Launch of a World Materials Handling Alliance at CeMAT

On May 20, MHI joined the Beijing Materials Handling Research Institute (BMHRI), the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society (CMES), The European Materials Handling Federation (FEM) and the Japan Institute of Material Handling (JIMH) to officially launch a World Materials Handling Alliance. The Alliance was completed with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding at the recent CeMAT Hannover exhibition. The initiative aims at enhancing collaboration among regional representative bodies for the benefit of the world material handling industry.

With the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding, partners from China, Japan, the U.S. and Europe commit to enhance cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Partners will share publicly available market data on production and trade of material handling equipment as well as on regulatory requirements and standards for placing equipment on the market. They will also exchange on trends that influence the application of material handling solutions throughout the world.

“FEM is proud to be among the founding members of this Alliance. Our respective manufacturers can only gain from exchanging and getting to know each other better. BMHRI, CMES, FEM, JIMH and MHI are committed to making this initiative a success. CeMAT is a symbolic host for the launch: the exhibition reflects the global character of materials handling and it hosted our first discussions three years ago,” said Jan van der Velden, FEM President, who hosted the meeting.

“MHI is honored to be a part of this international collaborative effort to benefit the global material handling market,” said George W. Prest, CEO of MHI. “Collectively, this Alliance represents 2,300 companies and over 500,000 professionals working in the material handling industry across the globe.”

The next Annual Meeting of the World Materials Handling Alliance will be held in conjunction with CeMAT Asia 2015.