Material Handling Journalist • Editor • Author • Industry Historian • Speaker
At a Glance
Experience
30+ years covering forklifts, material handling, warehouse operations and supply chain technology.
Current Role
Founder and Editor, Forklift Revolution
Founder and Editor, Reusable Packaging News
Industry Focus
Forklifts • Automation • Warehouse operations • Fleet management • Material handling safety
Articles
Thousands of published trade magazine and online articles since the mid-1990s.
Books
Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling, 1922–1945 (2025)
Pallets: A North American Perspective (2003; 20th Anniversary Edition, 2023)
Current Research
Optimizing procurement value in multi-actor supply chains; the history of industrial trucks, palletized handling, military logistics and warehouse operations during World War II and the post-war period.
Operational Background
Front-line supply chain operations, asset management and safety management.
Industry Service
Advisory Board Member, Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design
Former Director, Canadian Material Handling & Distribution Society
Speaking
Forklift safety • Warehouse operations • Material handling • Pallet systems • Supply chain innovation
Professional Services
Technical writing • White papers • Editorial consulting • Historical research • Material handling consulting
Education
Executive MBA, Simon Fraser University
Bachelor of Arts, Geography major and Economics minor, Simon Fraser University
Media
Featured guest on the Packaging Revolution Podcast and The Pallet Plug Podcast.
Rick LeBlanc Professional Profile
Rick LeBlanc has spent more than three decades writing about the equipment, people and systems that keep warehouses moving.
As founder and editor of Forklift Revolution, he covers forklift technology, operator safety, warehouse operations, fleet management, automation, and the rapidly changing world of intralogistics. His work combines practical operational experience with decades of industry journalism, helping readers understand not only the latest developments in material handling, but also the engineering and operational principles behind them.
Operational Experience
Before becoming a full-time trade journalist, Rick worked in warehousing, distribution and reverse logistics, serving in roles that included frontline warehouse operations, health and safety manager, and reusable asset management. Those experiences provided firsthand exposure to forklift operations, operator training, warehouse safety, productivity improvement, and pallet/reusable packaging management.
That practical foundation continues to shape his reporting today, with an emphasis on information that warehouse managers, safety professionals, forklift operators, and fleet owners can apply in their own operations.
Journalism and Industry Coverage
Rick has written thousands of articles covering forklifts, warehouse equipment, automation, pallet systems, reusable packaging, and supply chain operations.
In addition to editing Forklift Revolution, he has served as editor of Western Pallet Magazine since 1998 and has contributed regularly to Pallet Enterprise since 1995. His articles have explored topics ranging from lithium-ion power systems and autonomous lift trucks to operator training, warehouse design, safety culture, and equipment innovation.
Research and Industrial History
Rick has developed a growing interest in documenting the history of material handling.
His recent research examines how forklifts, pallets, warehouse design and military logistics evolved together during the Second World War and the decades that followed. His current book project, Pallets & Progress, Volume 2, draws extensively from The Palletizer, a U.S. Navy publication produced during 1944–1946 that documented emerging practices in industrial truck operation, warehouse safety, palletization, and logistics.
His goal is to preserve the history of an industry that has transformed manufacturing and distribution while remaining largely invisible to the general public.
He serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design and formerly served as a director of the Canadian Material Handling & Distribution Society.
Looking Ahead
Forklift technology is evolving rapidly. Electrification, automation, connected fleets, artificial intelligence, and robotics are changing how goods move through warehouses around the world.
Through Forklift Revolution, Rick continues to examine these developments from both operational and historical perspectives, helping readers understand where the industry is headed and what today’s innovations mean for tomorrow’s supply chains.
For editorial enquiries, speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, or collaborative projects, Rick can be contacted at leblanc.richard@gmail.com.
