Martin McVicar believes that people need to stick to their knitting in a slowing market.

While the mainstream media is fixated on the current slow-down, equipment manufacturers have been sensing stagnation for a while. Combilift director Martin McVicar says his company's US orders showed signs of slowing 18 months ago, but sales for this year should equal those of 2007.

Holding sales levels is quite an achievement as the overall market has slipped, indicating an obvious increase in Combilift's marketshare.

"We're not selling a commodity, we're selling a concept," says the co-founder of the Irish long-load handling specialist. That's why Combilift can go against the trends and grow its business.

"Even if there's a global slow-down, we will at least hold our own," he tells Forkliftaction.com News.

Of course, with estimated 2008 sales of around 2,100 machines, Combilift is not a giant player, but McVicar is confident his company's latest product offering, the Combi-CB, will help consolidate its position by broadening its market.

"For the first 10 years, Combilift targeted companies that only handled long loads. This new loader targets companies that are handling some long loads and some palletised loads," he says. "So it's opening up a slightly different market within our niche."

McVicar believes that people need to stick to their knitting in a slowing market, and he sees the new product as an extra offering to existing customers while also creating scope for new customer growth.

In a market dominated by multinationals and industrial conglomerates, McVicar says Combilift differentiates itself by offering "customised handling solutions". He estimates that 95% of sales are customised to individual requirements - something major production lines could not accommodate.

"Within our product range, we have 15 base models" from which each lifter is produced.

"Everything we sell is built to order," he explains, adding that the company keeps enough parts and materials in stock to ensure an eight-week turn-around from order to delivery.

He admits that his company is competing in a very limited market, with 95% of materials handling involving pallets and only 5% in Combilift's "long load" segment. But he believes his machines are significantly better than competitors' sideloaders which he dismisses as little more than "a shuttle from A to B".

Versatility is the key to success for Combilift, and McVicar says the next product he'll unveil - sometime in the next 24 months - will take the range to a new level. For obvious reasons, the Irish engineer is tight-lipped about the innovation, but he does reveal that it will involve "bigger capacity".

"Long loads are getting bigger and heavier and skilled labour is getting harder to find in most countries," he explains. "There are lots of products that are pre-manufactured in factories, which requires bigger pieces to be moved around."

The next big thing for the industry, he says, is the focus on safety. While the industry as a whole is focusing on operator safety issues, McVicar says Combilift is looking at how to "ensure our customers can handle their material more safely". This is even more pronounced in retail environments, where customer safety is also an issue.

Globally headquartered in Monaghan, Ireland, Combilift recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The company was formed in 1998 by McVicar and fellow engineer Robert Moffett. Combilift developed the world's first multi-directional IC-powered forklift, designed to fill a gap in the materials handling market.

Combilift exports to over 50 countries and has produced over 9,000 units to date.

McVicar was in Brisbane as part of an Australasian tour to promote the new model.