Terry Kendrew

Distributor Impact Handling was able to unveil a new Carer heavy-duty electric forklift range at IMHX.

The Carer forklift was among 12 trucks on the stand, while Impact also displayed a Konecranes 45 T container reachstacker outside the hall.

Cat dominated the stand, with nine forklifts on display, including examples from both the warehouse and counterbalance ranges.

CEO Terry Kendrew said the company was showing its Heli line for the first time at IMHX.

While Impact is broadening its offering of electric machines, Kendrew said IC "is still pretty strong".

"When the diesel legislation changes (with the introduction of Stage V requirements), we may see a move to LPG or to four-wheel electric. Maybe the used equipment market will increase. But at the moment, we've got a lot of customers using IC equipment such as ports and terminals, so we're not seeing such a big shift."

Where Impact is seeing change, he said, is from three-wheel electric to pedestrian-operated equipment, motivated mostly by health and safety. "It's safer to have pedestrian equipment in narrow spaces."

Impact is seeing growth in the overall short-term rental markets and more enquiries about options to hire and then purchase, "but the whole Brexit situation has slowed the process down", with purchase decisions taking much longer.

"We're still moving as much equipment as we did before, but the route to market has changed slightly," Kendrew concluded.