At least two German Caterpillar forklift dealers have been given notice that their dealership arrangements will end on September 30.

LagerTec Vertrieb & Service GmbH, of Winsen, and Lifttec, of Herford, confirmed their agreements, arranged through Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe BV (MCFE), in Almere, the Netherlands, would end in September.

Ursula Irmer, of Lagertec, said MCFE had not given reasons for the closure of her dealership, although the three months' notice was in line with the dealership contract. Lagertec would lose 60% of its turnover with the loss of the Caterpillar dealership.

"MCFE hides in silence and does not give us any information. We could have expected this. In the three years we have been dealing with MCFE, we have seen the person responsible for dealers only once," she said.

Ms Irmer said several German Caterpillar dealers were being dropped, but Forkliftaction.com News could not substantiate her claim. Some dealers could not be reached before deadline, others refused to comment, and others said they had not been terminated.

Gert Spors, who runs Lifttec, which has sold Caterpillar machines since its inception in 2000, told Forkliftaction.com News this week he was given three months' notice of termination in June.

"It is quite a blow for us. Last year we sold some 20 new machines and 30 used machines - all Caterpillar," he said. "I'm currently considering options for representing other brands but, for now, it's business as usual."

MCFE Germany territory manager Joris Hogenboom denied the "rumour" that dealerships were being closed, saying "Germany is one of the areas where MCFE is expanding drastically".

"We are now growing very hard in this area ... a consequence of a better coverage and larger market shares by existing dealers," he said via email. "The year 2003 will be MCFE's most successful in the German market."

Mr Hogenboom did not answer specific questions about the Caterpillar dealers before deadline.