National Forklift Safety Day 2017: Local events to highlight safety, operator training
Lift truck manufacturers, dealers, and providers of associated products will be observing National Forklift Safety Day on June 13, 2017. Here are just a few examples of the events, literature, and promotions they'll be offering around the country.
The main event for National Forklift Safety Day 2017 will be held in Washington, D.C., on June 13. But lift truck manufacturers, dealers, and providers of associated products and services around the country will be holding their own events to help customers improve safety in their warehouses and distribution centers. Below are just a few examples; for more information about National Forklift Safety Day programs and events in your area, contact your local forklift dealer.
During the month of June, Briggs Equipment, which represents Hyster and Yale with 30 locations across eight states from Texas to Tennessee, will ask all 1,000 associates to sign a safety pledge honoring their commitment to putting safety first. Every Monday, Briggs will post safety messages for customers on its Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts. The company is also hosting a fork safety promotion during this time. The distributor's service technicians will place a special focus on inspecting forks, alerting customers to the dangers of misaligned forks and encouraging customers to replace them.
For the fourth consecutive year, Clark Material Handling Co. will host a communitywide forklift safety awareness event at its Lexington, Ky., campus (700 Enterprise Dr.) on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, in support of National Forklift Safety Day. The event will begin at 11: 30 a.m. and is open to the public. The program will include an open house, including plant tours; a visit by Officer Don and his helicopter; a "Live with Lee Cruse" remote broadcast; a "lift truck rodeo" competition and safety demonstrations; a display of aftermarket safety products; live radio coverage by 98.1 FM WBUL; and a free lunch prepared by Smokin' Jax Grill with door prizes. Clark is also hosting a "train the trainer" safety class at its North American headquarters during the week of June 12-16. The company is donating this class to 15 area businesses.
Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA) will host its fourth annual National Forklift Safety Day employee event on Tuesday, June 13, at its Houston, Texas, headquarters facility. MCFA manufactures and distributes Mitsubishi, Cat, and Jungheinrich material handling equipment throughout the Americas.
UniCarriers Americas will offer free operator training and recertification courses on June 13 through its factory stores, Hartland, Wis.-based Capital Equipment and Handling and Woburn, Mass.-based New England Industrial Truck. UCA will also offer special pricing on safety equipment, including pedestrian spotlights, back-up alarms, fire extinguishers, and more, throughout the month of June. For more information about National Forklift Safety Day and these events, visit unicarriersamericas.com/About-Us/NFSD.
Sister companies Wisconsin Lift Truck and Illinois Material Handling, both Wolter Group dealers, are offering classes on June 13 to celebrate National Forklift Safety Day. A free half-day forklift awareness class, focusing on tips and tricks for forklift safety and pedestrian interaction, will be hosted at Wisconsin Lift Truck's Brookfield, Wis., location from 8: 00 to 10: 30 am. Discounted forklift operating training classes will be available at both Wisconsin Lift Truck's Brookfield location and Illinois Material Handling's Bolingbrook, Ill., location. To reserve your spot(s) for either class, call 800-236-2379 x3083 or e-mail operatortraining@woltergroupllc.com.
In support of the Industrial Truck Association's National Forklift Safety Day on June 13, Crown Equipment is challenging anyone directly or indirectly related to forklift operation to embrace a role in promoting a safety-based culture. As part of its "Safety: It's Up To You" campaign, Crown is distributing safety posters throughout its locations and to customers. Also, the company will be using social media channels to share a short, interactive forklift safety quiz to test knowledge and reinforce key principles.
Parcel carrier and logistics provider UPS Inc. has acquired the German company Frigo-Trans and its sister company BPL, which provide complex healthcare logistics solutions across Europe, the Atlanta-based firm said this week.
According to UPS, the move extends its UPS Healthcare division’s ability to offer end-to-end capabilities for its customers, who increasingly need temperature-controlled and time-critical logistics solutions globally.
UPS Healthcare has 17 million square feet of cGMP and GDP-compliant healthcare distribution space globally, supporting services such as inventory management, cold chain packaging and shipping, storage and fulfillment of medical devices, and lab and clinical trial logistics.
More specifically, UPS Healthcare said that the acquisitions align with its broader mission to provide end-to-end logistics for temperature-sensitive healthcare products, including biologics, specialty pharmaceuticals, and personalized medicine. With 80% of pharmaceutical products in Europe requiring temperature-controlled transportation, investments like these ensure UPS Healthcare remains at the forefront of innovation in the $82 billion complex healthcare logistics market, the company said.
Additionally, Frigo-Trans' presence in Germany—the world's fourth-largest healthcare manufacturing market—strengthens UPS's foothold and enhances its support for critical intra-Germany operations. Frigo-Trans’ network includes temperature-controlled warehousing ranging from cryopreservation (-196°C) to ambient (+15° to +25°C) as well as Pan-European cold chain transportation. And BPL provides logistics solutions including time-critical freight forwarding capabilities.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But it fits into UPS' long term strategy to double its healthcare revenue from $10 billion in 2023 to $20 billion by 2026. To get there, it has also made previous acquisitions of companies like Bomi and MNX. And UPS recently expanded its temperature-controlled fleet in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Hungary.
