…and launches product offensive at CeMAT 2014
With over a million forklifts built under its iconic brand name, CLARK is one of the global market leaders of the material handling industry, represented by over 500 dealers in 90 nations.
Part of the South Korean Young An family since 2003, Clark has its global headquarters Lexington, Kentucky, USA. The company provides a complete range of forklifts, including electric and IC-engine models, very narrow aisle trucks, warehouse technology and heavy goods and passenger transport vehicles. From its new premises in Duisburg, Clark Europe GmbH covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 170 Clark dealers in 58 states.
The company moved into its new head office in Duisburg-Rheinhausen, Germany, at the beginning of February 2014. The relocation from the traditional site of Mülheim an der Ruhr to the larger site in Duisburg – made necessary in order to create more extensive facilities for employees, workshop, assembly plant, training centre and storage – emphasises the continuous growth and success of the group.
 
Product Offensive 2014
Rolf Eiten will be presenting the company’s new products at the CeMAT 2014 May. Along with the new low and high-lift trucks, the Clark portfolio in the warehouse technology segment also includes low-lift order pickers, high-lift order pickers and a completely new reach truck series.
“With the new site in Duisburg, we can cope with our increased order and service volume,” says Rolf Eiten, Chief Operating Officer of Clark Europe GmbH. “In contrast to the current site in Mülheim, we have expansion options which could extend to neighbouring properties.” He went on to say that great importance has been attached to the fact that the new operation base is situated in the middle of one of the most powerful economic regions in Europe, with the advantage of being in close proximity to the international airport of Düsseldorf and container port of Duisburg.
 
New Reach Truck
The Clark SRX14 and SRX16 reach trucks with load capacities from 1.4 to 1.6 tonnes and lifting heights up to 10.5 metres are poised to cover the important core area of warehouse and internal transport applications. These machines have already been put through their paces in field tests, with positive feedback reported from the first prototypes. Clark’s ‘Built to Last’ concept of using “as much solid steel as possible – and only as much plastic as needed” has been employed, to provide a robust truck with long life expectancy.
The trucks also score highly when it comes to ergonomics: All hydraulic functions are easily monitored by fingertip, allowing optimum sensitive control. An optional mono-joystick control is also available, in which all hydraulic functions are grouped together in a joystick. Electronic power steering with exact steering movements provides high manoeuvrability. The driver can also toggle between 180° and 360° steering via a push-button switch.
As every warehouse has different requirements, numerous options are available for the SRX Series reach trucks. Optional extras include a fork-mounted camera and a lift height display with lift height pre-selection for secure load handling up to the highest stacking level. A retrofit side battery change is also offered so that the battery can be replaced quickly and easily via a roller bed. Other options include pin-code access for the driver, automatic centralisation of the forks on the side shift, as well as automatic central adjustment of the forks on the mast with simultaneous forklift inclination.
 
Warehouse Technology
Besides the new reach trucks, the Clark product portfolio also comprises electric low-lift pallet trucks and high-lift stackers, as well as high-lift order pickers.
The electric low-lift and high-lift trucks are equipped with drive motors with 24-volt three-phase technology. The advantage here is adjustable, regenerative braking when reducing driving speed to ensure smooth working and protection of components. The parking brake function incorporates electromagnetic brakes. All functions such as lifting, lowering and inching are located on the control arm head, which is connected to the drive controller via CAN-BUS technology. These new machines also have the option of keyboard access with PIN code on the control arm head, eliminating the need for an operators key switch.
 
Cargo Carriers
Clark has entered the cargo carrier segment with the company’s CBX range of electric AC powered vehicles. Since November 2013, these passenger transport and electric commercial vehicles have been manufactured at the Clark Lexington (USA) site. The majority of these machines have 48-volt AC motors, 10-inch wheels, disc brakes and hour recording meters.
Depending on the model, the maximum payload of the vehicles is between 360kg (CBX2) and 545kg (CBX4), with a top speed of almost 20 km/h. The CLARK FBX model series (Flatbed Burden Carrier) has a load capacity of 725kg and a 16 km/h top speed and is available as a 2 or 2+2-seater.