May 2014, Vol. 33 No. 2

Bill Chan To Retire
From Allied Systems

Allied Systems Company announced recently the retirement of Bill Chan, Senior Vice President, after 23 years of service with the company. Chan joined the company when Allied acquired the winch business from NACCO Materials Handling Group, where he was the Hyster Winch Division manager. Since joining Allied, Chan helped expand the business through the acquisitions of Ranger skidders, Lufkin winches and Long Reach fork lift attachments and licensing the manufacture of Lantec hydraulic winches.

In conjunction with Chan’s retirement, Allied is bringing all product lines under the umbrella of one manager. Joe Lindekugel is promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing for all product lines, which includes Allied winches, Wagner log stackers and heavy lift equipment, Allied marine cranes, Long Reach forklift attachments and Freeman baling equipment.

Chan and Lindekugel will be working in parallel in the next few months until Chan retires on July 9, 2014, to assure a smooth transition.

Allied President Jeff Rink thanked Chan for his efforts in making Allied Winch a world leader. He indicated that “bringing all Allied product lines under one manager should foster more synergism between products and closer coordination of marketing efforts.”

Allied winches are marketed throughout the world market through the authorized dealers of the crawler dozer brands Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, Case, CNH, Dressta and Shantui. Allied management and staff travel regularly to the job sites in the US and overseas to support the local dealers. Allied winches are used extensively in oil pipeline construction, oil and gas field development, logging, construction and equipment rescue applications. In addition to those working in North America, hundreds of winches are also working in Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, Australasia, and South America.

“Bill’s business philosophy is to build up the winch product line through quality products and and responsive service regardless if the winches are used in the US, Africa or Indonesia. This is a sound business model,” said Lindekugel. “We will continue to build on the success Bill has passed on to us.”

Lindekugel plans to travel to each of the key markets in the next few months to gain first-hand awareness of the market.

As Joe assumes leadership in the Winch Division, he will be putting his personal stamp on how the Division functions and prioritizes. You’ll want to know that Joe brings some stellar capabilities and experience to this position.

Joe started his professional life as a graduate mechanical engineer in 1993, at Atlas Copco Wagner in Portland, Oregon. And yes, Atlas Copco Wagner and Allied Wagner share the same roots. Joe advanced quickly into management, leading a team of engineers designing underground loaders and trucks for the mining industry.

When Altlas Copco Wagner relocated to Sweden in 2003, Joe was brought over as Wagner Engineering Manager, where he put in place a new team of 55 engineers to design and introduce the first new underground loader developed entirely in Sweden. The development included sourcing diverse components from multiple European countries.

In 2006 Joe returned to his Oregon roots, joining the NACCO Materials Handling Group as an engineering manager. NACCO is the holding company for both the Hyster and Yale forklift brands. That’s the same Hyster that started life in 1929, producing the Hyster winch. Allied acquired the Hyster Winch Division in 1990. At NACCO, Joe managed a team of 30 staff engineers and 35 engineering consultants to develop the Next Generation electric forklift.

From 2008 to 2011 Joe held management positions at SAPA Extrusions, the company previously co-owned by Allied’s current co-owner Lew Rink. As Technical Center Manager, he brought in a new level of engineering talent for developing entirely new products for new industries. As Plant Manager, he managed 150 staff and production employees.

Joe has been at Allied Systems since 2012, originally hired as Vice President for Aftermarket Sales. This position cuts across all Allied product lines. Joe’s new title is Vice President of Sales and Marketing, likewise covering all of Allied’s product lines.

Clearly, Joe knows his way around technical product management. Perhaps just as important, Joe knows the industries and technologies where Allied operates, with early experience directly applicable to the Wagner line and the Long Reach lift truck attachments and more recent experience at Allied with all of their products.

Despite change in leadership, some things are certain to stay the same in the Winch Division. Paramount among those are our commitment to continue producing the best towing winches in the market and our commitment to support our customers with the quick response and dedication to rapid problem resolution that we have become known for.