MHEDA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

MHEDA welcomes new Distributor Member Quality Lift Trucks of Chula Vista, CA, and new Supplier/Associate Member BEB Software Systems, Inc. of Kansas City, MO.

BREAKING NEWS

MHEDA'S ANNUAL CONVENTION: RAISING THE BAR OF EXCELLENCE

MHEDA's Annual Convention provides a wealth of opportunities for you to learn from other industry professionals who want to share their experiences and help you make your business work smarter and better. In this issue of the MHEDA Connection, Executive Vice President Liz Richards extends her invitation to you to share the opportunities presented by this year's impressive roster of convention speakers.

MHEDA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT LIZ RICHARDS INTRODUCES
FEATURED CONVENTION SPEAKERS

Liz Richards

Dedicated to improving the efficiency of the material handling distributor, MHEDA is all about providing support to its members. At MHEDA's Annual Convention, industry leaders come together to selflessly share their insight, knowledge and expertise with other industry professionals. Their goal is betterment. They work toward raising the bar of excellence. They help members face challenges and identify opportunities, and they do it because they believe in this industry and the people within it.

Many of the speakers during Convention are names you will recognize. They are members just like you who have strategically guided their companies through economic cycles and market changes. Their organizations have grown because of a passionate belief in continuous improvement.

Mike Romano	Mike Romano will share how his organization accomplished significant sales and profit growth over the last five years, which he says is directly attributable to a clear plan and strategy to carry it out. During this workshop, Romano will provide you with the template to develop such a strategic plan for your organization. To read more about the revitalizing business model implemented at Abel-Womack Integrated Handling Solutions, click here.
Lee Hall	Lee Hall, director of product support marketing at Hyster Sales Company, says "the aftermarket is really the beforemarket." It has never been "business as usual" for Hall, who will show you how to improve sales through innovative marketing techniques and creative partnerships. You can read here about how Hall created a win-win situation through business partnership, both increasing sales and helping reduce forklift emissions.
Gary T. Moore	Gary T. Moore, president of Materials Handling Equipment Company and a gifted speaker, has educated hundreds of industry professionals by leading seminars like "Objective-Based Selling," "Effectively Selling Through Distributors," and "Marketing Storage & Handling Products." Moore has written numerous articles on the subject of marketing and will share his advice on how distributors should address marketing with big ideas you can implement immediately. Click here to discover Moore's twelve essential marketing actions for material handling distributors in an uncertain economy.
John Gillard	Installations can provide big rewards but also carry big risks. John Gillard, president of Action Installation, will share ideas on how to make all your installations profitable by reviewing the critical steps for success. To read about Gillard's success in installing one million pounds of rack in a 40,000 sq. ft. freezer in under four months, click here.

These are just a few of the professionals who will share their knowledge with you at MHEDA's Convention. For a complete outline of MHEDA's Convention Program, visit the website at www.mheda.org and click on "Annual Conventions."

I invite you to join your peers in San Antonio May 3-7, when industry professionals will gather to share, to learn and to network. The Convention is designed with your needs in mind. Please don't miss this valuable opportunity. I hope to see you there.

	THE COUNTDOWN IS ON! Remember, there are only 32 days left until Convention! Don't get left behind. Register today and Get Ready to Think Big in San Antonio.
Last Chance for Hotel Group Rate • Did you remember to make your Convention hotel reservations at the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio? The cut-off date for the group rate of $195 Single/Double is Friday, April 4. Call today for this special rate - (800) 648-4462.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Price Joins Memphis (Memphis, TN) • Gene Price joined Memphis Material Handling, Inc. as a sales representative. Price brings 25 years of industry experience, including five years as a field site manager for Unarco Material Handling and ten years with Hy-Tek Material Handling, Inc.

