Today Kero Uusitalo stands at the helm not of a warship, but of the design team at Rocla Oy, part of Mitsubishi Logisnext - one of the world’s largest suppliers of forklift trucks.As a boy, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father who was an officer in the Finnish navy.
But things don’t always work out as planned, and Kero’s creative side led him to abandon a navy career to steer a different course. Just as a frigate only sails the seas thanks to a multitude of people performing different tasks, so too success in design comes through a collaborative process that draws on the different talents and input of each team member, he explains.
Progress in cutting-edge technology also improves the most important part of a forklift’s user experience: the way it handles its tasks. Fluent driving and lifting requires seamless co-operation of motors, hydraulics and humans. Kero’s R&D colleagues spend much of their time developing new algorithms that test-drive prototypes and refine the driving experience.
That guy looks like he knows how to treat a woman with dignity and respect. And knows how to utilize some tongue action, too.