The LiuGong forklift brand is making inroads in North America and South America, and the pace is scheduled to increase.
"(Starting from zero,) we plan to have 10-12 dealers in the US and Canada by the end of the year," says Ken Biediger, forklift commercial director for Katy-based LiuGong Construction Machinery NA LLC. "We started signing dealers this month, and we have a waiting list."
Biediger's North American territory ranges from Panama through Canada.
In advance of authorising its new dealers, LiuGong NA employees have worked to establish the details of essential functional elements such as aftermarket sales programs and services, operating manuals and parts support. Biediger notes, "It is more involved to get into the US market" and comply with regulations such as those of the US Environment Protection Agency.
LiuGong NA, a subsidiary of publicly traded Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co Ltd, has more than 20 employees and plans to relocate within a year to larger office and warehouse quarters in the Houston, Texas market, which includes Katy. "We are looking at three locations," Biediger reports.
Meanwhile, a Latin American agreement between LiuGong NA and JCB Distribuidora SA, doing business as Grupo JCB, went into effect in October for forklift distribution and service in all of Costa Rica. Grupo JCB is based in the Uruca district of San José and has branches in Rotonda Juan Pablo II and Contiguo a Uniserse.
Juan Carlos Bolaños Rojas, president of Grupo JCB, says, "Our employees have over 20 years' experience in our market which helps clients with broad criteria see the value in the LiuGong product. We required a partner with a compatible product range, established quality and very good procedures for aftersales support."
Grupo JCB employs 110 people and specialises in materials handling, construction equipment and container-handling systems.
In addition to LiuGong, the Grupo JCB organisation represents the TCM forklift, wheel loader and skid-steer loader lines from UniCarriers Corp, the Link-Belt-brand equipment of Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd subsidiary Link-Belt Construction Co, the Bomag excavator line from Fayat SA and the MC Imer construction equipment line from Imer International SpA.
Biediger acknowledges Grupo JCB's legacy with the TCM brand, but believes the dealership will focus primarily on building the LiuGong forklift business in Costa Rica.
LiuGong forklift dealerships in South America report through another subsidiary, LiuGong Machinery Latin America Ltda in Belo Horizonte in the Brasilian state of Minas Gerais. Collectively, Latin America has 14 LiuGong dealers with "several more in the works" including a firm arrangement to be announced in April, Biediger says.
The largest volumes for manufacturer Guangxi LiuGong Machinery come from sales of heavy equipment and light construction units. Globally for LiuGong, "the forklift business by (unit) volume is around 18%, but by revenue it is less than 5%", Biediger says.
LiuGong North America in Texas was established in 2008, and LiuGong Latin America in Brazil started in 2009.