AK Named MHEDA MVP for Tenth Straight Year

MHEDA MVP Award recipients must satisfy a rigorous set of criteria with less than 10% of the association’s membership earning the award. As a 2020 MVP (Most Valuable Partner), AK has successfully demonstrated a commitment to business excellence, professionalism, and good stewardship.

To qualify for the annual MHEDA (Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association) MVP Award companies are required to provide evidence of their commitment to customers, employees, and suppliers. They must satisfy criteria in the following important areas:

• Industry Advocacy
• Customer Service & Safety Practices
• Business Networking
• Continuing Education
• Business Best Practices

“Achievement of MHEDA’s MVP status represents members who have demonstrated a commitment to their business and its employees, their industry, and also to the communities within which they serve,” said Mike Vaughn, 2019 MHEDA Chairman of the Board and Chief Financial Officer of Liftech Equipment Companies in East Syracuse, N.Y.

David E. Laskey, Director of Facilities & Operations at Second Harvest Heartland (SHH), applauded AKMHS’s staff for their current work at the SHH food banks. “We are building a new facility in Brooklyn Park, Minn. and moving our main headquarters and distribution center operations from Maplewood, Minn. into this new (fully remodeled) facility. The project is extremely complex which required AK to plan and coordinate very closely with several of our contractors (i.e. GC and Architect) as well as internal SHH staff to execute flawlessly. AK’s “Turn-Key” service has made this piece of the project easy to manage.”

AK President, Joshua E. Smith, credited his staff’s “exemplary company culture and dedication to customer service” as key to AK’s success. This same culture nurtures their long-time relationships with manufacturers and suppliers. “We are who we are because of our business partners.”

“To me, the relationship we have with AK Material Handling is what a true partnership is all about,” wrote Tom Wagner, Central West & Canada Region Manager at UNEX Manufacturing. “My experience with AK over the past six years as their UNEX Regional Manager has been fantastic. AK’s dedication to sales representative training, joint customer calls, trade shows and featuring their products on their social media platforms have made them one of my top distributors.”

MHEDA is the premier trade association dedicated to serving all segments of the material handling business community. MHEDA represents close to 650 companies in the material handling equipment business. Located in suburban Chicago, the association provides services to companies seeking to improve their business through education, networking, benchmarking and best practices. For more information, visit www.mheda.org.

AKMHS delivers value to their clients by providing the absolute best combination of quality products, helpful customer service, and competitive pricing. AKMHS specializes in warehouse layout & design, pallet rack systems, engineered system sales, mezzanines, modular offices and completed turnkey warehouse systems. Founded in 1988, AKMHS employs 27 full and part-time staff at their headquarters and distribution center in Maple Grove, Minn. and their Eastern distribution center in East Stroudsburg, Pa.