Championing reliability
September 1st 2011 Growing and increasingly confident, Samuk is the face of Chinese lift truck manufacturing for many in the UK. In line with this increasing confidence, Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw boasts that Samuk's best trucks are suitable for high demand applications, reports Simon Duddy.
Reliability is one of our strengths," says Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw. "Our best heavy duty truck can keep high volume 3PLs happy, and often those guys have some of the worst conditions for trucks. They eat up inferior transmissions in 1,000 hours. If a truck goes to a heavy duty application, it needs to be able to withstand 6,000 hours."
Sir Neville says it is difficult to educate the users on this issue at times yet adds Samuk has made significant headway by providing trucks on trial to prove their performance and reliability.
"Our concern is not the initial cost," continues Sir Neville. "It is how much does the truck break down, and what does this cost?" Sir Neville has "always enjoyed design" and Samuk has developed a number of engine and radiator refinements, which he claims significantly enhance reliability.
Sir Neville has also worked hard to add value to the lift trucks he imports from Chinese manufacturer Hangcha to the EMEA market. Sir Neville contributes to design and suggests components. A good example is the incorporation of Curtis control systems into the latest warehouse trucks released by Samuk. He counts the Curtis system as one of the key advantages of the J Series 3-wheel warehouse trucks and describes the company as "worldwide leaders in terms of noise, smooth control and safety". The J series is 24 volt, AC controlled, and ranges from 1.0-1.7 tonnes at 500mm.
The company's other main workhorse is the B Series, an LPG or diesel fuelled counterbalance with a minimum of gadgets and built on the Keep It Simple Specification (KISS). This four wheeler ranges from 1.5-3.5 tonnes at 500mm.
The Samuk team also carries out quality control in the UK before products go to market and Sir Neville operates a substantial parts operation, something which many Chinese lift truck manufacturers have been criticised for failing to do. Sir Neville also rails against the use of pirate parts for lift trucks, cautioning against end users falling for the false economy they represent.
"Customers who buy pirate parts are being short changed," says Sir Neville. "They risk the reliability and lifespan of their vehicles. Our message is simple, you get what you pay for."
Pirate parts are not likely to be of the same quality as original parts, and may even differ in specification. Additional maintenance costs may outweigh original savings. All genuine Samuk parts are covered by a six month warranty.
"We stock parts from our component suppliers such as Nissan, Isuzu, Perkins, Yanmar and Cummins, as well as our own parts.
They are competitively priced.We source high quality components from long term suppliers so that we can continue to provide the excellent standard of ongoing service and support that customers have come to expect."
Sir Neville Bowman Shaw is also a thinker, and has strong opinions on the nature of the forklift market worldwide. He predicts the market will continue to feel the effects of globalisation and see a huge amount of consolidation. For this reason, he is confident Hangcha - which is one of the biggest lift truck manufacturers in China - has the scale and access to sizeable markets needed to fend for itself in a globalised market.
Hence Sir Neville sees Samuk as a viable long term option in the lift truck market.
The Samuk formula combines Chinese mass manufacturing with European design input and marketing and servicing nous.
The value-add approach appears to be paying off, with the manufacturer recently winning deals to supply fleets in the order of 20 models in competition with tier one manufacturers. More articles from Samuk Lift Trucks Limited: | 
