Erkan and Tuna Boylu with their new forklift at CeMAT

Analysts are closely watching Turkey after the local currency, the Lira, slumped by 40% against the US dollar and inflation nudged 18%.

The crisis has been triggered by a stand-off between US President Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Trump recently doubled tariffs on Turkish metal imports and Turkey responded by doubling tariffs on some US imports.

So far, the currency crisis seems to have had limited impact on the materials handling sector.

Mahmut Cimen, general manager of OKTA Lift in Konya, tells Forkliftaction News his business is largely unaffected because it trades mostly in Euro and 95% of its business is "with other countries".

However, he does anticipate some adverse effects on the materials handling sector dominated by imports.

Erkan Boylu, managing director of Modern Dis Ticaret, also predicts challenges for the materials handling market as companies' capital, calculated in US Dollars, shrinks. Facing falling capital reserves, he says organisations are "hiring or repairing the present equipment instead of purchasing a new one".

Boylu is feeling the impact of the crisis, noting a decrease in sales. "People are postponing their purchase plans till there is an urgent need for the product," he says.

He shared his plans to start manufacturing forklifts in Turkey with Forkliftaction News earlier this year and explains that the current crisis has not impacted on the project because the company took a long-term approach. In fact, he says, "this crisis may be useful for the forklifts made in Turkey".

Boylu has just shipped a sample Anadolulifts mast to an overseas customer and is confident of an international order for a complete forklift.

While the crisis is attracting global attention, Cimen remains confident. "The crisis is decreasing right now. We have a strong government and I believe that we will (overcome) this obstacle," he says.