The general manager of a leading Chinese forklift manufacturer predicts that China will produce at least 300,000 forklifts this year.

Anhui Forklift Group Co Ltd's Yang An'guo says that although still marked by many uncertainties, the global forklift market, recovering from the global economic crisis, kept growing in 2011, mainly driven by the large Chinese market. The global market is estimated to have grown by about 10%.

The size of the global forklift market is about one million units.

Yang says that based on "assessment and analysis" obtained by Heli, the global forklift market will hold back in the first half of 2012 and break out in the second half of the year.

Due to the European debt crisis, forklift exports will be affected, he says.

China's GDP is estimated to increase by 8.5% this year, bringing opportunities to the forklift industry.

Yang indicates that Anhui Forklift Group, which makes the Heli branded forklifts, aimed to grow by 10% from 2011, with gross production and forklift sales reaching 80,000 units and export volume hitting 12,000 units.

He says the company is focusing on developing and expanding its marketshare in the emerging markets of South America, South East Asia and the Middle East.

He estimated the 2011 Chinese forklift production to be between 260,000 to 280,000 units and in 2012, this figure is likely to break through the 300,000 unit-mark.

Separately, the company has exported its products to South America for the first time. On 28 February, Heli technicians inspected the first batch of reach stackers that would be delivered to South America. The client's details are confidential. It has also recently beaten Chinese and overseas manufacturers to win a tender to supply the Shenyang Railway Bureau with two 45 T reach stackers.

Established in 1958 in Hefei, Anhui Province, Anhui Heli manufactures and sells forklifts, wheel loaders, engineering machinery, mining machinery and foundry parts.