handling fork lift trucks l
We catch up with Andrew Daly, sales and marketing director at Linde Material Handling, to learn about his company's fortunes during 2011 and to look forward to the year ahead.
Bright future
ShD: What kind of 2011 did Linde experience? Andrew Daly: 2011 was a good year for Linde Material Handling. The forklift market continued to recover steadily and throughout the year we saw an increase in demand for our products and a clear rise in sales figures. ShD: Where have you been winning new business? AD: The heavy counterbalance market remained strong for us and demand for these trucks continued to grow through the year, particularly in the construction sector. We have also been winning more business in the logistics and warehousing sector where customers have very specific needs and are looking for the most relevant, cost-effective solutions from their warehouse provider. With our wide range of tailored warehouse products and services, Linde is well placed to meet those needs. ShD: Which vertical markets have been doing the best these past 12 months? AD: Food and drink has remained strong throughout the whole recession and we are now seeing recovery across most other vertical sectors. ShD: What are your customers looking
“Food and drink has remained strong throughout the whole recession and we are now seeing recovery across most other vertical sectors.”
for in the current economic climate, and how can you address their needs? AD: At a time of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever for us to remain close to our customers to make
26 ShD January 2012
www.PressOnShD.com
sure we understand their needs. We look to achieve this through closer engagement, cost reduction and greater flexibility.
Unsurprisingly, our customers remained under pressure to reduce costs throughout the year and needed to seek help from their suppliers to achieve this. We know that when they’re investing in a truck, customers want a premium, durable and reliable vehicle that they won’t have to worry about further down the line. Our focus through 2011 was therefore to continue to demonstrate how working with Linde can reduce a company’s overall cost of ownership.
We have worked hard to ensure our
trucks are as productive and as fuel efficient as possible, something that companies appreciate during tough times. The fuel consumption of our trucks is at least 20% lower than others in the industry which significantly reduces the overall lifetime cost of the trucks.
We also focused on warehouse design to optimise truck numbers and warehouse efficiency through the year as well as investing in a comprehensive damage reduction programme. This came hand in hand with a continued improvement to our service capability. We now have over a thousand service engineers available to offer customers the essential services needed to
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