Toyota USA Names President's Award Winners (Irvine, CA) • Toyota Material Handling USA, Inc. announced the winners of its 2002 President's Award, formerly known as the Quality Dealer Award (MHEDA members in bold): Atlantic Coast Toyotalift (High Point, NC); Atlas Lift Truck Rentals & Sales, Inc. (Schiller Park, IL); Florida Lift Systems, Inc. (Tampa, FL); Hull Lift Truck, Inc. (Elkhart, IN); ILT Toyota-Lift (Cleveland, OH); Lift, Inc. (Lancaster, PA).; Madland Toyota-Lift, Inc. (Bakersfield, CA); ProLift Industrial Equipment Co., LLC (Louisville, KY); Shoppa's Material Handling, Inc. (Arlington, TX); Southeast Industrial Equipment, Inc. (Charlotte, NC); ToyotaLift of Houston (Houston, TX); Toyota Material Handling Northern California (Hayward, CA); WD Matthews Machinery Co. (Auburn, ME); and Williams Toyota Lift, Inc. (East Sparta, OH). The award recognizes excellence in parts, service, sales, customer satisfaction and overall dealership operations.

Darr Purchases Clarklift (Westminster, CO) • Darr FMH, LP purchased Clarklift of Washington/Alaska, Inc. and now operates the Seattle dealership under the name of FMH Material Handling Solutions. The acquisition increases FMH Seattle employment to 87 employees.

Kozuszek Appointed Joint Marketing Manager (St. Louis, MO) • Kevin Kozuszek was appointed manager of marketing communications for FKI Logistex Alvey Systems and White Systems. He will oversee all marketing communications efforts and activities for Alvey and White and will work closely with the FKI Logistex Manufacturers Team on strategic marketing initiatives. Kozuszek was named marketing manager for Alvey Systems in 1999, and previously served as a media and public relations specialist with Marketing Alternatives.

Federal Employment Law Updates • The past year saw many important court rulings, legislative action and related employment news of note to MHEDA members. In the following excerpt from The MHEDA Journal, Diane Lustenader, SPHR, ACD, president and principal of Lake Associates, Inc., presents an overview of several key legal issues.

• President Bush signed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act, P.L. 107-188, into law on June 12, 2002. The new law extends protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to non-military civilian workers who get temporarily appointed as "interim disaster-response personnel" during medical emergencies declared by the U.S. government.
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was signed into law earlier this year to attempt to root out the types of fraud exemplified by the Enron and Adelphia scandals. While this impacts corporate audits and other financial disclosures, it also changes the rules governing qualified retirement plan and executive compensation in four areas. First, plan administrators of 401(k) and other individual account qualified plans need to notify plan participants in writing at least 30 days before the start of a "blackout period." (A "blackout period," generally speaking, is any three-day period during which participants' rights to change plan investments or effect distributions are temporarily suspended.) Second, directors and executive officers of publicly-traded companies and whose qualified individual account plans hold company stock, are prohibited from trading employer securities outside of a qualified individual account plan during a blackout period. Third, S-O prohibits publicly-traded corporations from lending money to directors and executive officers after July 30, 2002. Finally, the maximum criminal penalty under ERISA jumped from $5000 to $100,000, the maximum prison term was extended and the maximum criminal penalty for corporations increased to $500,000.
• In Chevron USA v. Echazabal, 122 S. Ct. 2045 (2002), the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the EEOC's regulation that provides a defense to an ADA claim if an employer refuses to put someone into a job that would pose a "direct threat" to the person's health or safety. The ruling overturned a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holding that Chevron violated the ADA by denying a position to an individual with a disability who would have faced personal harm if put into the job.

Read about these concerns and other affirmative action news affecting distributors in the Spring issue of The MHEDA Journal.

SALES SUCCESS STORY

WISCONSIN LIFT TRUCK KEEPS WATCH

The sales team at Wisconsin Lift Truck Corp. knows its customers very well. They know their customers' business and they are not shy about suggesting ways for them to be more efficient and save money. Mark Wargolet, WLT's customer sales representative, set up a meeting with two of his customers, Mid City Foundry and Grede Foundries, to help them determine ROI of several material handling expenditures. Wargolet knew that both customers were experiencing rack and product damage and high forklift maintenance costs. Wargolet also knew that a new product from Shockwatch called Shockswitch ID could help improve driver habits, reduce forklift maintenance costs and increase worker productivity. Both customers were impressed with the product and could see the added value, but they needed to make sure they could justify the cost, which was around $10,000.

