South America's proximity to the United States suggests neighbourly commonality, but their materials handling businesses are worlds apart. In this special report, DAMIEN TOMLINSON looks at one company that has been through thick and thin in one of the world's most progressive markets.


In terms of forklift and materials handling equipment consumption, South America is not up there with the biggest. The market's total forklift consumption is, as far as Forkliftaction.com News could establish, based on the views of contacts in the region, about 10,000 forklifts a year.

South America's largest forklift markets are Brazil (by far the biggest forklift-consuming country in the region with about 6000 forklifts a year), Argentina (1600), Chile (1000), Venezuela (500) and Colombia (350). Other nations in the region, such as Ecuador and Peru, consume few machines, totalling about 350 machines a year.

The market's representative body, the Associação Brasileira de Movimentação e Logística, is in São Paulo, Brazil. For such a relatively small pie, the forklift world has not ignored South America. All major brands are available there; there are established dealer networks throughout the continent; and competition is intense.

What the region's forklift market does not lack is controversy and history. Economic collapses all but crippled a major part of the region's business world several years back, and mergers and acquisitions happen all the time.

Aldo Neves is an outgoing man, a stalwart of the Brazilian forklift market and a gentleman to boot. Speaking from his office in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, the pressure of the past three years was not immediately apparent.

Neves is director of marketing, market relations & foreign trade with Clark Material Handling South America Ltda (CMHSA), a company that used to be the South American arm of the phoenix-like Clark Material Handling empire.

Clark as a brand has been present in South America, under the Clark Equipment name and others, since 1958. CMHSA was formed in July 1996 as Clark Empilhadeiras do Brasil Ltda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clark Material Handling Co in the USA. Clark Material Handling GmbH in Germany also had a share in the new business.

Aldo Neves (far right) with the other co-owners of Clark Material Handling South America. Click the photo for an enlargement.

The unit was intended to act as a parts depot and to provide product support to Clark dealers in Brazil. It was formed as a replacement for the former VME Brazil, a 50/50 joint-venture owned by the former Clark Equipment Co and Sweden's Volvo.

"Because of the phase-out of VME Brazil, renamed as Volvo Construction Equipment Brazil, and concurrent phase-out of forklift manufacturing by Volvo, the market interpreted the change as Clark having quit the market," Neves said.

"Competitors conducted a propaganda campaign against Clark to stress that. Between the phase-out of VME and the establishment of Clark Empilhadeiras do Brasil in 1996, the lack of a Clark entity, combined with the patched up forklift service provided by Volvo, had a deterrent effect on Clark's market share and credibility."

Despite difficulties from the outset, Clark Brazil was able to claw its way back through focusing its efforts on enhancing parts distribution to Clark's network, and on product support.

But the most tumultuous event was yet to come.

As part of the sale of the bankrupt Clark Material Handling Co to the Korean group Young An Hat Company Ltd in early 2003 (Forkliftaction.com News #92), Clark USA changed its name to Forklift LP Corp and kept a controlling interest in CMHSA.

In April 2003, substantially all assets of Clark Material Handling Asia in South Korea were also sold to Young An (Forkliftaction.com News #102), and the assets of the former Clark Material Handling GmbH were sold to TVH and FiLCO GmbH.

"The Chapter 11 petition filing was the trigger for radical structural changes that followed. Despite limited resources, both financial, human and capital, in a strong, competitive market, the Brazilian operation strove bravely to make its way through that challenging transition period," Neves said.

"During all those years, the Brazilian operation played an extremely important role as a Clark stronghold in Brazil to support Clark products and services, and pursue market penetration and profitable market share growth, increasing shareholder value."

But despite that, Young An chose not to buy CMHSA as part of the Clark acquisition, so Neves joined 12 other employees and pitched a purchase offer to Forklift LP, which was accepted and finalised in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, in April this year.

"[On] May 1 the company became a new organisation, focused on supplying first rate materials handling replacement parts, primarily forklifts. It is an independent business concern with no legal or ownership ties with the 'new' Clark companies," Neves said.

He said the experience of the past had armed the company and its staff to deal with anything that arose in the future.

"It's a wonderful place to do business, especially forklifts," he said. "We look forward to facing the challenges ahead as a unified group."