TVH business development manager Peter Louwagie with Madagascan presidential candidate Monja Roindefo.

Madagascan presidential candidate Monja Roindefo was among African dignitaries and business representatives talking business at a TVH Group forum in Belgium last week.

TVH invited Roindefo to attend the forum, organised in co-operation with the Brussels-based Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture, Belgium-Luxembourg-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (CBL-ACP), at TVH's Waregem headquarters.

Peter Louwagie, TVH business development manager for the African market, led discussions on investment opportunities in Madagascar and other African countries.

Louwagie said although the African markets were smaller in volume and turnover than traditional materials handling markets, the sum of the African continent created a "turnover opportunity that couldn't be neglected".

"Many forklifts have been imported second hand without the original spares manual. Offering a service of consulting 3,000 manuals online is an unbeatable solution," he said.

African countries, like Angola, Mauritania and Sudan, which were rich in natural resources, like copper, cobalt and oil, presented a market with growing handling requirements, Louwagie said.

TVH intended to hold a stock of fast-moving items like hydraulic filters, oil filters and air filters in Madagascar through a local reselling agent.

"South Africa is [TVH's] leading African market followed by the Maghreb countries in North Africa. It is in our means to be represented in every African country by a reselling agent or a subsidiary by the end of 2008," Louwagie said.

TVH established its presence on the continent with the acquisition of Forklift Parts International, Johannesburg, in the mid 1980s. The office is currently staffed by eight employees and receives daily deliveries from Belgium. TVH has sales subsidiaries in Morocco, Algiers and Tunis and is represented in other countries by independent agents.

CBL-ACP in Brussels was founded in 1964 by a group of Belgian businessmen with the objectives of maintaining and reinforcing commercial and cultural links between Belgium and Africa. CBL-ACP now aims to develop commercial relations between Belgium and Luxembourg, and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Belgian minister of development co-operation Armand De Decker and representatives from the Angolan, Tanzanian, Ethiopian and Libyan embassies joined the forum.