According to Rochelle Hilario, corporate communications officer for ATI, improvements to the main container yard have increased annual cargo handling capacity from 600,000 TEUs to 860,000 TEUs over the past four years.
The RTGs’ inauguration comes barely a week after ATI’s board named Jeremy Rickord as president. Rickord, who was previously executive vice-president, replaced Richard Barclay, who remains as chairman of the firm.
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Top forklift trainer lands Balkans assignment
SOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom
When Dave Saich was called to the office, he thought it was just another routine job, but the 47-year-old forklift driving trainer at British American Tobacco’s (BAT) factory in Southampton, UK, was soon proved wrong.
Saich, who has been with the company for 26 years, is now hundreds of miles away on a top assignment in the Balkans, according to a Newsquest Media Group report.
The trainer has been sent to a BAT sister plant in Serbia for three weeks to train workers there in forklift truck driving.
Saich passed an instructor’s course last year and is already responsible for the specialist training in Southampton, in addition to overseeing all the materials handling equipment on-site.
“When I was called to the office last week, I thought it was for just another routine job. How wrong I could be?” he said. “(Despite) having recently received medical attention for my jaw, I still managed a ‘yes’.”
A BAT spokesman said: “Dave is one of many Southampton-based employees who visit BAT factories all over the world to support high standards of training upheld by the company.”
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Pennall is tops again in NZ driving championships
AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Mike Pennall has taken out New Zealand’s National Forklift Drivers’ Championships for the third consecutive year.
Pennall won the two-day finals event by more than 200 points, and won a trip to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix next year.
Chief judge Maurice Flood, national forklift instructors’ registrar for New Zealand’s Occupational Safety & Health Service, said Pennall was a deserving winner.
“The competition was fierce, but Mike’s consistently high standards and a cool head kept him in front,” he said.
Flood said Pennall had been “under pressure” to make it to the finals (Forkliftaction.com News #176).
Despite being placed third three times, second three times, and having just won his third first prize, Flood said he would be back again next year.
“If you’re excelling at what you do, why not keep doing it?” he said. “It’s great to have such a dominant champion in a competition like this – it encourages all entrants to do better.”
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Movers & Shakers
SYDNEY, Australia
Crown Equipment Pty Ltd in Australia has appointed Craig Kenchington, a 12-year sales veteran of the company, to the position of marketing manager. This position was previously carried out by Glenn Pulley, who continues in his role as an executive director of Crown Australia.
GREENE, NY, United States
Robert Rogers, who, during his 37-year career at Raymond, spearheaded the drive towards safer, more innovative forklifts, will be awarded the Safety Codes & Standards Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in Las Vegas next February. Rogers retired in 1999, but has continued to serve as a consultant to Raymond in several areas, including lift truck design, training, application issues and safety standards.
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Forklift suspected in concrete pig theft
WINNIPEG, Canada
A forklift is believed to have been involved in the theft this month of a 460-pound pink, concrete pig stolen from the private yard of Winnipeg Blue Bombers American football team president, Lyle Bauer.
Football club board member David Asper told the National Post newspaper that the pig thieves would be brought to justice.
Deep tyre tracks were the only indication of what had occurred on the night of October 11, said Bauer. A forklift is the chief suspect.
“We've become very attached to this pig,” said Bauer, a former Blue Bombers lineman, who was named the team’s president in 2000. “It’s become a community landmark. So, they'll just have to bring it back in the dead of night – just like when they took it.”
Bauer said his children had adopted the pig as a pet.
“Our family name is across the butt of it, so it’s not going to sneak in anywhere inconspicuously,” he said, adding that he believed the theft was “some people having a bit of fun.”
Police have little idea what motivated the pig-napping.
“It could have been someone just fooling around or it could have been someone had it planned,” said one officer. “We have no suspects or anything right now.”
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ADVERTISEMENT
Reach Stackers Priced To Clear
1998-1999 Terex TFC45 (Qty 3) & TFCH55 (Qty 1) Reach Stackers for sale:
• Stacks 5 high
• 20-40 spreader
• Cummins diesel engine
• Clark transmission,
• 5000-10000 hours
• FOB Jessup, Georgia, USA
• See photo
For more information, contact Jan Rodrigues at Leavitt Machinery & Rentals Inc. |  |
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ADVERTISEMENT
AGENTS, DEALERS WANTED
Tovel Manufacturing, a Canadian manufacturer of world-class rough terrain forklifts and telescopic booms, is looking for agents and dealers worldwide.
If you are interested in promoting these world-class products, forward your company name, contact person, phone, fax, email address and website to David N Fenn at inquiries@tovel.com.
All enquiries will be treated confidentially.
