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Dear reader, WELCOME TO FORKLIFTACTION.COM, MATERIALS HANDLING ONLINE. This is issue #269 - 20 July 2006 of the weekly newsletter for industry professionals. |
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 “Fuel cell forklift on display in US fair.” |
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Sears settles forklift case with OSHA WASHINGTON, DC, United States by US correspondent Roger Renstrom A federal regulatory settlement with one of the US’s largest retailers sends a message to all operations using powered industrial trucks. In the settlement, Sears Roebuck & Co agreed to adopt a safety and health program to ensure safe use of forklifts in more than 900 company locations and to pay a penalty of USD70,000. The US Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) disclosed the settlement late last month. OSHA investigated an April 19, 2005, accident at a Sears store in Monaca, Pennsylvania, and cited the company on September 29 for exposing employees to fall hazards from forklifts. Washington-based OSHA said employees rode on unsecured platforms without guardrails, on the forks of trucks, and forklift operators were inadequately trained. The company failed to provide personal fall arrest systems to employees or equip forklifts with overhead guards to protect employees from falling objects. Edwin G Foulke Jr, OSHA assistant secretary of labour, said: “We are pleased to resolve this matter and avoid the time and expense of litigation.” “This agreement represents a major commitment to ensure safety and provide employees the needed training and protection,” Foulke said. “Sears has agreed to implement changes at the Pennsylvania store [and] all locations within federal OSHA jurisdiction.” Sears must conduct formal instruction and practical training and, at least once every three years, evaluate each forklift operator’s performance. Bill Montwieler, executive director of the Washington-based Industrial Truck Association, said: “The OSHA announcement [is] of significant interest to those charged with training forklift operators at their companies.” Sears Holding Corp, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA, is the parent of the Sears Roebuck and Kmart broadline retail operations.   Crown turret stockpicker wins design award  NEW BREMEN, OH, United States Crown Equipment Corp has won a silver industrial design excellence award (IDEA) for its TSP 6000 turret stockpicker. In contrast to conventional forklifts, the operator-up truck can operate in very narrow aisles of high-throughput warehouses and handle heavy loads up to 38 feet (11.4 metres) off the ground. Crown conducted two years of research and three years of product development before introducing the TSP 6000 in August 2005. Pilot trials began two months earlier. The suggested price range is USD57,000-USD80,000. Steve Pulskamp, of Crown, New Bremen, OH; Bob Henshaw, of Formation Design Group Inc, Atlanta, GA; and Steve Casey, of Ergonomic Systems Design Inc, Santa Barbara, CA, received IDEA credits. Formation assisted in developing multitask controls and arm rests and Ergonomic provided some human factor expertise. Crown originated the concept of an operator-up turret truck in the 1980s and designed the reconfigured TSP 6000 to address changes over the past decade in warehouse environments. The truck offers front-facing and side-facing seat positions, previously available only in separate truck models. The Industrial Designers’ Society of America, based in Dulles, VA, and BusinessWeek magazine co-sponsored the IDEA competition, which drew 1,395 entries from 19 countries. In 2004 Crown won a silver IDEA for its PE 4000 series end-control pallet truck (Forkliftaction.com News #165). It won gold in 2003 for its FC 4000 four-wheel sit-down counterbalanced electric truck and in 1999 for its Wave Work assist vehicle (Forkliftaction.com News #115). Ashtead boosted by US shift from owning to renting SURREY, United Kingdom UK equipment rental giant Ashtead group plc says the strength of the US non-residential construction market has seen its US subsidiary Sunbelt Rentals gain market share. Ashtead cited US Department of Commerce figures putting the non-residential construction market’s growth at 10.2 per cent in the year to April 2006. Sunbelt also was “encouraged by the ongoing shift from ownership to rental” in the US, an Ashtead statement said. All Sunbelt regions and product areas traded higher than the previous year. The US hurricanes were estimated to have added 2 per cent to revenues for financial year ending April 2006 (2005/06). Sunbelt