| A Semi-Monthly Newsletter for Material Handling Equipment Distributors |
May
1, 2003
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| MHEDA welcomes new Distributor Member FCE Rigging, Inc. of Shreveport, LA and new Supplier/Associate Members Configura Inc. of Grand Rapids, MI, Greater Kelly Development Authority of San Antonio, TX and Lancer Sideloaders Ltd. of Bedfordshire, UK.
MHEDA MEMBERS SWEEP HYTROL HONORS
Throughout the spring, manufacturers have been releasing the names of their top distributors for 2002. Hytrol Conveyor Company's Top Six Distributors, however, were the only group in which everyone benefited from MHEDA membership during their award-winning year. Hytrol awards distributors who have reached the top. Hytrol's Top Six Distributors for 2002 are Bastian Material Handling (Indianapolis, IN), Conveyors & Drives (Atlanta, GA), Cisco-Eagle (Dallas, TX), Stokes Material Handling Systems (Doylestown, PA), Skarnes (Minneapolis, MN) and Fortna (Brentwood, TN). Hytrol also recognized Bastian Material Handling as the first Hytrol distributor to sell over ten million dollars in one year. These award-winning distributors overwhelmingly cite MHEDA's educational and networking opportunities among the most important member benefits.
"Education is critical," says David Farmer, vice president of Fortna. "MHEDA keeps up with changes in technology, helping us to provide our clients with appropriate solutions at the lowest possible cost." Gary Ashley, president of Conveyors & Drives, also relies on information and interaction. "MHEDA helps us get an idea of what others in the industry have been able to achieve and the way they operate. We can share with other members, and that helps all of us to be more successful."
"The best thing about MHEDA membership is the MHEDA Convention," adds David Wanous, VP of Skarnes. "We get together with peers to network and bounce ideas around." Wanous also cites MHEDA's Webinars as very beneficial and enlightening. Cisco-Eagle President Steve Strifler says, "MHEDA plays an important role for us with education, relationships, information and resources." Strifler takes advantage of MHEDA's educational offerings by sending employees to Sales Boot Camp and seminars, and cites the invaluable opportunities to network with other industry professionals.
Finally, Hytrol's number one distributor, Bill Bastian II, president of Bastian Material Handling and a MHEDA member since 1997, is glad that he followed the advice offered by Hytrol's management team. They noted the synergy between Hytrol and the association and urged him to become a member. "The tools and techniques taught at MHEDA seminars, the distributor best practices published in the magazine, along with financial benchmark reports all help us sell more of our manufacturer's product. MHEDA provides a great forum for the exchange of information with like-minded business owners throughout the United States." CALIFORNIA TRIES TO REGULATE SALE OF SPARK-IGNITION FORKLIFTS In mid-January 2003, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced plans to develop a regulation making it illegal to buy a new spark-ignition (i.e., gas, propane or CNG) forklift below 8,000 lbs. capacity in California after January 1, 2005. Believing that any forklift below 8,000 lbs. capacity should be electric in order to cut down on pollution, CARB would even make it illegal to rent anything but electric forklifts starting in 2010. If California follows through on this proposal, about 80% of the market for Class 4 and Class 5 forklifts would disappear, perhaps leaving dealers with significant inventory that their customers aren't legally able to buy. CARB's forklift-electrification plan is part of the "State Implementation Plan" for achieving the State's long-term pollution goals. If the plan is approved by the agency's board this summer, the CARB staff will then develop the actual regulation. Although delays are always possible, CARB's official announcements say they aim to have a final regulation on the books before the end of this year. The prohibition on purchasing an engine-powered forklift below 8,000 lbs. capacity would then start at the beginning of 2005. CARB says it would allow rental companies another five years, to 2010, to phase out non-electric forklift rentals. Ironically, CARB's announcement of its forklift electrification proposal comes just as manufacturers are completing work on redesigning their engines to meet CARB's previous pollution standards. CARB's 1998 regulation lowering the emissions from spark-ignition engines was estimated to reduce emissions by 75%. That regulation goes into full effect on January 1, 2004, just one short year before CARB would ban customers from purchasing those same forklifts. Not surprisingly, CARB's announcement has spawned a flurry of activity and opposition. Forklift manufacturers and dealers, customers who use non-electric forklifts, and representatives of the propane industry have already attended meetings in California to express their deep concerns. The points they're making are fundamental: (1) Electric forklifts, while perfectly suitable for some uses, simply can't replace all engine-powered forklifts below 8,000 lbs. capacity because they can't deliver the same lifting and motive power over sustained periods; in short, they can't always do the work; (2) converting an operation to use only electric forklifts can be very expensive, especially when you factor in the cost of replacement batteries and charging facilities, the increased need for electric capacity, and possible battery-disposal issues; (3) because of the necessary infrastructure, it's usually not feasible to rent an electric forklift; (4) forklift manufacturers, distributors and dealers have already invested millions of dollars in existing inventory, including state-of-the-art cleaner engines. CARB shouldn't ban the very products that it just recently regulated. It's too early
to say whether CARB will meet its announced schedule or modify its
plan, but the affected industries are mobilizing to resist the forced
electrification of a significant category of spark-ignition forklifts.
