The Airtrax ATX-3000 Sidewinder forklift.

by US correspondent Roger Renstrom

Airtrax Inc has delivered about 50 of its ATX-3000 Sidewinder forklifts and is exploring other applications possibly involving tow motors, scissor lifts and cranes. Also, Airtrax is dealing with issues related to the January 20 insolvency filing of FiLCO GmbH in Germany.

Airtrax had loaned FiLCO USD6.3 million through Dec 31, using FiLCO's equipment, other plant property and intellectual property as security, according to an Airtrax quarterly report to the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On February 7 Airtrax terminated a 2004 agreement to acquire FiLCO (Forkliftaction.com News #187). Subsequently in May, FiLCO's assets were auctioned off. "We will seek to recover on our secured loans through appropriate legal channels," Airtrax said in the SEC report.

FiLCO was formed in April 2003 and included assets of the bankrupt former Clark operation in Mulheim, Germany.

Airtrax began assembling the ATX-3000 Sidewinders in its Blackwood plant in September 2005 and 14 units had been partially assembled in the Mulheim plant prior to the insolvency filing, the Airtrax SEC report said.

In the US, Airtrax disclosed new distributor agreements with Western Rail & Dock Inc, California; Quality Penn Products Inc, Pennsylvania; Wisconsin Lift Truck Corp, Wisconsin; Hugg & Hall Equipment Co, Arkansas; and Affordable Equipment Inc of Florida.

The company said June 22 it had an exclusive distributor agreement in the UK with Airtrax (UK) Ltd with branches in the English counties of Yorkshire, Merseyside and Cheshire.

But Airtrax seeks more dealers for certain open regions, Peter Greenwood, Airtrax vice president of sales, said by telephone.

Another distributor, Fallsway Equipment Co of Ohio, USA, arranged for a demonstration of the Sidewinder's capabilities at a July 28 open house, and Airtrax is exploring upcoming trade expositions as a way to showcase the equipment and its custom designed wheels, motors and frames.

The publicly traded firm is marketing the Sidewinder forklift and, in the near future, the Cobra aerial work platform as the world's first commercially produced material handling vehicles using omnidirectional technology and the patented Airtrax wheel.