Soaring demand for its articulated forklifts spurs investment. Translift Bendi, manufacturer of the Bendi forklift, plans to expand its factory at Redditch by 75% this Autumn to cope with soaring demand for its articulated forklifts. During 2006-07, sales of the multi, award-winning forklift, which includes the prestigious Queen Award for Innovation, soared 100%.

This year, the Bendi will almost outsell the UK most popular reach truck, despite costing significantly more. But as all Bendi buyers know, the initial purchase price of a Bendi should not influence the investment decision.
Rather, buyers consider the interface costs. These include cost of warehouse space, rates, heating and lighting, and forklift productivity in terms of costs per pallet moved per hour. The last of these can allow fleet operators to reduce their truck fleets by up to half owing to the Bendi versatility that permits yard and indoor work within very narrow aisles. In certain circumstances, where the Bendi is rented or leased, it is even possible to achieve instant forklift payback where the space saved by the Bendi allows offsite warehousing to be closed down.

Translift Bendi Managing Director, Simon Brown, comments on why the market has grown steadily year on year. ur message is getting across that the Bendi is the cheapest way to store pallets in standard pallet racking when the entire warehouse is considered. In terms of pallet stored, the Bendi solution has often shown payback within 24 months. In addition, the quality and reliability of the Bendi is peerless, allowing much longer truck life than most other forklifts.

Pioneers of the articulated forklift in Britain some 25 years ago, Translift initially met with derision from forklift competitors, dismissing the truck as a Heath Robinson contraption that would never take off. Today, Bendi production has just passed the 7,000 mark and it is impossible to be anywhere in the UK that is more than a few miles from the nearest Bendi users. B&Q, for example, now have over 600 Bendis in their stores throughout the country.

Larger fleets of 20 plus trucks are now commonplace among blue chip companies, giving potential Bendi users total confidence in the truck. Buyers need no longer fear that they are guinea pigs but rather the beneficiaries of nearly 50 years of forklift manufacturing and 25 years of Bendi experience.

Overseas markets are also boosting Bendi sales as new markets open up in Australasia, Europe and South Africa. And by consistently developing new models, by far the biggest range of any articulated forklift producer, Translift Bendi has always been able to offer key advantages over other truck handling solutions, contributing to the continued dominance of the Bendi brand.

e are excited about the future of the Bendi and the new, mould-breaking products that are coming along to join the range,says Simon Brown. he new, extended facility at Redditch, the only articulated forklift assembly line plant in the UK, will be able to produce 120 Bendi trucks a month by the end of 2008 and if growth continues we may be looking to implement an additional expansion plan already mapped out.