Lifting
Penny Hydraulics has appointed Martin Oke as its new Area Sales Manager for the Midlands & North of England. Martin has extensive experience of the commercial vehicle and materials handling sectors and joins the company from secure in-vehicle storage specialist Sortimo. He will deal with customers
across a range of industries including the local authority, brewing and tyre supply sectors.
Hofmann Megaplan has introduced the new ‘Airgo-Lift’ a wheel lifter for assisting tyre technicians with heavy wheel assemblies.
Operated by air the machine fits under the shaft of a balancer and can raise wheels up to 70kg in weight. It can also move the wheel horizontally over the shaft to allow easy location of studs when flange plate mounting.
Continental is currently considering plans to build a new tyre factory in Europe, according to Dr Alan Hippe, chief financial officer. If demands continue to be as strong as they are today, it would be the next logical step, said Dr Hippe speaking at the Geneva Motor Show. Such a new facility would have to be built in Eastern Europe, possibly in Lithuania, writes the Berliner Morgenpost. Recently Continental invested a considerable amount of money in Eastern Europe in order to cut production costs.
Deutsche Bank analysts reported that Continental’s presentation was both “bullish“ and “striking.” In his presentation, Dr Hippe explained that Continental had revised its ESP penetration expectations for the US market to about 18 per cent in 2006, lifting the volume target to 1 million units. The CFO also suggested that the German manufacturer could be in a net cash position as early as the end of 2005. According to the analysts, “the bottom line is the growth and free cash story continues (at least 600-700 million euros per year).”
The UK’s first “DIY garage” has just opened its doors in Aberdeen. The new workshop facility is targeted at those who enjoy carrying out motor vehicle repairs, but don’t have access to the necessary tools or facilities.
MAHA announce the introduction of the new SL truck scissor lift. This unique scissor lift can be expanded to lift any weight from 10 tons to 40 tons depending on the customer’s requirements.
Pat Henson, UK sales manager for Rotary Lifts for the past eight years, has joined Maywood Equipment Group, leading suppliers of garage lifting equipment. Maywood acquired the Hofmann brand in January, and Mr Henson, 56, will initially be area sales manager for Maywood in the West Midlands and North Wales.
The Indian tyre manufacturing industry may be under threat from cheap imports from China. The lifting of trade restrictions with China has already created trading problems for many of India’s smaller industries. Presently imports from China form only 2.87% of India’s imports, but the arrival of cheap, mass produced products from China has indicated the lack of preparedness of Indian industry to meet the new competition. Tyre manufacturing has been highlighted as a potential victim as businesses move from manufacturing to importing.
The German supplier of various items of equipment for the tyre shop, MAHA (Maschinenbau Haldenwang), has acquired lifting platform specialist Slift. With this acquisition, MAHA staff numbers increase to 1,000.
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