editorial comment l


ShD Promoting excellence in Editor


Peter MacLeod


petermacleod@quartzltd.com 01895 454452


Assistant Editor Nikki Catchpole


nikkicatchpole@quartzltd.com 01895 454495


Publishing & Exhibitions Director Rob Fisher


robfisher@quartzltd.com 01895 454442


Advertisement Sales Christine Attew


christineattew@quartzltd.com 01895 454537


Advertisement Sales Joel Martin


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Production Margi Liberman


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Managing Director Paul R. Michael


Published monthly by Quartz Publishing & Exhibitions Ltd, Armstrong House, 38 Market Square,


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ShD is editorially independent, and does not levy a charge for ‘colour separations’. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.


f there’s one thing our industry is good at, it’s speculation and rumour. As editor of an industry-leading title, people tell me things they want people to know, and in equal measure they tell me things they don’t want anyone else to know. That often presents a dilemma, as the stuff I’m told off the record is always juicy – albeit from often questionable sources – whereas the on-the- record stuff has already been doing the rounds of whispering for so long, it never comes as a surprise.


I


If, for example, I was underperforming in a particular role and my employer axed me for a better man, what’s stopping me from posting negative impressions about that company anonymously on the the internet? If enough people read them, they get regurgitated and retold as fact. It’s the modern take on the old game of Chinese whispers.


At ShD, we’ve stopped short at running an internet forum, partly due to the fact that, as a responsible publisher, we have a duty to represent fairly the industry on which we report. A forum needs a moderator to check every fact, but who can sit 24/7 in front of a computer and sift through these rantings, checking each one for potential libel? As a professional writer with a knowledge of libel law, some of the stuff I’ve read online about companies about to go bust or haemorrhaging money or losing all their good people makes my hair stand on end. The fork lift truck market is rife for such gossip. After all, before the recession, I was constantly being told how tight margins were and how the market is being over-supplied. When the downturn hit its nadir, it was a free-for-all guessing game out there as to who was going to go bust, or who was going to take over whom. Such intense speculation has surrounded the Nacco brands, Yale and Hyster. Having stood on the production line in Craigavon, it’s plain to see that these two trucks are identical in all but colour. However, as soon as they leave the factory their routes to market have taken different paths. Hyster is distributed through an exclusive dealer in the UK, whereas, until now, Yale’s distribution has been direct. The announcement by distributor Briggs Equipment that it has bought the Yale UK business brings a halt, for the moment, to the rumour-mongering. With Briggs behind the brand, it is certain to perform better in the UK market than when distribution was controlled by the factory. As Richard Close, CEO of Briggs in the UK says in our exclusive interview on page 7, manufacturers are brilliant at building trucks, but he believes the service aspect of a contract should be left to an independent organisation that has built its reputation on service alone. ●


Toyota service and repairs 


   


Why choose Toyota?  500  100,000   98%  3.48 hours  


For more information call 0870 850 1409 or visit www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk


logistics and materials handling


Peter MacLeod Editor


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