Yale exec: more globalization, customization

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 4/1/2000

Globalization and customization will be among the major forces shaping the lift truck industry in the year 2000 and beyond. That' s how Don Chance, president of Yale Materials Handling Corporation, views the future.

Briefing business editors recently, Chance noted how lift truck companies who will be most successful in this new economy will be those who have worldwide capabilities.

Yale operates in three theaters today-North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. "This international presence gives us great flexibility to source components from one part of the world and shift them to another so we can give our customers products at a value that will provide overall total lowest cost of operations while maintaining the integrity and control of design and assembly," Chance says.

New warehousing facilities are being built, the Yale exec points out, with higher ceilings and narrower aisles to get more SKUs into less space to accommodate a greater demand for product diversity. "At the same time," he says, "there is tremendous pressure to right size' facilities and operations to deliver the lowest cost per pallet movement possible while achieving all productivity standards.

"The challenge for materials handling companies like Yale will be to create quality lift trucks that perform well in these environments. That' s why we have placed an emphasis on designing lift trucks that reach higher and operate more efficiently in narrower spaces."

Customization will not stop with the lift truck product. "To thrive in 2000 and beyond, lift truck companies will have to become less manufacturer and more consultant-interactive partners that provide value-added services that help their customer' s cash flow, operations, and give them a competitive advantage as it relates to total overall cost of operations."