Crown Equipment Connects the Dots from Employee Development to Manufacturing Leadership

Crown Equipment Corporation, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, shared best practices from the company’s employee development program at this year’s IMPACT Manufacturing Summit April 19-21 in Las Vegas.

Advertisement

Dave Beddow, Crown Equipment’s vice president of manufacturing operations, discussed the vital role a consistent, deliberate and engaging employee development program plays in helping companies gain competitive advantage and maintain manufacturing leadership. He also shared results from Crown’s own program, where employees are encouraged to prepare themselves to move to new career opportunities within the company or grow within their current positions by developing their technical, interpersonal and leadership skills.

“Crown Equipment is committed to ongoing, competitive innovation, including within our manufacturing environment. The key to achieving that goal is ensuring you have the right people, with the right skill sets and the ability to advance into the right position and role within the organization,” said Beddow. “By sharing our experience and successes, we hoped to help attendees better understand how they can embed employee training and development into the company culture and ensure their company is able to attract and retain employees that are trained in the skill sets they need today and in the future.”

Crown designs and manufactures the majority of its forklifts and components, including electric motors, drive units, valve bodies, masts, power units, cylinders, electronic modules, wire harnesses, forks, seats and more. The company is vertically integrated across 17 manufacturing facilities in 11 locations worldwide, and the approach extends throughout its distribution model of Crown-owned branches and certified independent dealers. The Crown Education Center and skills training programs offer more than 100 different courses covering a variety of topics, including manufacturing, lean management, personal development and leadership.

According to its website, IMPACT Manufacturing Summit is an executive-level manufacturing conference in the United States, playing host to hundreds of senior level executives from discrete, process and food & beverage manufacturers. The program delivers a “unique mixture of: strategic presentations and panels from industry thought leaders, real-world customer led case studies, targeted research meetings with leading solution providers, and unparalleled networking opportunities with high profile industry peers.”