Hamilton Beach 2007 Annual Report Download - page 17

offerings, including national and global sales coordination, lift
truck maintenance programs and parts management services.
In particular, strong financing programs backed by reputable,
global companies have become a competitive advantage to
those manufacturers who offer them.
To reach its goals, NMHG has established strategies and
key improvement programs aimed at addressing current
industry trends. NMHG’s strategies and key improvement
programs can be grouped in three main areas: quality and
efficiency; flexible, modular products; and sales and service
excellence. Each key program is designed to enhance
profitability or generate growth, both of which are critical for
achieving NMHG’s goals in this mature industry. Profitability
programs at NMHG focus mainly on manufacturing and supply
chain efficiency, as well as design cost reduction initiatives,
while growth programs focus on increasing country and
industry market share positions by addressing user needs with
customized packages of products and services.
Key Programs for Quality and Efficiency
NMHG continually strives to reduce manufacturing and
supply chain costs and improve operational effectiveness while
delivering quality products. NMHG’s proven abilities to
re-engineer processes and assemble products efficiently within
an increasingly complex global operating environment support
this strategy. Several key programs aimed at achieving this
high-quality/low-cost strategy include:
Manufacturing restructuring. NMHG’s manufacturing
strategy is guided by a commitment to high quality and
efficiency. To accomplish these goals, NMHG has been
restructuring its global manufacturing facilities and
processes. The company has placed an intense focus on
further implementation of a lean manufacturing strategy
based on Demand Flow Technology, which helps reduce
inventory and manufacturing floor space requirements while
improving productivity, lead times and quality. The company
continues to work to optimize production activities among
several key final assembly plants and to eliminate waste
through process optimization.
The sustained weakness of the U.S. dollar compared with
the euro and British pound sterling has negatively affected
NMHG’s net income for the past several years. Unfavorable
foreign currency rates have effectively lowered current
annualized pre-tax profitability, excluding the effects of hedges,
by approximately $72 million more than if the currency rates in
2007 had been the same as early 2002, which is when NMHG’s
operating profit margin target was established.
NMHG took several steps in 2007 to address this currency
challenge. During the first quarter of 2007, NMHG outsourced
its welding and painting operations at its manufacturing facility
in The Netherlands to a third-party provider in a lower-cost
country. During the third quarter of 2007, NMHG announced
it will phase out production of current products at its facility
in Irvine, Scotland, change the product mix at its Craigavon,
Northern Ireland facility and increase production at its Berea,
Kentucky and Sulligent, Alabama plants in the United States
and at its Ramos Arizpe facility in Mexico. Importantly, the
transfer of production of the 2 to 3.5 ton internal combustion
engine (“ICE”) pneumatic product for the North America
market from Craigavon to Berea is scheduled to begin in the
[13]
Below left to right: The new Yale® AC-Powered Double Reach truck provides unparalleled design, versatility and operator comfort in a narrow aisle lift truck. The Hyster®
Fortis® H80FT internal combustion pneumatic tire lift truck series has lifting capacities up to 8,000 pounds and can be configured to satisfy multiple customer applications.
The new Hyster® H1050HDS fork lift truck series, designed as a sibling series to the Hyster® container handler lift trucks, includes a front-mounted cab designed for fork-tip
visibility, and can be used for tough applications requiring lifting capacities up to 105,000 pounds.