MHEDA welcomes new Distributors Powerfleet, Inc. of Carlsbad, CA, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation De Mexico of Naucalpan, Mexico, and new Supplier/Associates Stellana US of Lake Geneva, WI, and U.S. Bank Equipment Finance of Danbury, CT.

MHEDA Suppliers Predict Good Year

The MHEDA Journal's 2007 Industry Forecast polled MHEDA members across North America about their success strategies for the coming year, and the buzzwords are "increased efficiencies." There is no question that as MHEDA Distributor Members and their customers focus on a greater return on their investment, the push for increased dialogue between supplier and distributor will be intense.

Part II of The MHEDA Connection's two-part series features manufacturers and suppliers, 62% of whom expect a sales increase in 2007. Be prepared for new products and new technologies that are promising greater cost efficiencies and a more efficient use of man-hours by end-users. Many manufacturers are looking forward to spending quality time with their established network of distributors; others are hoping to expand the number of distributors marketing their product.

Read the full report in The MHEDA Journal, available now in print and online at www.mheda.org.

Learn the Lessons of the Groundhog

Because it comes in February, after the new year and before Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day can sometimes get overlooked. MHEDA Edge, the online publication for young material handling professionals, doesn't think that's fair. The February issue is totally devoted to the lessons of the groundhog, such as forecasting, shadowing and the Hedgehog Concept. Even the movie Groundhog Day can inspire us, because much like the film's main character, often times we find ourselves repeating the same tasks and ending up with the same results. Read how one distributor helped a customer "rise up from underground." Check it out today!

Early Bird Convention Registration Cutoff Is Today

Join MHEDA in San Diego at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, April 28-May 2, 2007, for the 52nd Annual Convention & Exhibitors' Showcase. This year's theme, "The Art of Business," is designed to inspire you to create your own business palette for better sales, margins, marketing, customer service, employee relations, generational understanding, leadership and much more. To receive the Early Bird Discount, register with MHEDA by February 1. Register online here or download a PDF of the Convention brochure and register by mail.

Complete Convention details, including speaker lineup, exhibitor list and Convention sponsors can be viewed here. Questions? Contact MHEDA at 847-680-3500.

Make your hotel reservations now to get the discounted group rate of $215 single/double at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Act now before MHEDA's room block is sold out. Call the hotel directly at 619-232-1234 and ask for the MHEDA discounted rate.

Jerry Weidmann

Changes at Wisconsin Lift Truck (Brookfield, WI) • Wisconsin Lift Truck made several management changes. Chief Operating Officer Jerry Weidmann will serve as president in addition to his current responsibilities. The company also promoted Jerry Davis to Southern region general manager and Keith Tatroe to Janesville service center manager. Mike Casey will lead the company's newly formed Fleet Services Group. Jeff Gerkhardt joined Wisconsin Lift Truck as corporate parts/Southern region parts manager. Jim Fabio was named capital equipment sales representative in the Racine/Kenosha area.

Mike Casey

Jerry Davis

Jim Fabio

Jeff Gerkhardt

Keith Tatroe

MH Imports Sells Rights to Dobbs Imports (Dallas, TX) • MH Imports, a subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, sold the rights to distribute Heli Americas to Dobbs Imports. As a result of this acquisition, Dobbs will serve as the exclusive distributor for the Heli line of industrial forklifts for 31 states. Bruce Pelynio will serve as president and CEO at corporate headquarters in Memphis, TN.

TGW Expands to UK (Spring Lake, MI) • TGW opened the new TGW Group branch in the UK in January with a location in the Midlands. The company currently has over 800 employees at locations in Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United States. Jochen Streit will serve as managing director of the new location.

Audie Burgan (l) receives the "Golden GabelStapler" award from Jungheinrich President John Sneddon.

J.M. Equipment Co. Receives Top Award (Modesto, CA) • J.M. Equipment Company received Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corporation's top award, the "Golden GabelStapler" trophy, January 9 at ProMat 2007. J.M. Equipment was one of three recipients of Jungheinrich's awards of merit based on sales volume. Audie Burgan, president of J.M. Equipment, was present to accept the award and says, "It's a pleasure to be recognized for the first North American award offered by Jungheinrich. We took on the dealership in April and have had tremendous success with it. The award will have a lasting meaning and serve as a future goal to shoot for."

Peram Merges with EOS (Burr Ridge, IL) • Peram Management Corp. merged with EOS, now operating under the name PANTHEOS GROUP. The company plans to expand into other professional employment-related services such as temporary staffing, search and recruiting, and HRO consulting. Don Shewmake, founder and CEO of Peram, is now a founder and partner of PANTHEOS GROUP and will assume the roles of executive vice president of chief business development and government relations officer.

Raymond Receives Funding (Greene, NY) • The Raymond Corporation was awarded a $750,000 contract from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to research hydrogen fuel cell applications in electric lift trucks. The goal of the program is to study the performance of hydrogen fuel in electric forklifts and to demonstrate the safety of a hydrogen-fueled forklift environment.

AHS Named to "Fast 55" (Cincinnati, OH) • The Cincinnati Business Courier recently recognized Advanced Handling Systems as one of the 55 fastest-growing private companies in Greater Cincinnati. More than 100 companies were nominated for the program and the 55 selected attended a recognition event in December. "We are honored to be selected," says President and CEO Chuck Frank. "We recently added 14 new employees and acquired a second facility to provide better service to our clients."

