Airtrax Inc, the US developer of the Sidewinder omni-directional forklift, will acquire 51% of Filco GmbH, the new owner of the formerly bankrupt Clark Europe.

Filco acquired Clark Material Handling GmbH, in Mulheim, Germany, last April (Forkliftaction.com News #104). The 200,000-square-foot plant in Mulheim is leased by Filco with an option to purchase.

Airtrax will buy the 51% interest in Filco from Fil Filipov, principal shareholder. In exchange, Airtrax will pay Mr Filipov EUR12,750 (USD15,590) and provide USD1.3 million in working capital loans over three months. Airtrax also gave Mr Filipov a seat on its board, and options to 900,000 Airtrax shares.

Airtrax president Peter Amico said: "Beyond the past sales and production capabilities attained at this facility, we hope the agreement will enable us to leverage Filco's established production facilities and European associations for our Sidewinder [forklift], as well as provide a platform for us to [market] private-label, non-omni-directional forklifts on a worldwide basis."