Two Asian forklift manufacturers and an established European group with a new name are suppliers to watch, says Modern Materials Handling (MMH).

Modern associate editor Corinne Kator says every year, the magazine surveys forklift suppliers with revenues that do not qualify them for the top 20 list.

Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co of Mumbai, India and Hytsu of Shanghai, China were attention grabbers with their high revenues.

Godrej's industrial truck revenue jumped 44% from USD33 million to USD48 million in 2006.

Kator says Godrej could earn a spot in the top 20 if it continues its good growth rate.

She also singles out Hytsu as a fast-growing manufacturer, citing Forkliftaction.com News's report on Hytsu's 2006 forklift sales revenues of USD45 million (Forkliftaction.com News #307).

Lastly, the Kion Group, which ranked number two on Modern's list was also marked as a company to watch. Kion grew at a higher rate than Toyota in 2006 and the revenue gap between them is about USD200 million.

"It will be interesting to see how the company fares in the next few years under the management of Goldman Sachs and KKR."

Every company from MMH's 2005 top 20 ranking list returned to the list this year. China's Anhui Forklift Group (no. 10) was the only company that moved more than two positions.

Click here to view MMH's top 20 forklift suppliers.