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New Crown Equipment Showcase

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The news just keeps flowing in from Crown.  If you were not impressed before.  You may be now.  Hope you enjoy the read!

NEW BREMEN, Ohio (August 26, 2014) – Crown Equipment Corporation, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, shared a few of its successes regarding the company’s vertically integrated approach to manufacturing at this year’s IMPACT Manufacturing Summit in Denver.

Dave Beddow, Crown Equipment’s vice president of manufacturing operations, discussed at this year’s event (August 17-19) how a long-term, vertically integrated manufacturing approach can bring together every aspect of a company’s production process toward the common goal of creating superior products. He also highlighted how this can be done while meeting customer expectations and needs regarding product quality, performance, cost and delivery.

“Vertically integrated manufacturing provides Crown Equipment a level of control that enables unsurpassed quality, and increased dependability and reliability for our customers,” said Beddow. “By sharing our experience and successes, we hoped to mitigate some of the perceived and real risk of vertical integration for conference attendees. Topics included levels of commitment, types of infrastructure, and partnerships to assure manufacturing’s ability to continue to produce components that achieve high quality and maximum flexibility at competitive costs.”

Crown Equipment designs and manufactures the majority of its forklifts and components, including electric motors, drive units, valve bodies, masts, power units, cylinders, electronic modules, wire harnesses, forks, seats and more. The company is vertically integrated across 16 global manufacturing facilities and the approach extends throughout its distribution model of Crown-owned branches and independent dealers.

According to its website, IMPACT Manufacturing Summit is an executive-level manufacturing conference in the United States, playing host to hundreds of senior level executives from discrete, process and food & beverage manufacturers. The program delivers a “unique mixture of: strategic presentations and panels from industry thought leaders
, real-world customer led case studies
, targeted research meetings with leading solution providers
, and unparalleled networking opportunities with high profile industry peers.”

– See more at: http://news.crown.com/blog/2014/crown-equipment-showcases-vertically-integrated-manufacturing-impact-manufacturing-summit/#sthash.0ZjBZWgI.dpuf

Great stuff right.  Thank you to Crown for being so amazing.  We hope you enjoy all the stuff we bring to you all in one place.  Let us know what you would like us to research and provide more of for you to read in the future.

In the meantime.  Enjoy this Crown Counterbalanced Forklift Video we found on YouTube

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Crown Opens New Facility

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There is just no slowing them down.  For several years Crown has continued to bring you the best in industry innovations.  It has been rewarded with constant growth and expansion.  Check out the latest news!

MUNICH (August 5, 2014) – Crown Equipment, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, opened a new production facility in Roding, Bavaria (Germany), in early July. The opening ceremony was attended by employees and guests, including local politicians and business partners. With a new production hall and office premises covering a total area of nearly 12,000 square meters (approximately 129,000 square feet), Roding is one of the key production facilities in Crown’s global manufacturing network.

While the company will continue to operate the existing plant located nearby, the new facility will enable the lift truck manufacturer to significantly expand its European production capacity. Just last year, Crown opened its new European headquarters in Feldkirchen and a new parts center in Pliening, both located near Munich. The parts center handles the distribution of spare parts across the entire EMEA region. The new Roding plant represents Crown’s third major investment in Germany to support the company’s ongoing growth in Europe.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Franz Reichold, mayor of Roding, praised the manufacturer’s commitment to the region. “Innovative, flexible, focused on modernization – these are the code words that best describe our business world. And they’re also the words that best describe Crown. Crown was prepared to both invest in the company and stay loyal to the town of Roding. On behalf of the townspeople, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks,” said the Mayor. District Councillor Franz Löffler also emphasized that “today, a major part of the world economy has settled in our district. All of us – town, district and local inhabitants – are delighted.” He went on to say that Crown’s presence is a potent symbol of the region’s economic success.

Ken Dufford, Crown vice president, Europe, said, “Our new production facility in Roding is a milestone in the history of Crown in Europe. Not only is the building a triumph of architectural design, embodying state-of-the-art production technology and functionality, it also conveys a powerful sense of high-tech potential, demonstrating that Crown has plans extending far into the future.” He also stated that thanks to the new building, the company is well-prepared for future market growth and ideally situated to continue the steady expansion of Crown’s position in the European market.