Folding Guard's Bedford Park facility

Folding Guard Corporation Relocates (Bedford Park, IL) • Folding Guard Corporation moved its operations and manufacturing plant from Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood to Bedford Park, IL. The new facility nearly doubles the previous space, totaling 168,000 sq. ft., and includes the addition of two new mesh welders and four new pick-and-place robots to the manufacturing plant. The facility also will feature a new powder coating system.

SMH VP of Sales and Marketing Dirk von Holt (l) and John Gaughan (r) present a plaque to Bob Wickman.

Wickman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award (Olathe, KS) • Systems Material Handling honored longtime LPM employee Bob Wickman, 79, with a lifetime achievement award during a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament held in his honor during ProMat. Known to colleagues as “Mr. LPM,” Wickman has worked with the company for 36 years, serving 24 years as VP of Sales for LPM and currently working as a consultant for SMH. “He’s a genuine guy. He knows everybody and he remembers everybody,” says SMH Director of Business Development John Gaughan. “People would just be starting out their companies and Bob would give them access to the product line and build them into empires.”

Forklift Damage Controlled by Shoppa's

A company based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was having excessive problems with operator abuse to its fleet of more than 20 Toyota forklifts, as well as damage to products and racking systems. Unfortunately, they could not identify who was causing the damage.

This company was an existing customer for Shoppa's Material Handling (Fort Worth, TX), and when Jeff Carrothers, aftermarket territory manager, stopped by to review their application, he proposed a simple solution: installing the lifts with the Shockwatch ImpactManager RF system with computer reporting capability. “This product solved the issue of identifying operators who are causing abuse to lifts and products from impact with the forklift,” says Shoppa's Corporate Aftermarket Manager Scott Witt. “Plus, it locks unauthorized drivers off the lifts to help prevent mishaps.”

Carrothers and Witt made a visit to the customer site along with Shockwatch Regional Sales Manager Terry Young to demonstrate the ImpactManager RF system, which detects impacts and records the event details. The data is then transmitted wirelessly or downloaded through a user interface. The device also ensures that only authorized drivers may operate the equipment. “When we showed the customer and described the reporting functions, it showed how they could resolve the issues they were having,” says Witt.

All new forklifts the customer orders now come equipped with the ImpactManager RF software.

Building a Highly Effective & Motivated Team
February 22, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT
Jeff Wolf, Wolf Management Consultants, Inc.
This 60-minute teleconference will teach you how to motivate and lead your team more effectively. Learn how to increase your management skills and effectively move your team toward breakthrough results and approaches to maximize success as a leader or member of a team. Registration is only $99 per company for unlimited participants. For details, view this page.

Creating an Energized Work Environment
March 15, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT
Jeff Wolf, Wolf Management Consultants, Inc.
In this teleconference, you will learn how to increase the productivity of your entire organization. Wolf will provide insights that you can use to improve profitability and effectiveness within your business. Learn how to apply strategic techniques to company-wide problems and increase value to customers, employees and partners. Registration is only $99 per company for unlimited participants. Visit this page for more information.

The Habit of Selling
March 20-22, Doubletree Guest Suites – Dayton Mall, Dayton, OH
Don Buttrey, Sales Professional Training
Join MHEDA and the Association Education Alliance (AEA) for this live seminar, a cost-effective way to train and develop new and veteran sales professionals. Designed for salespeople and sales managers to attend together, this program will teach how to document value-added services, sell them to customers, build relationships, develop communication and people skills, and sell benefits and value. Learn the "5 A's Selling Process" and work on a target account of your choice to gain practical, hands-on tools for better face-to-face selling. Registration is $895 per person, including 2 1/2 days of training, take-home material and most meals. For complete details or to register online, view this page.

Benchmarking Survey Submissions Due February 19 • The deadline for participating in MHEDA's 2007 Distributor Performance Benchmarking Survey is February 19. It is imperative that you submit your data by this date in order to have more current data to analyze during your annual planning process. In return for your participation, you will receive, free of charge: a profile of the entire industry, a confidential report comparing your firm with similar businesses, and an Excel-based tutorial designed to assist your financial planning.

This financial survey compares your firm with similar firms and provides suggestions for improving your firm's profitability. It is a member benefit and costs nothing to participate. Your information is completely confidential and is never seen by MHEDA staff or leadership. To obtain a questionnaire, login to MHEDA's Members Only Section and download a copy, or call the MHEDA office at 847-680-3500 and we'll send it to you electronically.

Winners of Annual Survey Drawing Announced • Thank you to all the MHEDA members who completed the annual membership survey! The MHEDA leadership uses this information to bring you targeted programs and services based on your needs and challenges. We greatly appreciate your input! Congratulations to Brian Boals of Unarco Material Handling and Jack Huth of Parkway Systems, winners of the $100 survey drawings!

New MHEDA-NET Group for Fork Truck Rental Equipment Managers • MHEDA-NET is starting a new networking group for people working in the fork truck rental equipment sector. Now is the perfect opportunity to join a peer group and network in a confidential teleconference setting. It might give you the insight to surmount challenges that are keeping you from reaching your full potential. During these teleconferences you will discuss virtually any question common to rental equipment managers.

MHEDA-NET is a free networking service for all company associates, and there are groups for all segments of the industry. Meetings follow a structured format, sticking to defined topics relevant to the group. Each group sets its own agenda, with rules and guidelines determined by group members. To learn more about MHEDA-NET, follow this link and then fill out the application. It's a great way to advance your career.