invested USD384.4 million in capital expenditures and focused mainly on replacing and growing its rental fleet. Rental fleet investment was 11 per cent higher than 2004/05 and rental rates increased 12 per cent in “strong market conditions”. Sunbelt’s revenue increased 23.8 per cent to USD818.7 million. Operating profit jumped 62.7 per cent to USD175.5 million from 2004/05’s USD107.9 million. Ashtead, one of the world’s largest equipment rental groups, provides forklifts, aerial work platforms, backhoes, excavators and other equipment for rent through US-based Sunbelt Rentals and UK-based A-Plant. Sunbelt Rentals has a fleet of more than 4,500 forklifts. It is the US’s fourth largest equipment rental company, according to the US Rental Equipment Register. Ashtead posted revenue growth of 21.8 per cent to GBP638 million (USD1.17 billion) for the year ended April 30, 2006. In its audited results for fiscal 2005, Ashtead’s underlying profit before tax was GBP67.5 million (USD123.8 million), three times 2004’s GBP22.4 million (USD410.97 million).   What a face! … meet the team. Have you been corresponding with Lyn, Christine, Rodger, Joe, Steve, Andrew, Daphne ...? Think you know what they look like? Here is your chance to test your imagination. Meet the Forkliftaction.com team on the website: www.forkliftaction.com/tools/bios.asp. You can put a face to the name and see what they’re into! Let us know how close you got, and write to us at info@forkliftaction.com. You can even send your photo too if you want: we would love to meet you! Kind regards, The Forkliftaction.com team Email: info@forkliftaction.com - Phone: +61 7 3369 9090 - Fax: +61 7 3369 9096.  Flame-proofing escalates in Australia SYDNEY, Australia by Daphne Haneman Australian forklift flame-proofing providers have experienced an increase in demand. Sydney flame-proofer Chess Engineering Pty Ltd has modified electric forklifts for hazardous areas for 25 years. Chess’s flame-proofing consultant Mike Robbins said there had been significant increase in trade in the last year. “In the past 12 months we’ve seen a 50 per cent increase in dollar terms in flame-proofing. The peaks and troughs in the business have tapered out, giving way to a steady increase.” Robbins attributed the increase to several issues. “It could be a combination of environmental concerns where forklifts work in dirty, dusty areas, heightened workplace health and safety awareness, the internet, and larger companies buying smaller ones,” he said. Chess offered 10 protection techniques for 1.8 tonne to three tonne diesel forklifts. Robbins said the most popular technique involved power limiting and, due to space constraints, it was important to maintain original control switches rather than the more bulky flame-proof switches. Another Chess technique included fitting a stainless steel, water-cooled exhaust manifold in the engine. That prevented gases exiting the cylinder head from igniting in a hazardous area atmosphere. A Chess statement said equipment flame-proofing was important in the mining, oil, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and munitions industries which had explosive gas atmospheres. It said spark ignition engines, such as LPG and petrol, were not permitted in hazardous areas. Narrow aisle forklift distributor Flexilift Australia Pty Ltd marketing officer Kate Jost said she had received 10 orders for the flame-proof Zone 1 NA20 forklift in the past three months. She said although flame-proofing could increase the cost of a forklift by 30 per cent, clients found it cost-effective and safe. “With flame-proofing, the NA20 can cost up to AUD90,000 (USD 67,365) but it can do the job of three different trucks,” she said. There are three flame-proofing specialists in Australia. Victorian based Forktorque Pty Ltd managing director Murray McLeod said as well as an increase in business, there had been a move to flame-proof electric forklifts. “In 1993, 95 per cent of our business was diesels, but now 60 per cent is electrics.” McLeod said there had been a noticeable increase in inquiries for flame-proofing access equipment, such as cherry-pickers. New Zealand’s Industrial Truck Sales (NZ) Ltd sales manager Dennis Rose said forklifts requiring flame-proofing were sent to Australia. Australia’s other flameproof provider in is R G Flameproofers, in Victoria. A Forktorque statement said atmospheres were designated as classes or zones. Classes referred to areas where explosive gas/vapour mixtures existed and zones were areas which contained hazardous atmospheres.  