Showcasing the game changers
24 July 2013When 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.
"Capital isn't so important in business. Experience isn't so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn't any limit to what you can do with your business and your life."
Those words were uttered during the latter half of the 1930's and yet they still hold true to this day.
Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you 'get it.' With this thought in mind, Hoist has extended the remit of our Game Changers feature to include the thought-leaders and innovators that are shaping the course of this industry.
Our first Game Changer is none other than George W. Prest, chief executive officer of MHI, the nation's largest material handling, logistics and supply chain association.
Prest, a former CEO of Prest Rack, has more than 30 years of experience in the material handling industry, both in managing and owning material handling manufacturing companies.
An acclaimed innovator and entrepreneur, Prest has been recognised for his volunteer leadership of industry manufacturers and distributor associations, local government and charitable foundations. This includes serving as president of both the Rack Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (RMI) and the Material Handling Education Foundation (MHEFI), as executive chairman of MHI, as well as a member of other material handling associations.
Further on in this month's issue, we examine the increasingly important role car and vehicle manufacturers are playing in the fortunes of the crane and hoist manufacturers.
According to our writer Adrian Greeman, the severity of the economic downturn and imposition of austerity has taken its toll, but for some sectors of industry at least there is movement in the recent past. For cranes and hoists the important car and van making sector has been picking up with enough investment underway to produce some large orders.
And, moving from auto manufacturers to automated storage and retrieval, he explores how faster and more sustainable systems, tied to more and more robotics are gradually changing the face of ASRS systems.
Until next time, enjoy your issue.
Kizzi Nkwocha, Editor
