INPERSON
David Furman has been working for more than 25 years in marketing and business development, including nearly a decade in the material handling industry. He currently servesas president of marketing, strategy, and business development at Hyster-Yale Group. In thiscapacity, Furman leads his company’s sales efforts for lift trucks, aftermarket, financing,and fleet-management programs to solve the material handling challenges of end-users.
David Furman ofHyster-Yale Group
for us. We have new products for thatmarket, including end rider models thatdebuted for both brands last year, and weare working with Honeywell Vocollectto offer pallet trucks controlled by voice,designed to improve efficiency in low-level order picking.
Q: IN WHAT WAYS DO THE HYSTER AND
YALE BRANDS WORK TOGETHER TO BRING
PRODUCTS TO MARKET?
A: Looking at Hyster-Yale Group and ourbrands in the context of the rest of theindustry, we’re somewhat unique. Bothbrands have nearly a century of history inthe lift-truck business, and at a corporatelevel, material handling is our exclusivefocus.
That’s important to consider whenlooking at how the Hyster and Yale brandsbenefit from investments we make at acorporate level. This includes research anddevelopment efforts, our hydrogen fuelcell holdings, relationships with roboticscompanies, attachments for specializedapplications, and more.
Q: WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DO YOU SEE AS BEING
KEY TO THE FUTURE OF LIFT-TRUCK DESIGN?
A: Operator assistance, robotics, andmotive power are all key technologies forlift-truck design. With low unemployment and high turnover in the warehouse,the market values solutions that can helpbusinesses get maximum value from limited labor resources and boost overallefficiency. n
Q: HOW DO YOU VIEW THE CURRENT STATE OF
THE LIFT-TRUCK MARKET?
A: As an industry, we’re coming off of twoyears—2017 and 2018—with new highsin total unit sales. The long-term trend ofelectrification has stabilized, and emerging technologies are redefining what lifttrucks can do. While there was a bitof a dip in 2019, the lift-truck marketremains robust, especially with e-commerce accounting for a greater share oftotal retail sales and, in turn, drivinggrowth in warehousing, distribution, andfulfillment.
Q: YOU HAVE WORKED IN BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT FOR FORKLIFT COMPANIES FOR THE PAST DECADE. WHATMAJOR CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY DURING THAT TIME?A: There have been changes to both the products we’re selling andwho we’re selling them to. With the emergence of technologieslike advanced motive power, robotics, operator assistance, andtelematics, the lift truck has really become a technology integration platform. In that sense, it’s a disruptive time for the industryas traditional lift-truck OEMs like us need to become more liketechnology companies. Our task is to apply those emerging technologies in ways that address the pressures our customers feelfrom e-commerce, labor challenges, sustainability targets, andmore.
Q: WHAT AREAS ARE HYSTER AND YALE CONCENTRATING ON FOREXPANDING THEIR MARKET REACH AND SERVING THEIR CUSTOMERS?A: Emerging technologies are an opportunity to expand our valuechain beyond the core lift truck, using it as a technology platformto integrate robotics, operator-assist systems, telematics, andmore to create value-added solutions.
With the rise of online commerce and associated supply
chain investments, the warehouse is an important growth target
In our continuing series
of discussions with topsupply-chain companyexecutives, David Furmandiscusses the lift-truckmarket and the emergingtechnologies that will drivethe future of forklift design.
