Samuk forklifts being built in China.

Samuk is planning to launch a new forklift range following a three-day meeting between its management team and Chinese partner, Hangcha.

Samuk chairman Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw travelled to China with parts director Colin Garth and product director Richard Howard in May for talks with Hangcha's senior directors on the new series that will be launched in the UK in 2008/09.

Bowman-Shaw says Hangcha's commitment to the UK market will see the company's sales and marketshare grow in the next 12 months.

"For the past six months, Hangcha deployed two of its top engineers from China at our Petersborough facility, providing support to our own technical team and gathering important data on the UK market." He adds that details of the new forklifts are still being finalised.

In China, the Samuk team also witnessed the laying of the foundation stone for a new Hangcha plant that will open in 2008.

According to Samuk, Hangcha aims to double its production capacity by 2009 and wants to be in the world's top 10 forklift manufacturers by 2012.

Hangcha, based in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province was China's second-largest forklift manufacturer in 2006. It produces 30,000 forklifts annually and employs over 1,200 people.

The Samuk and Hangcha joint venture was established in 1996 after Bowman-Shaw visited Hangcha in China. Samuk HC distributes the Chinese forklifts in the UK and some European countries under the Samuk+HC brand.

The forklifts have European components, including Cummins and Nissan engines, ZF transmissions, Dunlop tyres, Curtis electric components with DC/AC control systems, Kessler drive axles with oil immersed brakes and ZAPI DC control systems.

Samuk exhibited over 20 new models at IMHX 2007 and introduced the Samuk+HC R series diesel and LPG forklifts with capacities up to 3.5 tonnes in March.