TVH buys Euro Forklifts WAREGEM, Belgium TVH has acquired all the assets of family-owned forklift sales and rental company Euro Forklifts for an undisclosed sum. TVH now owns all Euro’s short and long-term forklift rental contracts and the resulting rights and duties; used forklifts in stock; spare parts; workshop equipment; and technical information. Euro’s owner Marc de Smet and his staff will be part of TVH from this week, a TVH statement said. According to a Het Laatste Nieuws report, Euro Forklifts was established in 1963 in a property on the Gentse Baan, between Sijsele and Maldegem. In 1985, Euro became the exclusive Caterpillar dealer for west and east Flanders. In 1997, about EUR1.5 million (USD1.88 million) was invested in new premises in Bruges. Business flourished and the company had a turnover of EUR3 million (USD3.77 million) and employed 17. The number of workers has since dropped to 10 and turnover has “plummeted”, the news report said. Forklift operators compete in rodeos ALBUQUERQUE, NM, United States Forklift operators at Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force base, USA, compete as teams and individuals in a variety of ways during annual rodeo-style safety contests. Sandia spokeswoman Elizabeth Carson said during each forklift safety competition, operators demonstrated skills, learnt new techniques, teamed with other operators and could win prizes. “The perceived value is that every participant walks away each year with a more comprehensive respect for the importance of their jobs and safety.” In the July 2006 competition, volunteers participated in events creatively named “Grand Canyon, bottleneck, trailer/low boy, serpentine, basketball shooting, bowling ball rolling, da bomb and high stacking”. In the overall forklift rodeo results, Paul Apodaca, a special material handler, won first place. Utility truck driver Eric Williamson was second, and heavy truck driver Dominic Kittredge took third. The event began in 2000 after a Sandia team supervisor saw a small forklift rodeo at a heavy equipment conference and prompted an initiative at the Sandia laboratory. “Our event is definitely about behaviour-based safety, knowing and using good habits,” Carson said. Sandia’s main secured campus is on the Kirtland base in Albuquerque. Sandia is a facility of the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.  Kalmar to service GTI five years STOCKHOLM, Sweden Kalmar Industries has been awarded a five-year service contract for maintenance and operations by Gateway Terminals India (GTI). GTI of Mumbai, India, ordered 29 Kalmar E-One RTGs in March 2006, 13 of which were scheduled for delivery this month and the rest were to arrive by November 15. The order was one of Kalmar’s largest Indian orders (Forkliftaction.com News #201). The service contract will apply to the 29 cranes. Under the contract, Kalmar will supply GTI with preventative and breakdown maintenance, engineering support, daily inspections, spare parts supply and equipment operators. Kalmar said in a statement it planned to provide more than 100 maintenance specialists and equipment operators trained to international standards, to do three shifts per day. GTI is a joint venture between APM Terminals and Container Corporation of India. Kalmar has been planning the expansion of its Indian service offering by including port cities like Chennai, Cochin and Calcutta in its sales & service network, and employing more technicians (Forkliftaction.com News #264). In November 2005, Kalmar set up an Indian subsidiary after acquiring majority shareholding in its Indian agent, Indlift (Forkliftaction.com News #234). Before the acquisition, Indlift employed 18 people in Mumbai, New Delhi, Vizag and Bangalore. Today, there are nearly 20 office-based employees and; 20 service engineers and 125 subcontracted engineers around India. Fuel cell-powered forklift heads to state fair MINOT, ND, United States by US correspondent Roger Renstrom As part of a US Army research project, a Hyster J50Z forklift with a Hydricity fuel cell power pack will go on display from July 21 to July 29 at the North Dakota state fair, in Minot. Hyster built the 5,000lb (2,250 kg) –capacity, counterbalanced sit-down rider in Irvine, Scotland, and made the power conversion to fuel cell from battery at its Portland, Oregon, USA, facility. Specification of pneumatic tyres for off-road applications required installation of an 80-volt drive system rather than the typical 36 or 48-volt system for solid-tyred North American forklifts. A cab was added so the forklift could operate in the region’s extreme winter climate. Project collaborators are ePower Synergies Inc, of Cordova, Illinois, USA, which