| A Semi-Monthly Newsletter for Material Handling Equipment Distributors |
October
1, 2003
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| Two distributor companies recently joined MHEDA: Greene Enterprises Material Handling, located in Tucson, AZ, and established in 2002; Rob Stress, Manager. Motive Energy in Anaheim, CA, established in 1984; Bob Istwan, President. Welcome! ANNUAL CONVENTION PLANS FINALIZED Industry Insiders are lining up to make reservations now for MHEDA's 2004 Annual Convention & Manufacturers' Fair in Miami. The theme, "Energize Your People, Heat Up Your Profits" already is shaping up to be one of the best conventions ever. Save the dates! May 1 - 5, 2004. (See story below in MHEDA News.) INDUSTRY ACQUISITIONS HEAT UP Pon to Buy
Portman
• Portman Equipment Company of Cincinnati,
OH signed a non-binding letter of intent which could result in the
sale of its stock to the North American subsidiary of Pon Holdings
B.V. The letter of intent calls for a three-month period during
which the parties will complete their due diligence and negotiate
exclusively for the acquisition of Portman Equipment Company. If
the sale is consummated, Portman will become part of the Pon North
America group, which includes 5 locations of Equipment Depot in
Texas, and MHEDA Members Levee Lift of Evansville, IN (4 locations
in KY and IN ); Material Handling Services, headquartered in Carol
Stream, IL (8 locations in the Chicago and Green Bay, WI area).
Negotiations will be completed by the end of November. The MHEDA
Journal wrote extensively about acquisitions and Pon's foray
into the material handling business. Read those articles again by
clicking the following links: Cascade Acquires Italian Company • Cascade Corporation signed a preliminary agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Roncari S.r.l., a supplier of material handling equipment to the Italian lift truck market, based in Vago Di Lavagno, Italy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. C&D Purchase Moves Production to North America • C&D Technologies signed an agreement to purchase some assets of Matsushita Battery Industrial Corporation of America and Matsushita Battery Industrial de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. for manufacturing certain industrial lead-acid stationary batteries in North America. Acquired assets include a 240,000 sq. ft. building, built in 1998, in Reynosa, Mexico, and the equipment in the facility used for the manufacture of large, valve regulated lead acid batteries for standby power applications. C&D also entered into a worldwide technology license agreement with Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. of Japan for selected patents and know-how relating to the above manufacturing technology. C&D anticipates transition of some Matsushita customers to C&D during the fourth quarter of 2003. NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK October 6-10 is designated as "National Customer Service Week." It's a good time to reward your frontline reps, raise company awareness of the importance of customer service, and let your customers know about your commitment to customer satisfaction. HERE
SHE COMES...ON HER FORKLIFT First it was French President Jacques Chirac who worked as a forklift operator for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis during the early 1950s. Now another can enter the roll of Famous Forklift Drivers.
Contestants at last week's Miss America Pageant exhibited a broad range of talents, but only Miss Iowa Nicole White can lay claim to being a certified forklift operator. A native of Eldridge, IA, White learned to use a forklift while working for her father's roofing company. In an interview with The MHEDA Connection, White says, "I worked for my father during summers answering the phone, until he told me I would have to do more to help out." The Miss America contestant worked in the warehouse moving shingles and siding. She became certified to use the company's Toyota forklifts, which she calls "exciting to drive." She still helps out and drives the truck, but says being Miss Iowa has become a full-time job. She is a graduate of Augustana College, which she attended on a music scholarship, and hopes to obtain a master's degree in business administration. Although White was not among the final group of contestants, her unique skill makes her a standout. INDUSTRY
BEAT
AEC Honors Loyalty and Commitment (Charlotte, NC) • At a party given in his honor, Daryle Ogburn received Advanced Equipment Company's prestigious 25-Year Anniversary Award in recognition of his years of service to the company and its customers. In making the presentation, President Larry Abernathy said, "Since 1978, Daryle has been one of our top sales engineers and has played a major role in the development and success of our company. Recently promoted to VP of sales and marketing, his leadership and knowledge of our business will play a key role in our continued success." Ogburn is the sixth associate of Advanced Equipment Company to receive this 25-Year Award. Job Satisfaction Drops to New Low (New York, NY) • In light of a survey released last week by The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, MHEDA is proud of member companies with long-standing, satisfied employees, like AEC in the story above. According to the survey, however, only 48.9 percent of working Americans are satisfied with their jobs, the lowest level of job satisfaction recorded since TCB began surveying the issue in 1995. TCB's Lynn Franco offers an explanation: "As technology transforms the workplace and accelerates the pace of activities—increasing expectations and productivity demands, and blurring the lines of work and play—workers are steadily growing more unhappy with their jobs." The research is consistent with other reports and surveys that have found declining worker loyalty and a surprisingly strong urge to seek new employment. Bruce Merrifield, in his Distribution Channel Commentary (#40), provides some insightful thoughts for distributor owners and managers faced with this problem. You can read that advice by clicking here (be sure to scroll down to #3). To learn how to subscribe to this free newsletter, go to www.merrifield.com. Interlake Plant to Expand (Naperville, IL) • Interlake Material Handling will expand the company's Sumter, SC, manufacturing plant by 40,000 sq. ft. and plans to add between 25 and 30 jobs. Construction began in September. Jackson Named Manager (Peachtree City, GA) • Harris Waste Management Group named Jerry Jackson engineering manager for its Baxley Manufacturing facility. Jackson will manage the engineering group as well as lead new equipment designs. Mann Joins Storage & Office Systems (Jeffersonville, IN) • Scott Mann joined Storage & Office Systems as a sales engineer for the Indianapolis region. Mann brings over 15 years of industry experience, mostly in crane systems. INTEGRATED STORAGE SOLUTIONS NETS SPEEDY SALE Sometimes the challenge of a sale lies not in its size, but in the mid-project changes required by the customer. As an office product distributor's facility neared completion, the customer realized a need to protect his order pickers from the risk of falling product. According to Ed Richardson, president of Integrated Storage Solutions (Roswell, GA), "Time was an important consideration." Brian Stevenson, vice president of the material handling division at International Cordage East, provided a 9,000 sq. ft. rack netting protection system, resulting in no additional mobilization costs, despite the late order date. Says Richardson, "We were able to demonstrate our company's knowledge and experience in delivering a solution on short-notice. And our customer benefited by having additional safety measures in place." The $8,000 system was on-site within two weeks, not only making the deadline, but beating it.
Hear
Preview of Sales Manager Seminar Parts
& Service Management Seminar
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