Birgitta van den Bosch, General Manager After Market Department at Cat Lift Trucks - Click images for larger view

Cat^® forklifts and warehouse equipment have achieved a remarkable reputation for their durability. Constant quality controls during the manufacturing, backed up with a global dealer network assure that high standards are met for the trucks to perform in the harshest environments minimizing down-time and costs of operation.

The final product is a result of the degree of the quality of the raw material. Ensuring that the raw materials are made of the highest quality can reduce considerably, the potential cost of poor quality at the end of the line. And Cat^® Lift Trucks is aware of that. That is why all factories, spread all over the world, include an extensive quality's protocol that goes from parts and components receivables, through the different manufacturing processes until the end of the line. These trucks are exposed to severe tests to prove that they meet their high standards and are ready to be shipped with the "OK' sticker.

Cat Lift Trucks has a philosophy of 'continuous improvement'. Every aspect of the operations of the different factories that produce Cat^® lift trucks and warehouse equipment are focused on eliminating waste and driving up quality. There is a clear understanding within the organization that if you put quality in, you get quality out. And that is most important when your focus is to serve your customers with products that perform and help them raise their productivity, reducing their cost of ownership.

"People talk about initial costs, but we look at the total life time costs" - Birgitta van den Bosch, General Manager After Market Department at Cat Lift Trucks.

There is also a benefit for the manufacturer: "the quality processes that the different factories have embedded help us on our journey to continually drive down warranty claims," explains Birgitta van den Bosch, General Manager After Market Department at Cat Lift Trucks. "This helps us to reduce the hidden costs of rework - but, more important, it means that our customers have trucks that have a great performance and last a long time. People talk about initial costs, but we look at the total life time costs, which is a different approach, requiring a high quality product".

Customers cannot afford having a truck down for long. That is why not only the quality of the trucks, but also its design is increasingly important for Cat Lift Trucks. Parts commonality, easy access to main components and long service interval, to name just a few, are taken into account during the R&D process for a new model.

Having a high quality product is only one of the parts of the formula for the customers to succeed. Next to this, support is essential. A professional network such as the Cat lift trucks dealers can advice and in case of need, send their factory trained service engineers to the field. Quick delivery of OEM parts and their great understanding of the product can decrease down-time to a minimum. Birgitta van den Bosch explains: "we have service teams almost in every country in Europe, Africa and Middle East. Those skilled technicians have been trained by Cat Lift Trucks and can continue to keep their knowledge level up-to-date with our extended E-learning programs. Since we know that the technology on our trucks is improving over the years we have extended our service level intervals and we can offer longer OEM warranties up to five years".

Having the right diagnostic is as essential as having good parts availability. "We have one of the best parts availability in the business: an overall 97% full line first pick availability" says van den Bosch. "It is particularly interesting for customers, since we combine this with our 'direct distribution' concept with many of our dealers. This means that our dealers can order spare parts from us until late afternoon and delivery can take place before 7 AM next day at a location specified by the dealer". Quality built in the equipment, backed up with a global, professional and well trained dealer network that understands the product and can offer great OEM parts availability to help customers focus only in their own job. That is the strength of a top team like Cat Lift Trucks.

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