New industry initiative invites professionals to honor the unsung heroes behind uptime, efficiency, and daily operations

Battery Builders (BBI) has launched its Real Forklift Heroes campaign, a new industry-wide effort designed to recognize and celebrate the individuals who power material handling operations every day.

Part of BBI’s broader “Bringing the Juice” campaign, the Real Forklift Heroes initiative invites anyone in the material handling industry – from operators and technicians to sales teams and leadership – to submit a tribute honoring a colleague, employee, or peer. Each submission generates a personalized tribute web page that can be shared directly with the recipient and across social channels.

“Material handling runs on more than equipment. it runs on people,” said John Gaughan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Battery Builders.

“The Real Forklift Heroes campaign is about recognizing the individuals who show up every day, solve problems, and keep operations moving. These are the people who don’t always get the spotlight, but absolutely deserve it,” added Gaughan.

The campaign features a series of larger-than-life personas that reflect real roles across the industry, including the Headset Hero, the calm voice navigating customer chaos; the Great SKU-Dini, a parts expert who can track down anything; the Downtime Destroyer, relentlessly keeping fleets up and running; and the Lord of the Lift, a master operator who keeps product flowing.

Each persona is brought to life through a dedicated landing page and over-the-top audio tributes reminiscent of the “Real Men of Genius” radio spots from Bud Light in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Participants can submit a tribute in just a few steps. After entering a short message about their “hero,” the platform generates a customized digital tribute page, creating a shareable moment of recognition that extends beyond a simple thank-you.

“At a time when the industry continues to face labor challenges, retention pressures, and increasing operational demands, recognition matters more than ever,” Gaughan said. “This campaign gives companies and individuals a simple way to celebrate their teams and reinforce the value of the people behind the work.”

The Real Forklift Heroes campaign is now live and open to all members of the material handling community.

Submit a tribute or learn more at: https://www.realforkliftheroes.com