Success based on vertical integration
Crown has been manufacturing products in the Bavarian town since 1986. What first began as a production site for hand pallet trucks and single components is now a major facility producing large numbers of forklift models for the EMEA region and other global markets – from pallet trucks and low-level order pickers to reach trucks with lift heights of up to 13 meters (approximately 43 feet). Among the many products manufactured in Roding are the prize-winning ESR 5200 Series reach trucks and the popular GPC 3000 Series order pickers. Together with Crown’s innovative QuickPick® Remote order-picking technology, the GPC 3000 trucks earned the prestigious IFOY Award in May 2014.

The company continuously invests in upgrading the state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies used at Roding. Crown’s vertical integration concept is unique in the industry; the majority of components used in Crown products are developed and manufactured in-house. Mads Andreasen, Crown’s director of manufacturing, explains why: “This allows us to maintain tight control of product quality and sustainability, while enabling us to respond flexibly to specific customer requirements. In addition, the modular design of our lift trucks means that spare parts are readily available because identical components are used across multiple series and models. Producing these shared components in-house positions Crown to meet the high-quality/competitive price challenge.” In his view, the new production facility puts Crown Europe in a very advantageous position for meeting such future challenges and also represents a giant stride towards further establishing Roding as a key location.

The Roding plant is also an exemplary training venue. Every year, large numbers of people are trained here in many different areas. Devised in close collaboration with local vocational colleges, the company’s work-study training programs help trainees build a solid foundation of practical and theoretical skills.

– See more at: http://news.crown.com/blog/2014/crown-opens-new-production-facility-roding-bavaria/#sthash.YJAXJHtJ.dpuf

Tell us some of your best Crown Forklift stories or news in the comments section below.  Make sure you schedule a Crown Forklift Demo if you haven’t already.  Watts Equipment

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How Lift Trucks Work Smarter

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It just keeps getting better and better.  We are in the best industry in the world.  Not so many years ago, people would have never guessed how far forklift advancements would have went.  Check this article out to learn more.

 

Today’s lift trucks are more versatile than ever. They offer more comfort features, they’re more energy efficient, have greater reach capabilities, more safety features, integrate with warehouse management software, and more. That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news is that all these problem-solving capabilities sometimes make it difficult for a warehouse manager to know what particular lift truck best suits his or her needs. Investing in a lift truck now requires research and evaluation, if not a pilot test.

Every year, manufacturers introduce more lift trucks to the market. These vendors usually claim a litany of cost-saving capabilities and energy efficiencies, oftentimes citing third-party test results to verify their claims.

At the very least, a materials handling manager is required to 1) research what’s available, 2) determine the organization’s objectives, 3) follow up with manufacturers to find out how the products will meet their needs, and 4) arrange to see lift trucks in action.

Cesar Jimenez, national product planning manager at Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc., says users must consider site specific needs; will the forklift have to be equipped with accessories such as work lights, strobe lights and/or alarms? The type of rack storage utilized at the location also must be considered: selective, drive-in, push-back, or flow rack.

Thanks to evolving software, today’s lift trucks can integrate with racking systems, voice picking systems, floor sweepers, battery charging systems and more. Hence, the lift truck is best viewed as part of an integrated warehouse management system.

Last year, Crown Equipment introduced InfoLink, a cloud-based, forklift fleet and operator management system that delivers data to help warehouse managers maximize productivity.

InfoLink delivers actionable data through content-rich, interactive dashboards. The wireless system provides fleet-wide visibility into an array of operator and fleet information, such as battery usage, impact history, truck utilization, OSHA compliance, service needs and more through a user-friendly interface.

Scott Craver, product manager for business and information systems at Raymond Corp., observes that materials handling is becoming more of a service than a product for logistics managers, thanks to more robust software.

“People have a strong interest in the information that the trucks can provide,” he says. He notes that 77 percent of warehouse cost is in labor while only 11 percent is in the price of the truck. Hence, information systems that make labor more economical bring new benefits.

“You can get a full picture of what these guys are doing every single second,” Craver says. In addition, the software can interface with warehouse management software.

You can see the original article by visiting: Food Logistics

Make sure you take a moment to browse through other articles on our site: http://blog.wattsequipment.com or go over and visit our main website to get more information about Toyota Forklifts and Crown Forklifts

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