Don't trust 'glasshouse' dealers, says Samuk chief
July 1st 2008

Ever felt like you're just another angry customer waiting in a telephone queue? By putting your money and trust in 'glasshouse' dealers with fancy showrooms and sharp suits, you're missing out on the top-level service of smaller, local firms. So says Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw, chairman of Samuk Lift Trucks

Samuk is the exclusive UK importer of Hangcha fork lifts, the biggest Chinese manufacturer of lift trucks that bases itself on high quality, competitively-priced vehicles. Samuk retails them through a 60-strong network of locallyowned, independent dealers: small firms which take a pride in their level of service.

"Our dealers are totally reliant for their business on local companies," says Sir Neville, "So they need to provide consistently top-quality service in order to retain their customers." The message is simple: small, independent dealers may not have shiny glass showrooms but to them, every customer is important and is treated as such. They are the ones who will answer the phone at three in the morning (a real person, not a recorded message!) and be with you half an hour later to sort out the problem. They understand that businesses are running a 24-hour shift and can't afford to wait twelve hours (or often longer) for repairs. As a customer, you are an asset, not an inconvenience. Says Sir Neville, "Where would you rather your money went – into refurbishing their workshop, or providing a consistently reliable service to your business?" Samuk's lift trucks are made in China by Hangcha. The company manufactured Nissan fork lift trucks for eight years, a good grounding which left its engineers well versed both in computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques and its quality and test procedures. This has helped Hangcha to leapfrog its competitors to become the biggest lift truck manufacturer in China. It's now making the third generation of trucks to Samuk's own specification.

Quality, says Sir Neville, is paramount: "The Chinese enjoy making things to international standards. Hangcha has a modern, well-funded factory, built in 2005, producing around 40,000 counterbalance and reach trucks annually and a new one to be completed in 2008 with twice the capacity. Quality and components are on a par with major Western manufacturers, making their trucks reliable, economic and consequently very popular." Models up to 10 tonne at 600mm load centre are laptop free for service and adjustment and free of unnecessary parts.

The philosophy of Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) has not been forgotten. It still surprises me how many complicated trucks are bought without consulting the service manager.

Hangcha's new models have capacities ranging from one to 20 tonnes, featuring proven power units including Cummins and Yanmar diesel and Nissan LPG engines.

Electric-powered trucks have 80-volt Curtis DC and AC systems, while power pallet trucks have 24-volt Curtis DC/AC controllers. "The Samuk HC line is aimed at 80% of the market," says Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw. "Lift trucks are Hangcha's only core product and customers are always pleasantly surprised, if not amazed, by how user-friendly they are." New and updated products are planned as part of an aggressive development programme, with the aim of combining quality and performance without being unnecessarily complicated. Great attention is paid to keeping the maintenance requirements of Samuk's trucks to a minimum, with all trucks designed to operate for 10,000 hours – a typical five-year rental contract – between major overhauls.

Hangcha is going to be a big player in the international lift truck market supported by the Samuk dealer chain offering competitively-priced trucks – not the lowest. These dealers are locally owned and dependent on their local customers on 24/7 availability if required.

They know their customers and, more importantly, their fleet and can identify the correct part number first time – available overnight by Samuk courier. Knowing each other makes it easy to identify emergencies before routine service.

More articles from Samuk Lift Trucks Limited: