AUSA has reached an agreement with Caetano Group.

Spanish forklift and telehandler manufacturer AUSA is expanding in the African continent after partnering with Portianga, a Portuguese company which is part of Caetano Group.

Portianga has agreed to export AUSA dumpers, mixers, forklifts and telehandlers to Mozambique.

Caetano Group African markets director Gabriel Almeida, AUSA group commercial director Paco Pérez Salinas, and AUSA Africa area manager Santiago Tazón signed the partnership agreement at AUSA's headquarters in Manresa at the end of July.

Mozambique is one of the key markets in Africa that experienced strong growth in 2011. According to the African Economic Outlook, Mozambique had a turning point last year due to its first overseas coal exports. AUSA says it is confident of working with Portianga to serve and support the mining and quarrying industries in Mozambique.

Caetano Group is one of Portugal's leading industrial companies and the biggest distributor of automotive and commercial vehicles on the Iberian Peninsula.

The group has over 6,000 employees worldwide and sells 76,000 vehicles annually in six countries. It started off as Martins, Caetano & Irmão Lda in 1946, as a bus bodybuilding company, and in 1968 began to produce Toyota cars and forklifts in Portugal. Today, it produces Toyota, Cobus and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and distributes a wide range of vehicle brands including Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Skoda, Honda and Hyundai.

Caetano currently operates aftersales service points and offers spare parts service for Toyota, Daewoo and E-P Equipment.

AUSA manufactures six lines of products - forklifts, telehandlers, dumpers, mixers, cleaners and multitask vehicles - under two divisions (industrial and urban) that are sold in over 80 countries. It is currently present in the African continent (Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, Egypt and Ethiopia) through its partnerships with 13 local dealers.