owns the Hyster; Hydricity pack maker General Hydrogen Corporation, of Richmond, Canada; the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, of Champaign, Illinois, USA; and the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Centre, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. The Hyster was deployed in May with the Army National Guard in Grand Forks for a one-year demonstration. Eurolift distributes two forklift attachments in Australia ADELAIDE, Australia Eurolift Pty Ltd has been appointed exclusive Australian distributor of two new forklift attachments, the US Tygard Claw and the Italian ETX-G3S carton clamp. Both attachments were released to the Australian market last month. The Tygard Claw is manufactured in the USA by Tygard Machine & Manufacturing Company Inc. More than 450 units have been sold worldwide. A Tygard statement said the claw was a four-way, pressure-sensitive layer picking device designed to split pallet loads or remove excess layers, allowing cubes to fit in racks and full loads to be split in half. It was best used in bottling plants and supermarket warehouses. The Bolzoni Auramo ETX-G3S “intelligent” carton clamp, manufactured in Italy by the Bolzoni Auramo Group, was designed for use in the whitegoods industry for high-volume carton handling A Bolzoni statement said the clamps worked like conventional carton clamps but the Bolzoni clamp could control and automatically adjust the pressure in clamping cylinders after the forklift driver had clamped and lifted the load. Search 9154 listings in the MarketplaceSample of used equipment for sale:
and thousands more... Click here to include your used forklifts, stackers, telehandlers, container handlers, attachments etc. Movers & Shakers VANCOUVER, BC, Canada Caterpillar equipment dealer Finning International Inc has appointed Juan Carlos Villegas as president of Finning South America from August 1. Villegas was vice president of Finning (Canada)’s power systems. He will be responsible for Finning’s operations in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay. Brian Bell will be Finning International’s executive vice president for corporate strategy & customer solutions from September 1. Bell will be responsible for developing corporate strategy and enhancing the profitability of Finning’s global parts & service business. He is currently president of Finning South America. SURREY, United Kingdom Ashtead group plc chief executive George Burnett, who co-founded the group in 1984, will retire in September. He will be succeeded by Geoff Drabble, executive director of The Laird Group plc. Drabble has been a non-executive director of Ashtead since April 2005. Forklift steals forklifts BRISBANE, Australia A forklift was used in an elaborate heist to steal new forklifts from Nacco Material Handling Group-owned dealership Hyster North in south Brisbane, Queensland. Police said thieves entered a neighbouring property, built a platform of timber pallets beside a seven foot (2.13 metre) high retaining wall, cut through a fence above the wall, and used a larger forklift to load three new forklifts onto the platform. Police believe the three forklifts were placed on a large truck, one at a time, before being removed from the scene.  Send this newsletter to an associate
BS Forklifts International BV from The Netherlands - doubles its size! One of Europe’s biggest wholesalers of used forklifts and container handling equipment is now expanding their warehouse capacity to twice their current size. Their goal is to have more than 1,000 units in stock, in order to serve their customers even better than they have for the past 25 years. This Euro top 3 company plans to expand their business from 3,000 units per year to 5,000 units. Click here for the full text of this release, including pictures. 
Meclift Variable Reach Truck ML 3012RC Click here for more information on this product, including pictures. The Glacier GX Series of forklift computers are PC-compatible devices specifically designed for harsh environments Click here for more information on this product, including pictures. Multi-piece wheels could save your employees from serious injury or death Click here for more information on this product, including pictures.
Rob Vetter: The evaluation process BLAINE, WA Your training efforts will eventually lead to an evaluation in which trainees demonstrate their knowledge and/or skills. However, a successful evaluation does not necessarily mean no further training is required. Click here for the full Safety First feature, including pictures. |
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