We've been importing the Tailift (Artison) for three years now. They are extremely good with great backup. Some trucks are in quarries with only maintenance downtime. some of our customers are premium 2nd level dealers and they have switched from Cat and Hyster to Artison. Check it out artison-forkliftdotcodotuk

I agree with Cory, if you can get away with it, and swing it financially, a second line is nice to have as an alternative, not only for pricing but also product availability, and product range.

The tough part is the #'s game that you need to play keeping 2 MFG's happy, on Unit and Parts goals.

I think it is important to decide what kind of dealer you want to be. If you want to compete with the big boys and play the major brands game with market share & IT number's then Komatsu is a respected and known name like the others have stated. I have heard from dealers that Komatsu is on the high end of the retail market for pricing though and the previous comment about the same truck being on the market with different colors is true. If your goal is to be a second tier dealer with more affordable pricing and flexibility in how you operate I would think that Tailift is a good option. Personally, I think it would be nice to have both options for your customers but I do not know the dealer restrictions when it comes to carrying two brands.

If I were in your position, I would strongly consider taking on the line. Through out the last several years Komatsu is and has been manufactured and then Marketed under several different brand names, including AC, Kalhmar, Tusk, just to name a few. There may be more "Population" in your APR than you realize depending on how strong those other brands had been in you market.

While Komatsu has not been a major player in the forklift industry, their reputation on the heavy equipment side is excellent, and "Komatsu" is a recogonizable brand Name.

Who hasnt been driving to work, sitting in a construction traffic jam and not seen a Komatsu Excavator holding up the traffic. On the other hand who the heck even heard of Tialift other than us forklift geeks in the business.

Komatsu has always chosen good vendors to support their liftruck manufacturing, NO ONE can argue the quality of Nissan Engines or Hitachi Electrical Controllers, not even Toyota Dealers. Being a Nissan dealer, it alway bugged the heck out of us if Komatsu was in on the deal and they were selling our greatest feature and benifit.

Given the choice between Tialift, a realitive "New Comer" to the industry and Komatsu a Recognizable Brand Name Across Global Markets and Industries, with a solid reputation in Dealer support and a long history of supporting Construction Dealers and Liftruck Dealers, I would keep Tialift for as long as I needed to to support my current customers, at least long enough to convert them over to KOMATSU.

I think that Komatsu is a top notch truck, that unfortunatly has just not done a great job in their marketing, be it because of weaker, smaller dealers having the line, or Larger dealers only having it as a second or even third product line.

I think that you could make alot of $$$ with Komatsu if you push hard, particularly more than with Tialift.

Lynn,

Try to get Hyster or Toyota. After 30 years of reparing and buying, the two are your best bet for reliability, profitability, customer satisfaction and maintenance ease. Good luck.

good job you dont need that many parts because the availability in uk is pretty poor.are the parts readily available for service re call issues or do you have to wait weeks in the states?

Would that be a good call since I understand that Sunbelt is Purchasing TCM?

Regards,

Doc

Yes i agree its a pity the former british colony screws up the rest of the economy lol.

Guess Komatsu likes the former British Colony better than the Queens/Kings Land. Parts pricing in the US are reasonable - no extra discount needed.

KOMATSU? isnt that the one thats still here when other have fallen? seriously tho doesnt matter what name its got if its serviced correctly unless its one of the none deplume truck dealers.The only thing i could say wrong about komatsu is some of there parts are dearer than other suppliers and if your a dealer and your trying to keep cost down and komatsu are pushing you to sell there parts they should give there dealers a good discount.

Komatsu Who?

Lynn w
While they are not strong in electrics (they had many Crown dealers in major markets - including where you are), their electrics had a strong reputation with the users they had - they kept coming back for more. Reasons - high quality, low cost of operation and maintenance.

There units used to be "butt ugly" but they have made strides in bring the design styling up to teh 21st century.

Their thee wheeler had the best reputation.

Had a customer that bought a fleet of 15 when they were first introduced w/AC controllers. I was selling Yale then and they loved them after 4 years.

What can I say. Suggest you call the guy in Dallas I mention in an earlier thread - they sold a lot of Komatsu electrics.

Any one know good or bad about the electric units , I know they are A.C. , but have not seen any.

yes we have been dealers for 30 yrs.the ic trucks are better than most of the other players.

Lynn,

Send me an email to ulsh1 at AOL dot com

OK?

Regards,

K