An uplifting success
If you want a loyal customer base and a sound reputation, it rarely pays to cut corners. Dan Johansson, area sales director for Swedish forklift manufacturer Svetruck, tells Andrew Pelis about the companyÔÇÖs unwavering dedication to quality.
Materials handling can be an exacting science. In todayÔÇÖs pressurised business environment, nothing can be left to chance, so it pays to invest in quality to achieve operational excellence.
Perhaps that is why, since the late seventies, companies around the world have relied upon Swedish innovation when it comes to forklift trucks and log handling machinery. At Svetruck, the catchphrase has always been ÔÇ£true qualityÔÇØ.
Area sales director Dan Johansson has been with Svetruck since the company was launched and says that this focus has never strayed. ÔÇ£Our challenge is always to be the leading producer of big forklift trucksÔÇöas we are. Having seen the start of the company, I can tell you that it takes a long time to get a good name for your company and products but it is very easy to destroy that name. We shall always try to build as good a forklift as possible and our business is very much in high quality products.ÔÇØ
The first machine rolled off the production line at SvetruckÔÇÖs Ljungby site in 1977, with an eight ton to 25 ton capacity. Today, the business builds forklifts from 10 ton up to 55 ton capacity, as well as log handling machinery for saw mills and paper mills across the world.
ÔÇ£We are the biggest producer of these machines in the world and we export to around 125 countries,ÔÇØ affirms Johansson, adding that export accounts for 75 per cent of SvetruckÔÇÖs market. ÔÇ£We build our machines to the highest standards, not to the lowest price, and we are always focused on quality,ÔÇØ he continues. ÔÇ£When talking about forklifts and efficient materials handling (including heavy lifts), one speaks much about quality. When we talk about materials handling, we mean a complete concept, in which the forklift plays a very important part of the process.ÔÇØ
All production takes place in SvetruckÔÇÖs factory at Ljungby; meanwhile, another site some 150 kilometres away makes parts for the log handling machines. ÔÇ£Our facility here in Ljungby covers some 21,000 square metres all under roof,ÔÇØ explains Johansson, ÔÇ£and we operate three production lines: one making forklifts up to 16 tons, a second manufacturing from 18 to 30 tons and a third making vehicles between 32 and 55 tons.ÔÇØ
The company manufactures products for a variety of customers, including large ports and terminals that may require a large fleet of Svetruck forkliftsÔÇöfrom which each vehicle may be used for over 5,000 hours per year. Heavy industry is another important area of trade, while the forest industry deploys forklifts and log handling machines at paper mills, saw mills and in pulp production. Johansson indicates that a fourth area of trade is covered by ÔÇ£everything elseÔÇöincluding the rental of vehicles and service to the concrete industry.ÔÇØ
SvetruckÔÇÖs forklift business makes largely tailor-made products for the customer, with each one having different requirements in terms of lift heights or equipment. ÔÇ£Each Svetruck is built to suit the conditions under which it will operate and our starting point is to find a balance in the interaction between man, technology and machine. We build comfortable and safe workplaces that guarantee the operators a good day at work. We achieve this by working closely with each customer and building long-lasting relationships,ÔÇØ Johansson adds.
ÔÇ£What is unique about Svetruck is that we produce everything ourselves,ÔÇØ he continues. ÔÇ£Outsourcing has become very popular in the forklift industry but our joke is that we are constantly in-sourcing! This gives us extremely good control of the product and has helped us to build an excellent international reputation. We are expensive; but we are making extremely high quality products.ÔÇØ
Companies around the world have long understood the lasting value of spending that little bit extra on a Svetruck vehicle or machine. Each product is manufactured using traditional welding skills rather than the latest automation, giving it personal attention.
Innovation has always played an important part in SvetruckÔÇÖs success and over time, many of the companyÔÇÖs 250 workers have developed extensive experience which has helped the company to achieve a number of industry firsts, including a unique chassis design on all vehicles and the design of the clear-view mast for heavy forklifts. All of SvetruckÔÇÖs masts are manufactured in-house with well-dimensioned mast profiles and powerful mast yokes for optimum torsional stiffness and bending rigidity. The masts are available as duplex, duplex freelift and triplex freelift and each forklift is designed to provide the best possible and safest load handling in all situations. The robust design of each vehicle is matched by the highest quality engines supplied by the likes of Scania, Cummins and Volvo, while the best transmission components are provided courtesy of Caterpillar and ZF Transmission.
Recent global economic events have also played into SvetruckÔÇÖs hands. ÔÇ£Over the last four years we have had a long delivery timeÔÇösometimes up to a year on an orderÔÇöand in the past we have maybe even lost some business as a result of that. However, over the last year, the reduction in demand has allowed us to catch up with orders and we are now back to our normal five to six month delivery time,ÔÇØ Johansson explains.
The aftermarket has also been a key component of SvetruckÔÇÖs excellent reputation and the companyÔÇÖs service and spare parts distribution centre is available around the clock worldwide, through a network of subsidiaries, dealers and agents. ÔÇ£It is not only about selling a product,ÔÇØ states Johansson. ÔÇ£We feel service, maintenance, spare parts supply and back-up are important reasons why customers put their faith in us. We have international service engineers who travel around the world to the customer and we also offer training to customers here in Ljungby.ÔÇØ
Johansson says that the increase in competition, particularly from China and the Far East, should not wholly affect SvetruckÔÇÖs business. ÔÇ£I think that the future is very good for us; we have our own way of doing things and over the years this has proved to be very successful. Since we started out in 1977 we have never had to reduce our personnel numbers and we have always operated a good, healthy and safe workplace.ÔÇØ
