58 | Sector Focus: Handling & Storage
SUMMARY
■ The Baumann EXL made its debut at LIGNA 2025
■The EXL is built to work in confined areas
■The truck features the spacious Comfort Deluxe cabin
■SafeLoad Assistance is Baumann’s award-winning system
RAISING THE BAR
Enforcing good practice through innovation is the way forward, says Tony Benson, global marketing manager at Baumann Sideloaders
Craig Armstrong-Fray is a man on a mission. When the energetic Kiwi is not bringing raucous sportsmen under control as a referee in the AIHL, the top-level men’s ice hockey league in Australia, or racing a sporty Mini Cooper round a local racetrack, he’s tasked with developing Baumann Sideloaders’ presence down under.
The sideloader has travelled a long way since being born out of the needs of the European timber trade. Their ability to carry long loads securely made them ideal for the job, with Metsä Wood, BSW Timber and many others relying on their unique capabilities. Founder, Wolfgang Baumann, was truly an internationalist, often visiting users worldwide, but markets far from home are not always easy to crack. “We’d been trying to get a certain timber company interested,” said Mr Armstrong- Fray. “The answer was always, ‘thanks, but no thanks’. Then at a timber show a rep comes over to us and goes, ‘Ah, I get it! When can we get one?!’ …Grabbing the attention of a risk-averse industry is half the battle. All we often need is an opportunity to show what the machine can do.”
Constant innovation is one way Baumann
has kept focus on a machine that is, in concept terms at least, over 50 years old. Multiple wins at the forklift industry design awards are testament to that innovation, not to mention the recognition from those utilising the electric models to drive net-zero programmes.
Top: The new Baumann EXL carries long loads securely Above: The sideloader maintains its five-tonne capacity and has a compact footprint TTJ | July/August 2025 |
www.ttjonline.com
Back in the UK, James Jones is one such company, and uses Baumann sideloaders across its business. Group fleet adviser, David Bewley, points to the environmental performance as part of the reason why they continue to prove their worth. He takes an open-minded approach, helped by a working
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