 A Hegna Maskin employee hard at work. |
Hegna Maskin AS claims to be the only independent company in Scandinavia dealing with forklift spare parts. The parts and attachments importer has also branched out to selling Toyota, Tailift, Pramac, Swedmach and Abeko forklifts.
"(We have) any spare part you may find on a forklift ... more than 70 different makes," says managing director Knut Morgan. He explains that 85% of company revenue comes from forklift parts and attachments, the rest from forklift sales.
Morgan started in the forklift business 30 years ago as a forklift driver. He later became an attachment and spare parts buyer for Toyota, BT and Atlet forklifts, while working for the biggest Toyota dealer in Norway in Porsgrunn, Telemark county.
He established Hegna Maskin in 1992 because he was not only interested in having his own business but also in providing forklift companies and end-users with more cost-efficient spare parts and attachments, and quicker service.
"We are well accepted as an honest and qualified partner for anyone who needs spare parts," Morgan says.
While the company is small - having only four employees and annual sales of about EUR6 million (USD9.3 million), Morgan says Hegna Maskin stands out because of its extensive knowledge of parts and attachment products.
 Some of the forklift attachments supplied by Hegna Maskin. |
"We are able to answer almost any question immediately or within a few minutes. Our staff has been in this business for decades. We have driven and seen the machines the customer is talking about.
Collectively, the staff has over 100 years' experience in forklift parts and attachments, and forklift service.
"If a customer asks for a part we do not stock, we probably sold it before. Customers get answers directly from our staff," Morgan explains. "We do not deliver the problem to other mechanics."
Hegna Maskin also has a global network of purchasing contacts. While this is sensitive information, Morgan reveals his contacts come from Europe, US and Japan. Parts can be ordered as late as 3:30pm and shipped out the same day.
The company aims to cement a global reputation as a good partner for any European forklift company. There are also plans to grow the business in partnership with forklift companies.