The first Combilift 4-way forklift to be sold in the Kingdom of Jordan is now in operation at Steel Buildings Company (SBC), the leading manufacturer of structural steel buildings in the northern Middle East, based in Amman. Since the truck has been in operation, SBC has been able to make substantial savings on time, space and money in its materials handling operations according to General Manager Mr. Vatche Karmandarian.

"We regularly deal with loads of 3 or 4 tonnes which can be up to 13m long, which were problematic to transport using our old counterbalance forklift," says Mr. Vatche, "The Combilift's multi-directional capability is exactly what we need to improve the handling of both raw materials and finished products. Manouevering loads from the delivery yard into the factory for example used to be a complicated process which involved cranes, trolleys and up to six personnel. The 5 tonne capacity Combilift cuts out manual handling and completes this task in a fraction of the time."

SBC chose a C5000L diesel powered Combilift model as the most suitable for its operations, which has a larger than standard cab, and added a fork spreader attachment to give extra stability to the longest loads. The Combilift range is robustly designed for heavy workloads, enabling the truck to cope easily with the high volume it moves around the 32,000 sq. m site. Sideways travel with loads resting on the platform is a much safer alternative to risky high level transportation with other less manoeuvrable trucks. The current Combilift range, fully designed and manufactured in Ireland, now encompasses at least fifteen base models with capacities ranging from 2.5 - 25 tonnes, with LPG, diesel or AC electric power available. Combilift has won numerous awards for its products since the company was established in 1998, and there are now around 11,000 units in operation around the world.