House Resolution 59

A RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING TAYLOR MACHINE WORKS, INC., IN LOUISVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AND FOR REPRESENTING OUR STATE AT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S "MADE IN AMERICA WEEK" AND GOVERNOR PHIL BRYANT'S "MADE IN MISSISSIPPI WEEK."

WHEREAS, Taylor Machine Works, Inc., a manufacturer of industrial lift trucks, located in Louisville, Mississippi, was started by W.A. Taylor, Sr., in 1927, and the company will celebrate its 90th birthday this year; and

WHEREAS, Lex Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Group, received a request from President Donald Trump to kick off "Made in America Week," and it was a quick request by the White House, but Taylor says they are thankful they were able to have a piece of their equipment featured when the President asked for an "American-Made" product from each state to be exhibited on the south lawn of the White House; and

WHEREAS, "With the help of our dealer in the area, we had a machine at the Smithsonian," said Taylor; "So instead of having to ship a machine all the way from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., we were able to drive it four blocks to the White House"; and

WHEREAS, in conjunction with President Trump's "Made in America Week," Governor Phil Bryant celebrated "Made in Mississippi Week," highlighting Taylor Machine Works, Inc., on social media to kick off the week and stating, "Mississippi's business-friendly environment and our commitment to providing companies an atmosphere where they can not only do business, but thrive, has produced results time and again"; and

WHEREAS, in 1937, W.A. Taylor, Sr., produced his first conventional timber skidder, later developed into a mobile skidder and loader, this pioneer machine became known as the "Logger's Dream," and the success of the "Logger's Dream" initiated a pattern of growth and expansion which became characteristic of the company; and a second "dream" product was introduced, the "Pasture Dream," which permitted simultaneous application of seed and fertilizer without seedbed preparation, with acceptance of these products encouraging the decision to expand the agricultural, forestry, and reforestation product lines; and

WHEREAS, the early 1950s brought the development of the "Yardster" forklift trucks by Taylor Machine Works, Inc., and these rugged machines soon found widespread acceptance in the handling of heavy and bulky materials such as lumber, prestressed concrete, steel and other primary metals, and containerized freight, and a line of pulpwood handling equipment, including the "Pulpwood Dream" and pulpwood "Yardster" followed and rapidly became the accepted standard for loading and unloading pulpwood in the growing number of concentration yards throughout the Southeastern United States; and

WHEREAS, by the mid-1960s, Taylor Machine Works, Inc., had one of the most advanced machine shops in the South, with heavy investments in modern machine tools, and their products included a complete line of heavy duty trailers (for transporting gravel, soil, etc.), numerous agricultural implements, reforestation equipment, log loaders, and other "specialized" machines in addition to the major line of forklift trucks; and

WHEREAS, today, Taylor Machine Works, Inc., under the leadership of the third generation of the Taylor family, is a major progressive force in the worldwide material-handling equipment industry, and the "Big Red" product line consists of numerous models of pneumatic tire forklifts with standard forks and carriages or optional front-end attachments and lift capacities ranging up to 125,000 pounds, and the product line also includes cushion tire forklifts, log stackers, container handlers and reach stackers; and

WHEREAS, Taylor's "Big Red" machines are on the job throughout the world and have made an impressive impact on the material-handling industry, and these massive machines are utilized in such diverse applications as changing engines on jumbo jets, manipulating concrete culverts 12 feet in diameter weighing up to 25 tons, moving and stacking empty and loaded containers up to eight-high, handling entire truckloads of logs in one bite, transporting cargo on and off huge ships, performing varied material-handling jobs in steel mills, as well as many other material-handling jobs; and

WHEREAS, the Engineering and Research and Development Groups at Taylor continue to produce new and improved machines to get the job done in the material-handling industry; and it is with great pride that we recognize this Mississippi business and sales network team who continue to bring honor to the business community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby congratulate Taylor Machine Works, Inc., in Louisville, Mississippi, on the occasion of its 90th Anniversary Celebration and for representing our state at President Donald Trump's "Made in America Week" and Governor Phil Bryant's "Made in Mississippi Week," and express continued thanks to this corporate citizen and leading manufacturer and sales network for their contributions to our state.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be furnished to Taylor Machine Works, Inc., CEO Lex Taylor, forwarded to the Governor, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.