Linde-Xiamen Forklift Truck Corp, German giant Linde's Chinese branch, has entered the record books after successfully driving a forklift from one side of China to the other.

Designed to showcase Linde's reliability and the strength of the company's Chinese service network, a locally-built, 3-tonne diesel forklift set off from Harbin, China's northernmost province, on its way to Shenzhen in the south, on May 26.

The forklift completed its journey last month after 108 days on the road, passing through major cities with much fanfare along the way. The company's website, www.linde-xiamen.com.cn, maintained a daily diary of the event as it unfolded, and our pictures are from the final celebrations in Shenzhen.

The company's efforts have apparently earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, though for exactly what was not apparent at the time of publication of our newsletter. On investigation, the only other forklift-related record in the Guinness Book is about Kalmar Industries, which in 1991 "built three counterbalanced forklift trucks capable of lifting loads up to 90 tonnes (88 tons) at a load centre of 2.4 metres (7 ft 6 inches)".

The Linde-Xiamen feat follows the completion of a similar feat by Ove Alstad, who drove a Toyota 7-series 2.5 ton IC forklift across Norway (Forkliftaction.com News #175).