Hong Kong -- The Hong Kong materials handling equipment industry has been weakened by a slowing economy and the September 11 attacks on the USA, says a leading industry player.

Mechanical and Transportation Equipment Ltd (MATE) managing director Marco Wong, who has more than 30 years' experience in materials handling, said the Hong Kong market was "sluggish".

He warned that materials handling distributors' days were numbered. MATE's revenues had decreased 35 percent over the last three years. "It is not the time to put your money into the distribution business," he said. "The economy is changing from manufacturing to services. The trend now is for manufacturers of materials handling equipment to sell directly to end users."

There were now less than 10 major materials handling equipment distributors in Hong Kong. MATE distributes Jungheinrich, BT Prime-Mover and Nettco products.

Mr Wong said MATE had sold just 24 Jungheinrich forklifts this year, to a government supplies department. "A lot of forklift distributors have been losing (money) this year, and everybody is fighting for survival," he said.

Mr Wong said he planned a new scheme to not only sell forklifts, but provide materials handling solutions to customers. "The strategy is to provide a total solution, not just selling, but integrating forklifts with racking, logistics, warehousing management systems and information technology," he said.

Hong Kong's future forklift prospects would come from China. Mr Wong said demand for materials handling equipment in China would grow by more than 15 percent each year. "The big players in the forklift business are in China," he said.