Wargolet assured the customers that he and Shockwatch's Regional Manager Bob Kops and Eddie Clay, technical support manager, would all be involved in setting up the unit in each of their lift trucks, and guaranteed that they would assist them in developing the best program. Wargolet also assured them that the cost of the Shockswitch ID would pay for itself within one year. Since Wargolet knew his customers very well, both companies felt comfortable with his proposal and purchased the unit. WLT's Wargolet continued to keep close watch; his data confirmed that the unit paid for itself in the first quarter of use.

Sneak a Peek at the Convention Speaker Lineup! • MHEDA's 48th Annual Convention & Manufacturers' Fair will take place May 3-7 at the Marriott Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. This is your opportunity to network with your industry peers and gain the survival skills necessary in today's challenging business climate. Click here for a detailed look at what the speakers will be covering during their workshops. For details or to register, call MHEDA at 847-680-3500, or register online at https://www.mheda.org/forms/form.cfm?id=23.

MHEDA NEWS

Profitability Solutions Seminar a Success MHEDA Members from across the U.S. and Canada gathered in Chicago March 7-8 for the "Profitability Solutions Executive Forum" seminar, in which attendees spent 1 1/2 days examining their companies' weaknesses as well as opportunities. Discussion topics included: key performance indicators, key success criteria, survival budgeting, sales growth plans, margin improvement, reductions in force and cost containment. Michael Marks of Indian River Consulting Group (IRCG) led the seminar, and presenters Tim Hilton, Carolina Handling LLC, John Maybury, Maybury Material Handling, and Mike Dubbs, Storage Equipment, Inc., shared their views on profitability and what works for their companies. After much discussion and one-on-one interaction with the presenters, attendees created their own Action-Plan to take back to the office and begin implementing. Janet Walters of Preferred Material Handling said, "This was an excellent program. It was very beneficial because I was able to gain input from others in the business. The presentations were all very well done." Other attendees called the program "refreshing," "validating," "excellent," and the "best MHEDA seminar I have attended."	Tim Hilton (left) exchanges ideas with attendees Mark Medley and Doug Sterk, both of Medley Material Handling. John Maybury (standing) advises Randy Matthews and Janet Walters, both of Preferred Material Handling, Inc.
MHEDA programs are designed to help Members face current and real issues. We encourage you to participate in the educational events offered throughout the year and take advantage of the knowledge you can gain from interacting with your peers. For details about future seminars, go to www.mheda.org or call 847-680-3500.
Michael Marks (standing) talks with attendees Jerry Van Wyngaarden and Ron Greer, both of J.H. Ryder Machinery Ltd. Attendees work together to discuss ways to improve their bottom line. Speaker Mike Dubbs (left) works with Cletis Hoffer, CFO, Storage Equipment Inc.

2003 DiSC Survey Coming Soon • MHEDA's 2003 Distributor Statistical Comparisons (DiSC) Survey is scheduled to be mailed March 15. This is an annual profitability survey of MHEDA members, and the results are packed with industry-specific data to guide you in your company's future budgeting and financial planning process. All data is absolutely confidential. We are confident that you will benefit from this valuable program, so take action now and schedule time to complete this year's questionnaire. More details will follow on March 15, 2003.

  The MHEDA Connection is distributed on the 1st and 15th of each month to all MHEDA members. As the official
  newsletter of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA), a non-profit organization, this
  publication carries authoritative notices and articles in regard to the activities of the Association. In all other respects,
  neither the Association nor the publisher of The MHEDA Connection, Data Key Communications, LLC, is responsible
  for the contents thereof or the opinions of the contributors.

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