The Mheda Journal

So the material handling industry is at it again. Another large company has been acquired. Over the last couple of years, the mergers and acquisitions bug has impacted all segments of the industry, be it forklifts (MCFA/Jungheinrich), conveyors (FKI Logistex/Intelligrated), storage & handling (Excel Storage Products/W.C. Cardinal), batteries (EnerSys/Douglas Battery) and more. And it hasn’t only been in manufacturing. Distributors including Riekes Equipment, Arnold Machinery, Alliance Material Handling, Briggs Equipment, MH Equipment and others have been in the pages of The MHEDA Journal for acquisitions in the not-too-distant past.

Then yesterday came word of the latest move, as Canada-based Camoplast Inc. announced its acquisition of the Solideal Group, worldwide manufacturer of industrial tires. Read the full press release here. As the press release states, “The Camoplast Solideal combination will create a world leader in industrial tires, rubber tracks and undercarriages with a strong presence in construction tires and wheels.” As always, time will tell how this shifts the balance of competitive power in the industrial tire market, but it’s clear that this creates a large player.

What do you think? How will this acquisition impact MHEDA members and the material handling industry?

So it’s September already. How did that happen? I’ve been immersed in preparing the Fourth Quarter issue of The MHEDA Journal, and time has been rolling along at a pretty good clip.

Speaking of rolling, one of the articles I’ve been working on is an analysis of how forklift tires reach the end-user. So far we’ve come up with 10 different paths. 10! It’s a much more convoluted market than I had anticipated. I’ve talked to several tire manufacturers, a few forklift distributors, parts departments and more to get as many perspectives on this interesting and often overlooked aspect of the material handling business as possible.

One person I spoke with was Mike Sain at Material Handling Inc. in Nashville. Mike’s company had a long history of providing tire service before getting out of the business about 15 years ago. Within the last year or so, he has gotten back in thanks to some help from his forklift manufacturer. Mike says, “We’ve used our tire service as a door opener into some large target accounts. We’ve worked deals with some local fleet users who previously weren’t using our trucks, service, parts or rental, but were unhappy with the local tire guy. We went in and offered better tire service. We delivered, and that has led to business in other areas of our company.” Read more of Mike Sain’s comments in the upcoming issue.

I’m still trying to round up some info on the market, so if you have any inside details about the forklift tire industry, let me know.