An artist's impression of the new Monaghan facility.

What are your company's products/services?

Combilift, based in Monaghan, Ireland, manufactures four-directional forklifts which offer a space-saving solution for handling long loads in warehouses and yards. The forklifts come in diesel or LPG, with lift capacities ranging from 2.5 tons to 12 tons. Since 2004, Combilift has manufactured electric four-directional forklifts. Combilift says it is the number one forklift manufacturer in the world for long load handling. It has two forklift brands, the Combilift and the articulating Aisle Master.

Give a brief history of your company's involvement in the materials handling industry

In Combilift's Clontibret plant, Robert Moffett built his first Moffett Mounty truck-mounted forklift. Moffett was sold in 1997 and is now part of the Partek Zone organisation. In 1998, Moffett and Martin McVicar, who had been working at Moffett since 1989, set up Combilift Ltd and started to design and build the Combi. The Combilift (aka the Combi) is a combined forklift that can be operated forwards and backwards like a normal forklift or to the left and right like a side loader (hence four-directional).

The first three Combilifts were exported to Norway in August 1998 for trials. The first fully operational Combilift produced was delivered three months later to a PVC extruder in Monaghan, Ireland. Today Combilift continues to refine the concept.

After seven years, the Combi concept is well proven and ready for volume. The company aims to build 1,200 units in 2006 at its new plant in Monaghan where the company has invested EUR6 million (USD7.1 million).

What is your company's current position in the regional market? How about globally?

Combilift has a strong presence in the domestic market and exports to about 50 countries. More than 4,500 Combilifts are in operation around the world.

What makes your company outstanding in its market?

One of Combilift's new models, a four-way sideloader.

Side loaders are usually large machines that are often necessary to use with front loader forklifts to handle long loads in confined areas. The Combi integrates both operations. Combilift's main growth comes from replacing regular front loader forklifts that are often used for long loads. "The transition from front fork to a Combilift is easier than to a side loader," says McVicar, who is convinced that if 40 years ago someone had invented the Combilift first, there would never have been a need to develop a side loader.

Combilift's market is handling long loads worldwide. The company says no competitor has really taken any business from it. Of around 40 producers of side loaders worldwide none focuses on the global market. The competition helped develop the Combi-concept of a four-directional, all wheel powered forklift..Combilift has patented the method which steers the wheels of its trucks.

Tell us your company's future plans

On average Combilift has developed a new model each year. It will continue to develop its range of customised handling solutions and increase applications where Combilifts can be used.