The Cobra's power steering makes it extremely manoeuvrable.

Task Forklifts has secured a major export contract to supply a US supermarket chain with its newest product, a heavy-duty counterbalanced pedestrian electric forklift with power steering.

The Cobra was developed in 2008 (Forkliftaction.com News #368), and has been showcased at various events throughout Australia, most recently at the Queensland Safety and Material Handling Show held last week.

Chief executive officer Ben Rainsford tells Forkliftaction.com News that the company began manufacturing the product three months ago and has been shipping an average of 12 forklifts a month to the US.

The US supermarket chain finds the product well suited for its staff, as the power steering results in easy manoeuvrability, even with a full payload.

"And being legless, it’s ideal for narrow-aisle work," adds Rainsford.

With in excess of 400 stores in the US, the contract is expected to be the start of an ongoing relationship.

Besides the US contract, the company has had a number of orders from within Australia for the product, including a recent order six weeks ago from an aluminium business.

Commenting on the government’s capital investment incentive scheme, Rainsford says the company has seen some clients accelerate their purchasing decisions, but many more have chosen not to invest in new equipment, and instead are looking at rental fleets.