The D30S-5, which Doosan spokesperson KH Cho says is Doosan's most popular model.

Doosan has introduced four new forklift models, the last in the Pro-5 Series that was launched in IMHX, Birmingham, early this year.

Doosan Infracore managing director CW Park says the Pro-5 Series, which is "stylish, safe, smart, stable and strong", represents the most technologically advanced forklifts for the South Korean manufacturer.

"These latest models are the result of over five years' work and include some of our most accomplished features like mast lock, automatic tilt levelling, active control technology and operator sensing system."

With mast lock, the forklift's lift and tilt function activates to lock the vehicle when the operator is not in the normal operating position. Auto tilt levelling is another safety feature that maintains the mast's vertical position when the mast tilts forward. Active control technology controls the travel speed when the forklift turns. The operator sensing system sounds an alarm when the forklift is parked but the brake not activated.

Doosan has grown since the company bought the Daewoo forklift business in 2005. According to Doosan, its forklift sales revenue for 2006 is almost USD500 million and its stock market value has risen by 400%.

Doosan Infracore spokesperson KH Cho says when the company acquired Daewoo forklifts in May 2005, its stock price was around KRW8,000 (USD8.75) per share. The stock price is now around KRW36,000 (USD39.39).

Park says the company continues its ambitious outlook.
"We see major growth opportunities in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) markets and will further develop our presence in Europe and the US.

"Our vision is a USD10 billion revenue organisation by 2010, with a 10% operating profit."

The new B16R, B45X, D80S and GC40S forklifts are available this month through Doosan's 400 dealers in 90-plus countries.