STILL CEO Bert-Jan Knoef

Besides retaining all employees, new Turkish joint venture firm STILL ARSER plans to expand its team.

This comes as STILL GmbH finalised its acquisition of a majority stake in its dealer, Arser İş Makineleri Servis ve Ticaret AŞ (Arser), on 14 August and established the joint venture (Forkliftaction.com News #630). STILL GmbH holds 51% of STILL ARSER shares, while Arser holds the other 49%.

STILL CEO Bert-Jan Knoef tells Forkliftaction.com News that the forklift manufacturer sees great potential in the future of the Turkish forklift market. "This is why we are convinced that the acquisition ... is a good investment. In light of this, we have decided to take our existing exclusive dealer on board to jointly take a share in STILL ARSER together with the Arkas Group."

Knoef declines to reveal the acquisition price.

The Arkas Group, with its subsidiary Arser, has been the exclusive authorised dealer for STILL GmbH since 2001.

"The records [of Arser] are impressive. The share in the Turkish total market for industrial trucks amounts to over 10%. All of the previous dealer's employees will be transferred to STILL ARSER. We even want to expand our team," he adds.

A spokeswoman from STILL says there are about 70 people working in the joint venture firm, and a final decision will be made in the next few months regarding additional employees.

Being a part of STILL will open new opportunities for STILL ARSER. With the help of the joint venture, STILL hopes to expand its "favourable market position" in Turkey.

"By doing so, we are strengthening the worldwide growth strategy of STILL," Knoef says.

STILL claims to be one of the top three forklift brands in the Turkish market.

Frank Schliesser, the CEO of STILL ARSER, will be responsible for STILL's business in Turkey.