by European correspondent Luc de SmetA Fantuzzi sales manager has rejected an industry rumour that the Italian company planned to stop manufacturing sideloaders or change strategy.
"We want these rumours to stop," Corrada Faccini, sales manager for Fantuzzi sideloaders worldwide and big trucks in German speaking countries, said at CeMAT (
Forkliftaction.com News #231). "That is why we are here, to confirm that Fantuzzi continues its activities in all ranges and segments of its products."
Faccini said the rumours may have surfaced after the departure of Davide Bertozzi, former CEO of the Fantuzzi Group. "Mr Bertozzi chose a different career opportunity. Staff within the company and the group are, however, unchanged." Forkliftaction.com News understands Bertozzi is now active in Linde.
On its 200sq m CeMAT stand, Fantuzzi showed two of its most representative products, the CS 7.5 reach stacker and the CS 45 for full container handling. After the show, the CS 7.5 empty container handler was being freighted to Finland.
Both machines were particularly successful in Northern Germany, Faccini said. Four years ago a branch was established in Bremen to focus on container handling. "Since then we've sold more than 100 heavy machines."
Fantuzzi produces about 150 sideloaders a year. "We want to push that number to 200 and even 250 in two to three years' time," Faccini said. Currently sideloaders are mainly sold in Europe. "As the concept becomes more popular, we will target new countries with growing economies worldwide."
He said CeMAT was quite successful for the contacts it produced in Eastern Europe. Fantuzzi has branches in most major countries but still seeks footholds in new or alternative markets.
The Fantuzzi Group employs more than 1,500 people and has an annual turnover of EUR400 million (USD471 million) to EUR500 (USD589 million). There are factories in Italy, Germany and China. The latter two were taken over from Noell.
Noell Mobile Systems GmbH produces straddle carriers and Noell Crane Systems GmbH is active in container cranes. Both are in Würzburg, Germany. The products are still branded as Noell. The Chinese operation in Xiamen, Noell China, is a joint venture between the Fantuzzi Group and China Merchants Heavy Industries. It produces port equipment, RTGs (rubber tyre gantries) and STS (ship-to-shore) cranes.
Container handling trucks, the 45 ton reach stacker and the empty container handling truck, are produced in China for the Chinese and Asian markets. "These are 'clones' with exactly the same design as the machines built in Italy," Faccini said.
The machines are marketed as Fantuzzi even though they are built in the Noell factory. Most components for them come from Italy.
There is only a slight difference in price. The same machines are produced in Italy for the rest of the world and for made-to-measure orders in Asia.
To build the machines in China "releases pressure on production in Italy", Faccini said. Apart from the price difference, the advantage of Chinese production was prompt delivery.