TAKEUCHI TURNS 25
As this popular Japanese company reaches its silver anniversary in the UK, we meet with the marketing team and the recently installed MD, and we get a peek at a brand new machine.
A
trip to Takeuchi’s offers the increasingly rare possibility of a return to the
hometown of your editor, not that he recognised the slick industrial park of their Rochdale HQ – it was all fields when he was a lad (probably).
Meanwhile, the company has come on much in the intervening quarter century. A whistle- stop review of key dates and achievements is gratefully received, before I sat down with Marketing Manager Holly Cooke and UK MD Hitoshi Arai - Arai-San, as he is respectfully known.
First question, then, and how is the company going to mark this significant milestone?
“We had all these amazing plans,” says Holly, wistfully. “Normally, we’d celebrate it with a fun event, getting all the staff and dealers together socially, and then following on with a conference. However, the only thing we’ve been able to do so far is distribute our special merchandise and promote our anniversary digitally. Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to get out and see anybody, or have any kind of celebrations.”
Takeuchi is certainly not alone in this respect. But does this mean that the
festivities have been cancelled, or are they just postponed until a later date?
“It’s definitely not cancelled, but we’re just waiting for the ‘green light’ like everybody else so we can run an event sensibly and safely,” she adds. “Our 25th birthday actually falls on October 26th, so you never know. We had planned to use Old Trafford, as it’s a lovely venue!”
The Takeuchi team, with MD Hitoshi Arai at the front and Holly Cooke on the right.
We’ll let that one slide, lest it causes a squabble… Meanwhile, the silver anniversary commemorates the arrival of the first Takeuchi-labelled machines in the British Isles. Takeuchi does have a slightly longer history than that, however. The company takes pride in the TB1000 – apparently it’s the first 360 degree rotating two tonne excavator in the world, which debuted in 1971.
“The first machines people might remember in the UK were the Priestmans, which Takeuchi manufactured,” says Holly. “The first Takeuchi-branded machines arrived in1996. I think they only sold 25 of them in that first year. More sales followed with the launches of the TB016, the 175s and our first micro, the 007. It was all very much focused on the hire sector.
Fresh in on the day of our visit, the brand new TB325R
“1.5 tonne machines have been the biggest sellers up to this point, but we think the short tail TB217R will prove to be very popular. Takeuchi has always
‘‘ One thing is for sure,
you tend not to see many Takeuchi machines going through auctions!
filled the weight gaps, so we put out a 2 tonne machine, then a 2.2 tonne, which is still towable, and we now have the 2.5 tonne 325R.”
’’
There are certainly many more machines than that in the current range and the Takeuchi has since expanded its excavator range up to 15 tonnes, with the handsome TB2150. The company is still a relative youngster in the UK, though, so does anybody still run those earliest machines?
“Our machines have a good reputation for holding their residual value, but it’s a good question to throw to your readers – who out there is still running a 25 year-old Takeuchi machine?” asks Holly. “One thing is for sure, you tend not to see many Takeuchi machines going through auctions!”
So, 50 machines sold in your first year – presumably you’ve performed rather better since. What’s the story?
24 Executive Hire News - June/July 2021
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