NTP Forklifts CEO Damien Garvey.

NTP Forklifts Australia has been appointed to Kalmar's dealer network, joining Pacific Materials Handling, Liftrite, Globequip, Daysworth and AB Equipment which support the brand in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

NTP will supply the complete range of Kalmar mobile equipment, including medium- and heavy-duty forklifts, container handlers and reach stackers and rough-terrain container handlers in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

NTP CEO Damien Garvey tells Forkliftaction.com News the company had been in discussions for about six months prior to the partnership arrangement being sealed. He says the addition of Kalmar equipment is very significant for NTP, which already represents Jungheinrich, Unicarriers and Manitou. "It completes our premium product range of materials handling equipment, with NTP Forklifts Australia now representing four of the top nine global manufacturers."

"We can now support our customers with hand pallet trucks to 54 T container handlers, all from global leading manufacturers," he adds.

Garvey says the company will appoint a Kalmar product manager who will be equipped to train, develop and mentor a team of sales specialists to understand the Kalmar-specific markets. "We already have an existing team of heavy lift truck service specialists who will work on the aftersales demands of the product. This team have already been through specific Kalmar service training and will continue to develop further as we grow Kalmar's marketshare."

He says NTP's experience in the heavy truck market dates back to 1993 when it sold its first container reach stacker. "Since then, we have worked with a number of customers supplying heavy-duty forklifts and/or container handlers in industries such as mining, defence, transport and logistics, and manufacturing. NTP currently supports over 100 heavy forklifts in the field - some of which form part of our own rental fleet."

Peter McLean, vice president Kalmar Oceania, says the new partnership is the perfect complement to Kalmar's current dealer base. "With the rapid growth in sales of Kalmar mobile equipment in Australia over the last five years, it is vital we expand our service network to support our growing customer base. NTP Forklifts is the premier industrial forklift dealer in Australia and we are confident it will be the perfect fit for the Kalmar Oceania dealer network."

Forkliftaction.com News spoke to David Hetherington, MD of long-time Kalmar dealer Pacific Materials Handling, about the effects of the NTP appointment on the company's operations.

"Pacific Materials Handling have had a strong presence in the container handling industry for many years now. We see nothing changing in our direction; in fact, we have selected to continue to focus on the transport and shipping sectors and keep building on our existing customer relationships," says Hetherington.

"We see NTP as a known provider in the smaller machine market and we can understand why Kalmar sees this as a different market to support and therefore requiring a new player.

"We make no secret of how taxing it has been pushing Kalmar from the bottom to the top in Australia. We have put all our energies to this task and have been able to maintain a tremendous marketshare and customer support over the last three years."

He tells Forkliftaction.com News that the company, which supports seven global brands, will be taking on another world number one German brand next month.