Material handling sees modest gains
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 3/1/1998
Following a year that turned out stronger than many expected, the material handling industry anticipates two to three percent growth for 1998. Total sales in 1997 rose from nearly $58 billion to $60 billion, the Material Handling Industry of America reports."I think we're sitting on a moderate, predictable, manageable and frankly a healthy growth prospect for the next two or three years,'' says John Nofsinger, chief executive officer at MHIA.
Nofsinger says the remarkable level of spending on new capital equipment by manufacturers during the prior five to six years softened a bit in 1997. But he and others expect the capital drive by industry to continue. Gary Moore, president of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Assn., says a trend toward providing engineering support and service for more capital equipment sales will continue.
"There is less repeat business for us...there's more application oriented for each sale, rather than selling racks of hoses and industrial fittings,'' for example, Moore says. "It's a bit of a niche boutique market.''
Not everyone foresees only modest growth. Sam Groomes, president of Hy-Tek Material Handling, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio says his company's sales rocketed nearly 24 percent last year. This year the company is offering its 150 employees $1,000 bonuses if sales reach $40 million.
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