 Jungheinrich has completed a major overhaul of its used truck refurbishment factory in Dresden. |
The UK sales of Jungheinrich's used forklifts have more than doubled in the last two years and the company expects the upward trend to be sustained throughout 2009.
The rise in used forklift sales for Jungheinrich UK contrasts with British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) figures, which showed a fall in new forklift sales of 14.5% in 2008. According to BITA, about 26,500 new forklifts were sold in the UK in 2008, the lowest quantity since 2001.
Jungheinrich UK Ltd's used equipment and short-term rental director, Neil Warren, believes that growing demand for Jungheinrich's used forklifts is coming at the expense of new forklift models imported from the Far East.
"We would contend that a good quality used truck that has been fully refurbished to the relevant European standards represents far better value than certain new models on the market," Warren says.
He says that "recent entrants" to the forklift market cannot match the infrastructure of a major forklift manufacturer, like Jungheinrich, with a "proven track record" in after-sales care and customer service.
Warren adds that the profile of a typical used forklift buyer has changed.
"Historically, the biggest buyers of used materials handling equipment have been small- to medium-sized companies keen to increase or upgrade their truck fleets but with budgets that cannot quite stretch to new machinery."
He explains that financial considerations are "not always the key driver and many large, profitable organisations also choose to invest in used equipment" if their forklift usage patterns do not justify buying new units.
"Indeed, more and more larger organisations are choosing to include used trucks in their overall fleets as standby units or for lighter applications.
"There is now no difference in the type of company that buys new trucks and used trucks," Warren says.
Jungheinrich has not disclosed sales figures of the used trucks but the group says it recently completed a major overhaul of its used truck refurbishment factory in Dresden to cope with demand for its used vehicle fleet. Used forklifts rebuilt at Dresden are now sold as far as India, Australia and Russia.
Forklifts going through the Dresden site are completely dismantled and all worn or defective parts including tyres and lift chains replaced. The vehicles are cleaned inside out and repainted before being reassembled and safety tested.
"We are the first forklift manufacturer to have a factory dedicated to used truck refurbishment," says Warren. He explains that a manufacturer doing its own refurbishment work has the advantage of its forklifts being overhauled according to its standards.
Jungheinrich has used equipment showrooms around the UK and forklifts that have been through the Dresden refurbishment process are marketed in the UK as the "Ready to Go" range.