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Embracing the opportunities
10 December, 2013
Commercial wind farms around the world all face the same challenges when it comes to ensuring they remain operational and efficient.

The importance of exhibitions
08 November, 2013
The integral role tradeshows play in bringing an industry together can rarely be overstated. They fulfill a variety of functions, from a means of showcasing new equipment and products to providing the people that make up this industry with a way to liaise with their peers. In an age where time "out of the office" is more of a luxury than ever, these events offer welcome respite from daily routines.

Place a spotlight on the future
10 October, 2013
Having spent a siginificant part of my time in journalism writing about the machinery used in the print and packaging process, it hasn’t taken long to notice some of the similarities between that world and the factory crane sector.

Showcasing the game changers
24 July, 2013
When Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey Firestone was asked what quality an entrepreneur should value above all others, he paused for a while. After several seconds he smiled and offered this simple but effective response.

15 years? It seems like only yesterday...
20 June, 2013
This months issue of Hoist finds us all in a reflective and contemplative mood. Has it already been 15 years since the first issue of the magazine rolled off the presses? Has it been a decade and a half since Phil Bishop and his team introduced the industry to what would soon become one of the world's most influential factory crane magazines? It seems like only yesterday.

Charting a course to healthier profits
10 May, 2013
If there is indeed a tide in the affairs of men, then port operators appear determined to take this tide at the flood and, should fortune smile, chart their course to a healthier profit margin. In this month’s issue of Hoist we cast a nautical gaze at the rise of Maersk's new Triple E, Super Post-Panamax, container vessel.

Have a giant in every port
22 March, 2013
There was a wealth of activity in the dockside market last month, and since the start of the year. The opportunities in this market for the hoist manufactures is only set to grow as more ports join the list of those undergoing upgrades and expansions. The arrival of the giant dockside cranes at London’s newest port, London Gateway, is a clear signal for what is to come.

Material handling matters to Europe
15 February, 2013
For the last four years, much of European industry has been in the doldrums, stifled first by the global financial crisis, and then, for many economies, by problems with sovereign debt. While the politics of austerity followed by many more successful nations over recent years may balance national accounts in the short term, it is unclear whether they have helped or, through compounding a stagnant investment environment, hindered business development. Our industry though, despite a mood of pessimism in some quarters, shows signs of bouncing back well from the crisis. In the latest Eurostat figures on material handling as a whole, collected by the European manufacturer's association, the FEM, thereare signs that, up to 2011, the industry was rebounding well.

Resolving a crisis
28 January, 2013
As another challenging year comes to a close, 2012 seems to have shaped up fairly well for the overhead lifting industry. With some companies reporting record profits and others a stronger than expected rebound, even while sales fell, finally the fallout from the global financial crisis is somehow starting to look less worrisome. Having said that no-one is expecting 2013 to be much easier. Although capacity utilisation for many manufacturers is still heading towards the magical 80 per cent figure, a leisurely pace has slowed to a crawl, and now the 80 per cent figure is expected nearer 2015 than many expected.