Innovation powers Doosan's ambitions

This year Doosan has unveiled a future concept truck, created a new affiliate company more focused on forklifts and tied up a number of deals in the UK

It's already been a busy 2011 for Doosan Forklifts. Not only has the Korean manufacturer restructured its own business, appointed a new dealer in Southampton and joined forces with another, it also unveiled its 'Forklift of the Future'. Then there's the biggest deal of the year which saw Doosan become the supplier of choice for leading international construction materials giant Saint-Gobain.

The scale of the agreement, over two years in the making, sees Doosan national partner, Rushlift, take on over 200 Saint-Gobain sites across the UK and is worth around £100m over the next 10 years. Doosan's UK general sales manager, Paul Watson believes the new partnership brings further credence to the Doosan brand.

"Our reliable forklift technology has consistently proven itself as both competitive and productive.We're naturally delighted with the Saint-Gobain deal. It confirms market confidence in our brand and is a significant step for us in further strengthening our position in the UK forklift market," says Watson.

The announcement of the deal came shortly after Doosan announced the formation of a new affiliate company, Doosan Industrial Vehicle Co. The move effectively separates the forklift business from the construction, marine engine and machine tools operations and comes as the company looks to build on recent successes, like the SG deal.

Tim Waples, Doosan's UK director and general manager, welcomed the decision: "We are maturing as a forklift business, particularly in the UK," he said.

"Our recent investments, in our dealer network, parts centre, IT systems and dealer support facilities are all part of a wider commitment to our growing customer base. As a serious player in this market, our focus has become even stronger and our UK operation should take great pride in its contribution to this development." Those investments include acquiring a majority stake in one of its top performing dealers, Genesis Forklift Trucks. Genesis' sales director, Paul Brierley explained that financial security and belonging to a large organisation were key incentives, while being able to offer modern hire equipment also proved an attraction.

"It not only secures our company's future with stability and financial backing, but we are now able to add the latest Doosan equipment to our hire fleet to help satisfy our customers' everincreasing demand for short term hire," explains Brierley.

He also believes Doosan's investments will allow them to tackle larger fleet and regional customers with direct support from one of the world's most exciting and pro-active manufacturers.

"Our skill sets are a perfect complement to Doosan's. The tie up enables our companies to push onto the next level, as well as work collaboratively to provide our customers with the reassurance and confidence of belonging to a larger group." The Genesis deal wasn't the only recent dealer development for Doosan. Geolift /Fortis has become as the official regional distributor of Doosan forklifts for Southampton. This is the first dealer ever to be awarded the territory which was formerly an open area. Geolift and Fortis are working together in partnership, with Craig George at Geolift managing service, whilst David Scammell at Fortis is heading up sales.

And with an eye to the not so far off future, the company also announced its vision of how its products could look in the next decade. The Doosan Intelligent Concept Forklift aims to push the boundaries of materials handling, while sticking to the company's belief of simple, powerful products with great performance. Created by the award winning technologists at the Doosan Institute of Technology Industrial Design Centre, the ICF is, according to the design team: "Innovation that embodies efficiency and intelligence." Director of Doosan Forklifts, Kun H Lee remarked on how building in new technology with proven components now, will shape and secure Doosan's future in the industry.

"The company that is the most successful is the one that is prepared to use durable technology when needed and innovate whenever possible," he says.