Resolution of the basic issue—whether the market or the regulator
should decide what type of forklift a customer can use—will
carry significant impacts for many stakeholders throughout our industry. INDUSTRY
BEAT
New Chair at Modern (Bristol, PA) • Joseph McEwen, Modern Group founder and board chairman, stepped down as chairman of the board in a planned transition. McEwen remains as a director. McEwen served as MHEDA's 11th president in 1966. John F. Smith was elected chairman of the board and has responsibility for the creation and management of the board's Audit, Compensation, and Strategy & Governance committees. Bushek Appointed Columbia President (Reedsburg, WI) • George Bushek was appointed president and COO of Columbia ParCar Corp. Bushek served as Columbia's vice president of operations since October 2000 and has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience in engineering and manufacturing.
Hy-Tek Promotes Neroni (Columbus, OH) • Hy-Tek Material Handling promoted Tim Neroni to sales manager of its Columbus sales territory. Neroni has been a client-favorite account manager for Hy-Tek's headquarters branch since September 1991 and recently was ranked nationally as a Top Ten Sales Rep in the Yale Main Event program. Mitsubishi Names Top Dealers (Houston, TX) • Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks announced its Dealers of the Year. They include MHEDA member The Bailey Company (Nashville, TN), Equipment Depot, Inc. (Waco, TX), Equipment Depot, Ltd. (Ft. Worth, TX), Industrial Service & Supply Co. (Grand Rapids, MI) and Ring Lift (Miami, FL). Toyota Offers MHEDA Support to Dealers (Irvine, CA) • Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. recently announced to its dealer network the availability of co-op advertising and promotion dollars for annual MHEDA membership dues. Dr. Shankar Basu, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. and a member of MHEDA's Manufacturers Board of Advisors, said, "Toyota is a strong supporter of the benefits that MHEDA membership brings to distributors. We recognize the value of high-quality educational opportunities and having distributors who are part of a network of industry professionals." THE AIR IS CLEAN AND PURE WITH HYSTER SALES COMPANY Hyster Sales Company's Lee Hall, director of product support-marketing for the Eugene, Oregon-based distributor, conducted an experiment using the attendees at an HSC aftermarket sales meeting in California's San Francisco Bay Area. Hall set up a 20' x 40' fully enclosed tent and then placed two LPG-powered forklifts inside. He ran them both for two minutes, shut them off and instructed the salespeople and their managers to explore the inside of the tent. When they had finished, he asked if they had noticed anything out of the ordinary. They hadn't. Next, he gave them a carbon monoxide detector and told them to enter the tent again and measure the air quality. The salespeople were shocked to discover 85-90 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide in the air, 50 ppm more than the limit allowed by California's OSHA regulations. “Carbon monoxide is so dangerous because people don't realize when they're around it,” says Hall. “We needed to demonstrate this to our salespeople so that they in turn could communicate this fact to their customers, using first hand experience.”
With air quality becoming an increasingly important issue, Hyster Sales Company partnered with Engine Control Systems (ECS), a division of the Lubrizol Corporation, to participate in a testing program to reduce emissions from new and existing LPG-fueled forklifts used in the State of California. After many months of gathering and analyzing information, Hyster Sales Company and ECS received a $355,000 grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to install the ECS TermiNOx closed loop three-way emissions control system on 127 selected trucks. The trucks were chosen based on location, engine displacement and projected hours of usage. Lift truck customers receiving the system were required to pay only for the work necessary to bring the lift truck to standards for a successful installation (engine, fuel and exhaust inspection, engine tune-up, etc.), usually costing between $300 and $500. However, what Hall calls a “win-win” situation didn't prove to be easy. He says, “Customers were reluctant to see that a potential problem with their air quality may exist. They didn't want to spend the money, or thought their forklift would lose performance.”
To facilitate the process, Hyster Sales Company created a PowerPoint presentation explaining the cause, effect and solution of gases generated by an internal combustion engine, along with an interactive “what-if” module demonstrating ROI benefits. Aftermarket sales reps went to customers with these tools on their laptops, and were prepared to generate a typed proposal in the customer's office. Installations began in June 2002, and 24 were completed by the end of August. Hyster Sales Company is planning more informational seminars to help customers deal with environmental and safety issues. Says Hall, “In this day and age, where all lift trucks are becoming pretty much the same, the dealer has to have some very definite advantages to garner our share of that business. This is one area where, with the help of ECS, we really stand out.”
Don't Forget the DiSC Survey! • MHEDA's 2003 Distributor Statistical Comparisons (DiSC) Survey is now in progress. This annual profitability survey is packed with industry-specific data to guide your company's future budgeting and financial planning process. All data are confidential, and we are confident you will benefit from this valuable program. In return for your participation, you will receive an Industry Level Report and an Individual Company Analysis. If you have not received your information packet, call the MHEDA office and we will send you one immediately. |
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