fork lift truck industry forecast
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Japan/BRIC countries; • Big developing home market probably with growth in cyclical recession for long-term survival (China, India, etc.); • Complementary existing assembly plants and local market with access to 200/300 million population – Euro/BRIC/USA.
The global market
Like many other industries in the global market, there is too much production capacity in smaller countries for standard products which may be acceptable to the local population. Local governments are unlikely to encourage international competitors.
The car industry in UK is an example. Toyota/Nissan/Honda cars who have set up UK/Euro assembly plants to overcome the threat of protectionist import duties which are needed to protect existing small brands like Vauxhall and Saab – currently UK & Sweden. They are just too small to survive, with costs from R&D to making and marketing.
One way out for small companies is to make specialist cars and lift trucks such as sideloaders, articulated trucks and Formula 1 cars. With government support, this could be acceptable by developing local advanced technical skills and stronger technical schools and universities for engineering and advanced technical knowledge! The problem facing the lift truck industry’s distributors and dealers is to select a surviving global lift truck manufacturer in order to build a safe and profitable long-term way forward without being left with a Vauxhall or Saab-type dealership by a small scale car division unable to finance product R&D and then making and marketing them.
Selecting a big or potentially big manufacturer is critical but try to avoid mistakes. A few years ago, who would have believed that GM could be
16 ShD April 2010 www.PressOnShD.com
overtaken by Toyota as No1, then become bankrupt with 20 or more different small makes, designs, factories, marketing & sales programmes kept separate without standardising components? Well- planned Toyota has one (or just two!) major brands with very big manufacturing plants and local assembly works to circumvent possible protectionism supplying markets of 200m population or more, like Europe and the Mediterranean supported by successful dealers.
Hangcha, the maker of Samuk trucks, opened its very big factory July 2009 and has a developing domestic population of 1.4 billion and increased volume in the 2009 recession. It is obviously interested in European parts distribution and local assembly for the EU’s 200-300 million population. Lucky we speak English, which is international and could cause a repeat of the Japanese car companies’ action plan! Godrej & Boyce in India with (1.1billion population) could be nearly as strong, but is 10 years behind! Need to amalgamate because it saves time! I’d like to hear who disagrees with these themes, and what’s the alternative? ●
www.samuk.net
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