MHEDA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

MHEDA welcomes new Distributor Members Action Material Handling of Chattanooga, TN and K-Lift Service Company of Salinas, CA.

BREAKING NEWS

NO BULL! BIG IDEAS MAKE UP MHEDA CURRENCY FOR 2003

MHEDA President Jim Bowes welcomed attendees to the 48th Annual Convention.

Convention Chairman Loren Swakow knows how to throw a big Texas-sized party!

In spite of a challenging economy, MHEDA members headed out for this year's Annual Convention and Manufacturers' Fair with great gusto, and all are prepared to do business. When it came to whispers of the state of the current economy, the most common refrain was that we're seeing the beginning of an uptick. Whether listening to Al Bates explain the Distributor Statistical Comparisons Survey Report or planning strategy with Mike Romano, all were armed with the tools they need to capitalize on the recovery said to be beginning now.

According to the Treasurer's Report presented by MHEDA Treasurer Dave Griffith, in spite of a challenging business climate, MHEDA remained financially sound in 2002. Much of this was due to strong support from the membership in terms of dues, seminars and convention. Click here to read the full report.	MHEDA’s 2003 Manufacturers Board of Advisors A very strong showing at the Manufacturers’ Fair
MHEDA Treasurer Dave Griffith had good news when he explained the state of MHEDA’s finances.

NO CHANGES TO PITOT

OSHA has decided not to make any changes to its Compliance Directive CPL 2-1.28A Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training regarding the use of operator restraints. Bill Montwieler, executive director of the Industrial Truck Association credits the response from the ITA Board, the questions raised by Congressman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), the articles that appeared in many publications, and the excellent comments prepared by Dunaway and Cross as instrumental in achieving this result. Says Montwieler, "This was the number one goal announced by ITA President Jim Moran in January and I am pleased to say that ITA has achieved it!"

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Landoll Buys Drexel Assets (Marysville, KS) • Landoll Corp. acquired the assets of Drexel Industries on April 24. Established in 1957, Drexel Industries had over 100 dealers in its customer base. Landoll President Don Landoll says the production of Drexel units will be moved to its Marysville, KS operation within the next four to six months. Production, service parts, technical support and sales of the Drexel product line will continue from the existing Horsham, PA facility until it is beneficial to Drexel dealers and customers to move the operation to Marysville. Landoll will add a fifth sales division and maintain a separate Landoll-Drexel dealer network to sell and support the Drexel line. 17 Drexel employees have been hired by Landoll for the transition. The addition of Drexel is expected to increase overall sales at Landoll Corp. by 20 to 25 percent.

Hodge Mfg. Co. Assets Sold (Durham, CT) • The Durham Manufacturing Company has purchased the assets of Hodge Manufacturing Company, Inc. of Springfield, Massachusetts. Hodge will be operated as a division of Durham. Hodge is a manufacturer of heavy gauge, non-powered material handling equipment, a product group considered to be a logical companion to the Durham line of small parts storage products. Manufacturing and engineering operations will continue at the Hodge plant in Springfield.

Yale's 2002 Dealers of Excellence

Yale Recognizes Dealers of Excellence (Greenville, NC) • Yale Materials Handling Corporation honored its 2002 Challenge of Excellence winners with the prestigious Dealer of Excellence Award at a ceremony in April. Dealers of Excellence are the top performing members of Yale's exclusive dealer network and include MHEDA members: Joe Wilson of Berry Material Handling, Ed Otis of E. D. Farrell Co., Mike Pruitt of Eastern Lift Truck Co., Sam Grooms of Hy-Tek Material Handling, Philip Robinson of Insley McEntee Equipment Co., Robert Kehley of Key Material Handling Co., Stephen O'Leary of Northland Industrial Truck Co., Duncan Murphy of Riekes Equipment Co., Joe Clark of The Lilly Company, A. D. "Sandy" MacKinnon of Yale Industrial Trucks-Gulf/Atlantic, Chris Burns of Yale Industrial Trucks-Pittsburgh, and Michael Dougherty of Yale Materials Handling-Dougherty Equipment. Ken Bonnell of Black Equipment Company and Gary Fairchild of Yale Materials Handling-Green Bay were also named Dealers of Excellence.

Yale recognized its Dealers of Merit, including MHEDA members: James Ortega of Ohio Materials Handling and Barry Paul of Yale Kentuckiana. Also named were Les Gobler of Hilo Yale Industrial Trucks and Steve Gallagher of Yale Materials Handling-Torrance. Yale's Dealers of Value include MHEDA members: Steven Greenawalt of Alta Lift Truck Services, Ken MacDonald of M & G Materials Handling Co., Mark Medley of Medley Material Handling Co., Robert Siano of National Lift Truck Service, and Greg Gammon of Yale Materials Handling Gammon. Other Dealers of Value were Skip Russo of Barclay Brand Ferdon, James Brennan of The Brennan Industrial Trucks, and Clifford Anglewicz of Yale Equipment & Services.

