Look longer, stay stronger
April 1st 2009 Mike Jones takes the helm at Mitsubishi UK under no illusions – but he says when it
comes to the crunch, the firm, its financial arm, and its dealers are in better shape than
most. Brendan Coyne reports
Mike Jones, general manager of
Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks UK, says
the challenge for Mitsubishi, the
wider forklift sector and customers alike, is
to retain a sense of perspective in the face
of economically-influenced short-termism.
He says Mitsubishi, with its finance
partner DLL, is working harder to make
trucks more affordable to end-users. For
example, providing low start finance or
interest free credit and its five-year
warranty to convince those who, according
to Jones, have the money to buy new
trucks but listen to the radio on the way to
work and decide they'd better not spend it.
"It's all about responsiveness," he says,
"remoulding the package to suit the times
while focusing on the longer term."
Ironically it is short-term truck rental that
suggests consumers are adapting to
recession and beginning to look longer
term than rapid cost cutting. "It's very easy
to take a short-term truck off the balance
sheet – one phone call and it's gone," says
Jones "But that's a knee-jerk reaction. The
whole operation has to be
considered, not just the
balance sheet. Now
people are realising that
the world is still turning –
and that they have to
keep up."
In a recession, Jones
says dealers'
entrepreneurial spirit
comes to the fore. And he
says this is where
Mitsubishi has an advantage over
manufacturers who sell directly.
"Direct manufacturers, by their very
nature are big and less mobile – they have
to react in a certain way when volumes are
down. But because they are local
businesses, closely in touch with the local
economy, our dealers can react much more
quickly. They must be responsive – they live
or die by the efficiency and quality of
service they offer."
As present, both dealers and customers
are also benefitting from static prices,
although Jones says no manufacturer can
rule out a price increase entirely.
Jones says both Mitsubishi and its dealers
are now working to capitalise upon its
relative health and mobility. "The market
might be tough but business is out there to
be won - you just have to work harder for
it. So we're focusing more closely now to
give dealers more tools to get new product
into the marketplace."
Alongside the warranty and the finance
packages, one such tool is a suite of
dedicated dealer websites that contain a
greater depth of product information – and
the sites should go live around the time this
article goes to press. Jones says alongside
the new European website, and Mitsubishi
UK website, the dealer sites will help
customers understand Mitsubishi's
strengths; its facilities for fleet accounts
(which include Spectrim Distribution,
Servisair Jiffy, and Britax); and the group
capabilities of its dealers.
With the recent acquisition of Rocla, its
warehouse equipment partner, Jones says
dealers now have additional potential for
growth. While Mitsubishi has traditionally
been associated with engine trucks, the
market has changed dramatically over
recent years with much greater emphasis
on electric counterbalance and warehouse
products: Around 30 per cent of Mitsubishi
Forklift's UK business is now focused on
warehouse equipment, and Jones sees it as
an "ever expanding opportunity". His
statement is borne out by the fact
Mitsubishi has recently completed a three
year replacement cycle of all its warehouse
equipment, culminating in the new lowlevel
order picker – its fastest ever –
launched at the end of last year.
However, regardless of weather the
trucks are traditional IC counterbalance or
newer warehouse equipment, Jones claims
reliability is what sets Mitsubishi apart.
"Our dealers are regularly called in to
service trucks that are 25 years old or
more." With its test centre in Almere,
Holland, the firm ensures each truck is run
to working temperature to ensure any
problems, such as hydraulic leaks, never
leave the factory.
And the reliability message is backed up
by a five-year warranty package
throughout the UK. The warranty stays
with the truck even if it is re-sold, which
Jones says helps to explain why Mitsubishi
trucks command a premium in the used
equipment market.
"The cornerstone of our business is
bloody good trucks that last a long time.
Which mirrors our strategy: Mitsubishi has
always taken a long-term view and
concentrated on what it is good at. It's the
same in any economic cycle. Everybody
just has to work harder, but hopefully that
ethos – working to sell every single truck –
will continue when the volumes return." More articles from Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks UK: | 
