(L-R) Lars Fredin, head of forklifts and vice president of Konecranes, with AV Pandian, director of Portrucks Equipment Pvt Ltd.

Konecranes Lift Trucks has signed a distribution agreement with Portrucks Equipment Pvt Ltd.

Chennai-headquartered Portrucks will help Konecranes Lift Trucks expand and boost its marketshare in the Indian market.

India's industrial and container handling industries are expanding and Konecranes wants to exploit the growth by expanding its own business in India.

"The growth in India is very interesting for us and we are therefore enthusiastic about this new distribution agreement partnership with Portrucks," says Lars Fredin, head of forklifts and vice president of Konecranes. "We are very pleased to partner with a company of such depth and experience. Portrucks came highly recommended by our customers."

Portrucks was founded in 2000, primarily as a service provider to the forklift industry. The company is now the authorised dealer for international materials handling brands.

It has more than 80 field service engineers located nationally and supports hundreds of forklifts in Indian ports and terminals. Headquartered in Chennai, India, Portrucks has spare parts warehouses in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Konecranes marketing manager Lotta Tagesson tells Forkliftaction.com News: "We have a common goal and action plan for India together with Portrucks. The partnership with Portrucks will allow us to be a major supplier for India. We are focusing on uptime and strong service related issues."

Separately, Konecranes has supplied 23 heavy forklifts to Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The value of the order is confidential.

Ahmed Tusa, CEO of ESLSE, says: "During the evaluation process, Konecranes proved to be the most suitable supplier for our heavy forklift operation. The forklifts will play a crucial role in increasing the efficiency of cargo-handling both at the Djibouti port and at the dry port at Modjo."

The order consists of SMV 10-1200Bs, SMV 15-1200Bs, SMV 20-1200Bs, SMV 25-1200Bs and SMV28-1200Bs. The machines will operate in Djibouti, the main coastal port of Ethiopia, as well as at the dry port of Modjo.

Djibouti is the main import-export hub for Ethiopia and has an annual container throughput of 800,000 TEUs.

ESLSE is a state-owned enterprise and was established to provide shipping and logistics services within the country. They will take delivery of the equipment in April 2014.