Multimodal logistics and freight forwarding specialist Maru International has taken delivery of its first Cat® lift trucks after trialling machines from four different manufacturers.

Sole UK distributor for Cat® Lift Trucks, Impact Handling, secured the order after Maru International found the Cat machines combined the best driver comfort with the optimum fuel efficiency of the four brands tested.

The new Cat GP25N counterbalance trucks join a fleet of nine materials handling machines which are used in the company's 80,000 ft² warehouse in Dewsbury, supporting deliveries bound for customers across Europe.

Maru International's Managing Director, Vaughan Woolfitt, says: "Our forklifts need to be versatile and the Cat machines are proving to be exactly what we need. During the trial we didn't tell our drivers any specification details about the trucks; we just encouraged them to make up their own minds - and they all agreed the Cat lift trucks performed best.

"Impact Handling went out of its way to be supportive. We were able to take our old trucks out of service and replace them almost immediately, without any downtime affecting the business, as Impact holds a large stock of standard specification machines in the UK. These are our first Cat lift trucks but we wouldn't hesitate to add more to the fleet when the next machines are due for replacement."

The durable GP25N lift trucks offer a lifting capacity of 2.5 tonnes and are fitted with high powered and clean LPG-powered engines, which provide the necessary power and torque required for even the most demanding applications indoors and outside. The PowerShift transmission ensures easy operation and service, whilst fingertip hydraulic controls mounted on a fully adjustable armrest guarantee optimum load handling and easy manoeuvrability.

The equipment will be worked seven days a week by Maru, with on-site servicing provided via Impact Handling's local Doncaster depot which has access to a team of more than 200 mobile service technicians operating nationwide.

Maru International was established in 1985 and provides a range of multimodal logistics and freight forwarding solutions for customers across Europe and Russia.