Benchmarks – January/February 2010

Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc’s Columbus, Indiana-based manufacturing plant has been awarded the Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for the second time in three years. The manufacturing plant is where the majority of Toyota lift trucks sold in Canada are made. Through an energy reduction program, the company reduced electrical consumption by 12.3 percent and natural gas usage by 13.2 percent at the facility. All told, carbon dioxide emissions are down by more than 3,611 tons.

The Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) has selected Toronto-based Claudia Ramirez, ocean imports team leader in Toronto at DHL Global Forwarding (Canada) Inc, as its 2010 Young Freight Forwarder of the Year.Each year, CIFFA awards a cash prize of $1,500 to a young individual with the education, skills, knowledge and attitude to be an exceptional freight forwarder. Ramirez—who has worked in various areas of freight forwarding and transportation—won for her dissertation on moving an oversize shipment from Edmonton, Alberta to just outside Santiago, Chile.