Lisman will shift its activities from Malaysia to its headquarters

The Lisman Forklifts Group will close down its Malaysian facilities and relocate all Lisman Forklifts Asia activities to its headquarters in the Netherlands at the end of 2020.

The decision to centralise the wholesale business is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in "a huge shrinkage in travelling and visiting customers to Lisman Forklifts Asia", according to the company.

A Lisman spokeswoman tells Forkliftaction News that the larger Asian forklift dealers are increasingly buying directly from Lisman headquarters in Europe rather than sourcing from Lisman Forklifts Asia.

In 2012, Lisman Forklifts made history by opening a fully fledged used truck centre in South East Asia by establishing a subsidiary in Malaysia. This enabled shorter lead times of used machines to local dealers. Moreover, the customers in the region benefited from the opportunity to physically inspect European-sourced trucks in the Malaysian warehouse prior to purchase.

Because of the market changes, Lisman says it can no longer justify a large stand-alone operation on the other side of the world. "By relocating the Lisman Asia activities to its headquarters in The Netherlands, continuity towards customers and suppliers is guaranteed," the spokeswoman says.

Lisman notes that the new arrangements may mean that lead times will be slightly longer, but the availability and quality of the used materials handling equipment offered will not be impacted.