Pick of the Year list announced
December 1st 2011 Handling & Storage Solutions is delighted to be the media partner for the Fork Lift Truck Association Awards. The winners will be announced at the Awards extravaganza in February and I'm sure it will be a night to remember. For now, we are pleased to announce the nominations for the product awards - The Pick of the Year. The winners in each of the four categories - Ergonomics, Environment, Safety & Innovation - will collect much coveted Archies.
The FLTA Awards Pick of the Year is effectively a readymade hit list of forklift industry innovation and a mustsee for those with a budget to spend looking to snap up the best technology.
After all, when it comes to picking a product, most of us place a great deal of faith in a positive recommendation. Not only can it help to short-cut a long and arduous audition process, but it can introduce us to previously unknown products.
The Pick of the Year section begins on page 21 and outlines this year's nominations, as well as providing information on the FLTA committe responsible for narrowing the field down to the shortlist presented here. And here is where you come in.We are asking you to vote for your favourites and help determine who will win an Archie on the big night in February. So please make your vote count at: www.fork-truck.org.uk/voting-card
A conversation on every page
I caught up with Dolph Westerbos, group president, CHEP EMEA to talk about how he is changing the company to listen more and become more responsive to customer needs.
It's refreshing to hear a top executive tell it like it is and candidly assess his own company. He also talks about a range of pallet concepts a consortium led by CHEP is developing. You can read about this and more on page 6.
Also on pallets, we have an interesting contrast of opinions on the wood versus plastic debate. See page 56 for details. It's still horses for courses in most cases, but there is an increasing number of scenarios where managers are placed in the somewhat tricky position of choosing between one and the other.
I also recently travelled to the Netherlands to see a top fashion retailer open a new, largely automated warehouse that had been kitted out by SDI Group (page 40). It's a very impressive installation and indicative of the far reaching impact economic changes can have on warehouse configuration. In this case, the cost saving potential of importing flatpacked garments as opposed to hanging, among other factors, made a system that could seamlessly handle both flatpacked and hanging garments very important.
This shows that economically difficult times won't necessarily translate into slow times for warehouse and logistics operations. As long as there are changing market conditions, there will be a need for professionals to adapt.
Simon Duddy, Editor More articles from Handling & Storage Solutions: | 