"Healthcare customers increasingly demand precision, reliability, and adaptability—qualities that are critical for the future of biologics and personalized medicine. The Frigo-Trans and BPL acquisitions allow us to offer unmatched service across Europe, making logistics a competitive advantage for our pharma partners," says John Bolla, President, UPS Healthcare.
The supply chain risk management firm Overhaul has landed $55 million in backing, saying the financing will fuel its advancements in artificial intelligence and support its strategic acquisition roadmap.
The equity funding round comes from the private equity firm Springcoast Partners, with follow-on participation from existing investors Edison Partners and Americo. As part of the investment, Springcoast’s Chris Dederick and Holger Staude will join Overhaul’s board of directors.
According to Austin, Texas-based Overhaul, the money comes as macroeconomic and global trade dynamics are driving consequential transformations in supply chains. That makes cargo visibility and proactive risk management essential tools as shippers manage new routes and suppliers.
“The supply chain technology space will see significant consolidation over the next 12 to 24 months,” Barry Conlon, CEO of Overhaul, said in a release. “Overhaul is well-positioned to establish itself as the ultimate integrated solution, delivering a comprehensive suite of tools for supply chain risk management, efficiency, and visibility under a single trusted platform.”
Shippers today are praising an 11th-hour contract agreement that has averted the threat of a strike by dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports that could have frozen container imports and exports as soon as January 16.
The agreement came late last night between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) representing some 45,000 workers and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that includes the operators of port facilities up and down the coast.
Details of the new agreement on those issues have not yet been made public, but in the meantime, retailers and manufacturers are heaving sighs of relief that trade flows will continue.
“Providing certainty with a new contract and avoiding further disruptions is paramount to ensure retail goods arrive in a timely manner for consumers. The agreement will also pave the way for much-needed modernization efforts, which are essential for future growth at these ports and the overall resiliency of our nation’s supply chain,” Gold said.
The next step in the process is for both sides to ratify the tentative agreement, so negotiators have agreed to keep those details private in the meantime, according to identical statements released by the ILA and the USMX. In their joint statement, the groups called the six-year deal a “win-win,” saying: “This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong. This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace.”
The breakthrough hints at broader supply chain trends, which will focus on the tension between operational efficiency and workforce job protection, not just at ports but across other sectors as well, according to a statement from Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, a freight booking and payment platform. Port automation was the major sticking point leading up to this agreement, as the USMX pushed for technologies to make ports more efficient, while the ILA opposed automation or semi-automation that could threaten jobs.
"This is a six-year détente in the tech-versus-labor tug-of-war at U.S. ports," Levine said. “Automation remains a lightning rod—and likely one we’ll see in other industries—but this deal suggests a cautious path forward."
Editor's note: This story was revised on January 9 to include additional input from the ILA, USMX, and Freightos.
Under terms of the deal, Sick and Endress+Hauser will each hold 50% of a joint venture called "Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG," which will strengthen the development and production of analyzer and gas flow meter technologies. According to Sick, its gas flow meters make it possible to switch to low-emission and non-fossil energy sources, for example, and the process analyzers allow reliable monitoring of emissions.
As part of the partnership, the product solutions manufactured together will now be marketed by Endress+Hauser, allowing customers to use a broader product portfolio distributed from a single source via that company’s global sales centers.
Under terms of the contract between the two companies—which was signed in the summer of 2024— around 800 Sick employees located in 42 countries will transfer to Endress+Hauser, including workers in the global sales and service units of Sick’s “Cleaner Industries” division.
“This partnership is a perfect match,” Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, said in a release. “It creates new opportunities for growth and development, particularly in the sustainable transformation of the process industry. By joining forces, we offer added value to our customers. Our combined efforts will make us faster and ultimately more successful than if we acted alone. In this case, one and one equals more than two.”
According to Sick, the move means that its current customers will continue to find familiar Sick contacts available at Endress+Hauser for consulting, sales, and service of process automation solutions. The company says this approach allows it to focus on its core business of factory and logistics automation to meet global demand for automation and digitalization.
Sick says its core business has always been in factory and logistics automation, which accounts for more than 80% of sales, and this area remains unaffected by the new joint venture. In Sick’s view, automation is crucial for industrial companies to secure their productivity despite limited resources. And Sick’s sensor solutions are a critical part of industrial automation, which increases productivity through artificial intelligence and the digital networking of production and supply chains.
He replaces Loren Swakow, the company’s president for the past eight years, who built a reputation for providing innovative and high-performance material handling solutions, Noblelift North America said.
Pedriana had previously served as chief marketing officer at Big Joe Forklifts, where he led the development of products like the Joey series of access vehicles and their cobot pallet truck concept.
According to the company, Noblelift North America sells its material handling equipment in more than 100 countries, including a catalog of products such as electric pallet trucks, sit-down forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, narrow aisle forklifts, walkie-stackers, order pickers, electric pallet trucks, scissor lifts, tuggers/tow tractors, scrubbers, sweepers, automated guided vehicles (AGV’s), lift tables, and manual pallet jacks.
"As part of Noblelift’s focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences, we are excited to have Bill Pedriana join us in this pivotal leadership role," Wendy Mao, CEO at Noblelift Intelligent Equipment Co. Ltd., the China-based parent company of Noblelift North America, said in a release. “His passion for the industry, proven ability to execute innovative strategies, and dedication to customer satisfaction make him the perfect leader to guide Noblelift into our next phase of growth.”