Darr Equipment & Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas, manufacturer of Cat® Lift Trucks, announced that they will collectively will again return as the Official Lift Truck provider for the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™.
It’s a new year and you might be thinking it’s time to take your material handling and distribution center warehouse operations to the next level. New Year’s resolutions can be hard to follow through on, but with the right plan, the right help and the right attitude, you can turn your material handling warehouse into a smooth-flowing machine. There are plenty of ways to start improving your material handling or DC warehouse as we go into the new year. One of those ways is by making the best use of utility, burden and people-mover vehicles.
Understanding the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry at its deepest level is what enables a solid equipment and solutions distributor to stay at the top of the game. At Darr Equipment Co, we like to say this “ain’t our first rodeo” when it comes to providing equipment assessments and recommendations to our clients. After all, we’ve been doing this since 1954.
There’s nothing quite like a shiny new piece of expensive material handling equipment. After all, brand new forklifts have all the latest bells and whistles. But there’s something to be said for finding a good used forklift, too. If you take the necessary steps to make sure you’re getting a forklift that’s been treated right, you won’t be disappointed. And for a lot less money, you’ll get a forklift that’s new to you and can give you plenty of time in the material handling warehouse before you have to go shopping again.
For the ninth year in a row, the International Truck Association (ITA) will mark National Forklift Safety Day. This year, the event will be on June 14 - in person at the National Press Club in Washington, DC and virtually. Many of those in the material handling industry will be marking the important date, as well. Forklift safety has to be of primary importance to the operations of all material handling and distribution center warehouses. If we aren’t part of the solution of improving safety in all of our equipment applications, then we are part of the problem.
With the acquisition of S&L Liftmasters in 2020, Darr Equipment Company successfully extended their family-owned and long-running material handling equipment dealership into South Texas. S&L Liftmasters was a perfect fit for the Dallas-based Darr Equipment, since both companies have stellar reputations in the material handling industry in their respective areas, as well as both being family-run enterprises with decades of service in their communities.
Most of you have probably been inside a warehouse that made you want to take a shower after leaving. The dust in the air - coming from outside and from old boxes sitting on sagging warehouse shelves - the dirt and oil stains on the floor and maybe an old push broom in the corner. Grimy paper logs and old coffee rings. You can see the dust motes and you can feel the mold. It’s enough to send anyone into a sneezing fit.
In the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry, it isn’t strange that we are constantly thinking in terms of “up”. We live in a world of “lift” trucks. We need to have reach trucks and stackers. Our storage units generally go “up” in the form of racking and when we look for more space, we sometimes find it in a vertical mindset. And there are occasions when we need equipment that will reach high points in the warehouse or go even further. And that’s when we turn to specialized equipment. When our material handling job means we must reach places inaccessible to most equipment, that’s when we bring out the aerial lift equipment, in the form of scissor lifts, boom lifts and aerial work platforms.
In many respects, the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry is all about moving goods and products from one place to another. We use a variety of personnel, vehicles and equipment to accomplish that task. And inside our warehouses and yards, we use the appropriate means for efficiently carrying different items from one place to another. Whether you have a large warehouse or a smaller operation, making use of the right kind of utility vehicle is often the answer to saving money and time.
It’s probably safe to say that all businesses focused on growing profits want to save money any way they can. In the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry, we face huge expenditures on upgrading our forklifts and other equipment, labor costs, new technology and finding affordable fulfillment solutions. What if there was one simple way we could save some money on our taxes every year?
Is anybody in the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry looking for a brand new forklift under the tree this holiday season? Are you busy making your “wish list” for new (or new-to-you) material handling equipment for the new year’s budget? Let’s take a look at one of the options that made the manager’s list for equipment that boosts efficiency and productivity in your operations.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s only appropriate that we introduce you to our “heart of line” forklifts. To us, our heart of line material handling forklifts include the products that we stand behind - and beside. We’ve been around the material handling and distribution center warehouse industry for a minute - actually more than 65 years of minutes to be more exact. And in that time, we’ve come to know a few things about the industry equipment that we handle - and some that we don’t handle. But our customers understand that we won’t be partnering with any company that we don’t proudly support. So, without further ado, here are the lines of equipment that have our hearts - now that’s a Valentine’s Day gift!