TMHNC Sponsors Soldiers (Hayward, CA) • Toyota Material Handling Northern California President Rich Andres challenged his employees to donate money to support soldiers serving in Iraq. Through the California organization Operation: MOM, TMHNC adopted two soldiers and their units: Spc. Danielle Marquez, Headquarters 7th Transportation Group, U.S. Army, and Sgt. Joseph Taylor, HQ Battery 5th Battalion, U.S. Marines. TMHNC employees raised $1,600, which Andres matched, allowing the company to purchase $3,200 worth of supplies for the troops, including gum, breakfast bars, CDs, soap, band-aids and magazines. Employees included a personal note with each box sent. In addition, Andres presented Marquez's mother with a $500 check to help care for Marquez's infant daughter while her mother is away. Says Andres, "When I was a Marine in Vietnam, I remember what it was like not hearing from home and missing out on some of those comforts, so I thought this would be a good way to show support for our troops."

warehouse1 Presents Conference (Kansas City, MO) • On May 13, warehouse1 co-sponsored a NAFTA trade and transportation conference entitled "Getting Your Product There" in conjunction with World Trade Week. Presenters included Assistant Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Melle, U.S. Department of Homeland Security analyst Ernest Bartosh of the Transportation Security Administration, and former Kansas Governor Bill Graves, now president of the American Trucking Associations. The conference brought NAFTA manufacturers and shippers information to secure and speed NAFTA imports and exports. Says CEO Mary Lou Jacoby, "There was certainly an impact on our international sales after the terrorist attacks in 2001. However, the last 90 days we have experienced a significant increase in business with our Mexican partners."

Raymond Names Top Dealers (Greene, NY) • The Raymond Corporation honored nine Dealers of Distinction, including MHEDA members: Abel Integrated Handling Solutions, Anderson & Associates, Associated Material Handling Industries/Allied Equipment Handling Co., Carolina Handling, Heubel Material Handling, Pengate Handling Systems and Raymond Handling Concepts Corporation. Other Dealers of Distinction are G.N. Johnston Equipment Co. and Malin Integrated Handling and Design.

Raymond's Dealers of Merit include MHEDA members: Arbor Material Handling, Hooper Handling, Raymond Handling Concepts Corporation, Raymond of New Jersey, Shaw Material Handling Systems and Stoffel Equipment Company. Raymond Handling Consultants was also a Dealer of Merit.

VBS Expands (Richmond, VA) • As part of a 5-year expansion project, VBS Inc. Material Handling Equipment is expanding its Chesapeake, VA branch to more than twice its current size. Last year, VBS expanded its headquarters and plans to increase the size of two other branches.

Cat Honors Dealers (Houston, TX) • Cat Lift Trucks honored four dealers with its Five-Star Customer Service rating, including MHEDA member Miami Industrial Trucks of Dayton, OH. Other dealers honored were Inland/Hobbs Material Handling, Naumann/Hobbs Material Handling and Ring Lift.

New Hires at Washington Liftruck (Seattle, WA) • Tom Henry joined Washington Liftruck as a salesperson. Henry brings an extensive background in sales, most recently in the computer peripheral industry. Washington Liftruck also welcomed Shop Technician Scott Smith and Field Technician Kevin Peterson.

TMHU Achieves Production Milestone (Irvine, CA) • With the production of its new line of 7-Series 3-wheel electric lift trucks, Toyota Materials Handling, U.S.A. now assembles 99 percent of its lift trucks in North America. "Toyota has achieved a long-term goal by bringing nearly all of our manufacturing efforts to North America," said Dr. Shankar Basu, TMHU president and CEO. "We strongly believe in supporting the communities where we live and work, and investing in our local economy at every opportunity to create jobs and encourage prosperity."

C&D Begins Initiative (Blue Bell, PA) • C&D Technologies, Inc., Motive Power Division, announced a $1.25 million capital improvement project to be completed by the end of July. The project includes improved formation processes as well as an expanded distribution center.

MHIA Provides Conveyor Guidelines • The Conveyor Product Section of the Material Handling Institute of America, in conjunction with the Association of Professional Material Handling Consultants, released a new document entitled "Recommended Common Industry Practice and Guidelines for Conveyor Systems Request for Proposals." The primary objective of the document is to educate people with minimal experience writing a conveyor system bid specification. A copy can be requested at no cost by contacting Tim Carbott at tcarbott@mhia.org.

SALES SUCCESS STORY

FLORIDA LIFT SYSTEMS PROPOSAL: MORE THAN JUST A GOOD READ

Scholastic Book Fairs is a national distributor of books with multiple facilities throughout the country. The company ships and delivers books to many smaller locations for its “book fairs.” When the company needed wire decking, they asked Florida Lift Systems for help.

Product Manager Jeff Strickland and Coordinator Beth Morgan worked with Steve Johnson, national sales manager at Nashville Wire Products, to evaluate the customer's application. They developed three different proposals for custom-designed wire mesh decking with safety in mind, i.e., wire mesh decking with no exposed edges that might cut employees picking orders. Guaranteed on-time delivery was also part of the proposals.

The proposal chosen by Scholastic included 42" x 46" wire decking with flush and sloped ends. Florida Lift Systems made sure that everything was delivered and installed on time.

MHEDA NEWS

More MHEDA Members in Armed Services • MHEDA continues to receive names of member company employees serving our country. Chris Cuddemi, a field service technician for Abel-Womack Integrated Handling Solutions, was placed on active duty with the National Guard in June 2002, serving in Bosnia as a crew chief on Blackhawk Medivac helicopters with the 1159th Medivac Company. He returned to Abel-Womack on May 5. Cuddemi nominated his supervisor, Service Manager Tony Fedele, for the "My Boss Is a Patriot Award," presented by the Massachusetts Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for his support during Cuddemi's service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

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