Jungheinrich trucks are refurbished to "four-star quality" in Dresden.

Jungheinrich will kick off a project to grow the capacity of its used equipment centre in Dresden to 8,000 vehicles per year, starting next month.

Dubbed "2018", the project involves a gradual expansion of the German plant's capacity without impacting current operations. Currently, 4,500 vehicles can be reconditioned at the centre annually. In 2012, the plant worked close to the limits of its capacity.

Spokesman Jan Kaulfuhs-Berger tells Forkliftaction.com News that the used equipment business is growing due to the expanding financial service and rental business in Europe.

"(Forklifts) 'coming back' after a period of about five years are good enough for a second life. Therefore, we established our own used equipment centre in Dresden in 2006 where trucks are refurbished to what we call four-star quality. The numbers are growing, so we (are increasing) our capacity," Kaulfuhs-Berger explains.

Since the Dresden centre started operations on 1 June 2006, its production capacity has nearly trebled. The current 19,000 sqm (204,514 sqft.) space is five times larger than when the plant originally opened.

"The new construction section commencing in March will connect the existing halls and allow for sustained optimisation of operation flows," says Ronald Ohlrogge, head of rental and used equipment.

This would increase the production area from its current 8,500 sqm (91,493 sqft.) to 13,500 sqm (145,313 sqft.), putting Jungheinrich in a position to recondition about 8,000 vehicles annually.

Forklifts arrive in Dresden from all over Europe and are then sold in Europe by Jungheinrich direct sales.

Capitalising on the growth markets of China and Brazil, Jungheinrich is also setting up used equipment centres overseas.

"In China and in Brazil we have, of course, smaller used truck centres," Kaulfuhs-Berger says. "While the share of the financial service and rental business in Europe is much more than 50%, in China it is about 10%."