In a share-holder orientated world and built-to-budget mentality, SveTruck will never compete commercially with global market share, however, look more closely and they will be the first to admit this has never been their agenda. Creating a cult-following in forklift circles in the last 50 years, SveTruck has literally found a market that their competitors simply dare not enter for want of being found out.
Producing less than 250 machines a year, with a price tag that would make Bill Gates wince and a lead time of 12 months, how could this ever make sense to the UK rental market? Well North East Forklift rental experts, Forklift Solutions Ltd, thinks it makes perfect sense and have now taken delivery of their third SveTruck, a stunning 32 tonne @ 1200LC in less than 2 years.
Their thriving business which incorporates Newcastle, Sunderland and the North East area has seen them become the market leader of rental equipment from 1 tonne right up to 60 tonnes in recent years. Forklift Solutions Ltd was started in 2008 by Chris Forster with a service van full of tools offering service, repairs and LOLER Certifications to prospective and known customers around the North East of England and gradually started building a hire fleet of forklift trucks with low hours at competitive rates.
The company has continually grown substantially year on year and now the company has a staff of 12, including 7 x mobile service engineers and 1 x first year apprentice and last year’s turnover was increased to a record £3.9 million – also the hire fleet has grown to 380+ forklift trucks with another 220+ customers trucks serviced and maintained by Forklift Solutions Ltd.
Now with the honour of becoming the SveTruck Heavy Duty Forklift Distributor for the North East of England via Cooper Specialised Handling over the last few years, has benefited Forklift Solutions Ltd with the ability to extend their range beyond the volume lift truck capacities all the way to 60 tonne lift capacity.
In respect of the Svetruck 32-1200, it has been acquired for one of Forklift Solutions most loyal customers, Metinvest – a steel processing operation in the North East. Explaining the logic behind acquiring the most expensive machine in its class for rental purposes, Chris explained “It is about playing the long-game. For sure, there are cheaper forklifts but we are looking at total cost of ownership and the high-cost of Sve is paid back multiple times in terms of reliability, performance, customer satisfaction and resale value” Chris continued “The price only affects the commencement of the contract, the benefits of Sve will be taken over the machine’s operational life”
This order is an extension of Metinvest’s Svetruck portfolio who in 2019 invested in two 16 tonne forklifts and are offering unrivalled up-time in a most extreme and harsh operating environment. As Chris Forster freely admits “The Svetruck 16 tonne machines are out-performing the other large trucks used on the site and we expect identical performance from our new 32 tonne rental acquisition; it is a beautiful machine”
Chris Barnes, Sales Director of Coopers commented “The Svetruck machines truly are machines-for-life and produced for the most discerning buyers making them ideal for low cost of ownership. We congratulate Chris at Forklift Solutions for the foresight in building his asset base with a striking machine that will generate income for years to come”
The new SveTruck 32120 will enter service during April 2020.
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Editor’s Notes
Operating in all sectors of heavy lifting across the UK and Ireland, Cooper Specialised Handling is the exclusive UK distributor for SveTruck, RAM Spreaders, Telestack bulk material handling conveying systems and Sany mobile handling equipment, sole UK importer and exclusive distributor for Mantsinen cranes, Movella Translifters, TEC Containers and a long-term specialist in Konecranes lift trucks. The company, which celebrated 20 years in business in 2018, also has a dedicated after-sales division, Cooper Handling Solutions, which specialises in engineering support.
Independently owned, Cooper offers total solutions in both solids and bulk handling. Its customised solutions comprise high quality, high value products and reliable service for businesses operating in the most challenging heavy handling environments, including ports, freight handling, inter-modal terminals, manufacturing and other heavy lifting industries.