Click here to see our Featured listing and our new website.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Scalequip Seeks Dealers & Distributors
The WEIGHSAFE SERIES of on-board digital, weighing systems are designed to give accurate weight readings for about the same cost as an analogue weight gauge currently used on forklifts. The systems have been designed to operate with all types of forklifts - conventional, side-loaders, RoRo, container handlers and reach stackers. With worldwide sales enquires, Scalequip are now seeking additional Dealers & Distributors in the US, UK & Europe.
WEIGHSAFE - the safe weigh to save money.
Chris Meeson at SCALEQUIP Pty Ltd on + 61 7 3205 3993
sales@scalequip.com
www.scalequip.com | |
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AMS: Your Aftermarket Specialist
AMS, a veteran 25-year international training and consulting company, deals exclusively with the marketing, managing and merchandising techniques of the equipment industry’s aftermarket.
The aftermarket is AMS’s entire business. John Walker has done training and consulting work for numerous Fortune 500 companies and major national and international manufacturers and associations.
John Walker has over 40 years’ experience working with equipment dealers and over the past 25 years, has performed hundreds of successful on-site dealer evaluations. AMS is the leader in the area of aftermarket sales marketing, having developed the only CD covering CSS sales techniques and CSS sales training programs.
John Walker
After Market Services Consulting Co
8177 S. Harvard, Suite #519
Tulsa OK 74137
www.amsconco.com amsconco@aol.com
Ph:- 1 918 299 5830 | |
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Curtis Unveils New Line of AC Controllers
More power, broader integration and unprecedented flexibility are the hallmarks of the new Curtis AC line for material handling vehicles, offering lower maintenance, higher performance and greater flexibility. The new controllers deliver exceptional sophistication and adaptability for designers and end-users, combining the power and smoothness of Curtis speed controllers with a Programmable Logic Controller to provide rugged strength. Curtis’s “VCL” Vehicle Control Language allows OEMs to develop application and requirement-specific software, with the power to customize and differentiate their vehicles. VCL includes CAN communication control, I/O functions, feedback-loop process blocks and software development tools. See www.curtisinstruments.com. | |
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FLTA: SOLUTIONS TO SOLID TYRE PROBLEM ARE IN SIGHT
ALTON, United Kingdom
Last year, the Fork Lift Truck Association and the Industrial Tyre Association warned of a looming industry crisis: the imposition of an EU directive which would place a ban on sending whole tyres to landfill sites (Forkliftaction.com News #132).
With no practical means of shredding the solid tyres used on many forklifts by end-users the cost of legal disposal seemed set to rocket.
The associations are now pleased to report that Watts Industrial Tyres, a member of both the ITA and the FLTA, has made significant progress towards tackling the problem.
“A number of waste disposal companies have machines designed for reducing pneumatic tyres to crumb, which can be recycled in a number of ways, but these machines are not capable of dealing with solid tyres,” said Phil Perry, Watts’ director and general manager.
“One possibility considered was a fragmenting machine capable of chewing up a transit van... but it was defeated by these tyres!”
With a very tight deadline set by the Environment Agency, the search became increasingly urgent. Finally, Watts found three ‘project partners’ with machinery that could be adapted to fragment the tyres into a mulch for gardening, or into crumb suitable for making surfaces for indoor equestrian arenas, sports pitches, playgrounds and other flooring.
Additionally, Watts’ company in Sri Lanka can remanufacture selected used tyres into a reprocessed tyre called the Quantum, which is said to look and function just like a new solid tyre.
Reacting to these developments, FLTA chief executive David Ellison said: “It looks like we will have long-term, cost-effective, environmentally-sound solutions after all.”
“In the meantime, we must continue to stress that waste disposal is a responsibility to be shared by the whole industry. We ask for continuing co-operation from all quarters as the new disposal procedures are implemented.”
He also added: “We must also remind everyone that the obligation to dispose of tyres legally applies to the users of the tyres, as well as those who make and sell them. An audit trail exists for every tyre, allowing authorities to check its fate, and unlimited fines await those convicted of breaking the law.”
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1. Atlas Weighing Appoints New US Agent
Atlas Weighing, manufacturers of the popular Compuload range of “on board” weighing scales, are pleased to announce that a new US-based agent has been appointed. Accurate Weighing Systems (AWS) have experience in this field and are expected to be a valuable sales outlet for the Compuload.
Compuload weighing systems have proven over the years to be extremely reliable and accurate. New data storage software is constantly being developed to suit various needs. The latest of these is the container weighing software. This allows up to six fields to be entered and stored. New Zealand-based company “Pacific Forum Line” “The Freight Station”...
Click here for the full text of this release, including pictures. | |
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| Fast Facts | 1. Atlas Weighing Appoints New US Agent
2. A diagonal standing position is one of the new features introduced by Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks to its new SBR 1.2 to 2.0 tonne K series trucks.
FORKLIFTACTION.COM
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