New HQ for Jungheinrich UK
March 20th 2006

Marking the culmination of a period of radical change and development that saw brand consolidation and the closure of UK manufacturing facilities, Jungheinrich UK has recently opened new headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Speaking from the new facility, managing director Mark Williams said: “Although there were initially quite a few detractors of the move, Jungheinrich as gained huge strength from going to a single brand.

“Times of consolidation and re-organisation are always going to be tough – and with the Boss brand being so strong in the UK we felt that it was important for the company to move away from the former manufacturing site in Layton Buzzard to make a fresh start.”

According to Williams, the strength gained by Jungheinrich from its restructure puts the company in a better position to weather the current drop in the counterbalance market being seen in the UK. It is also aided by the fact that its strengths are generally seen as being in the electric warehouse equipment sector.

Further developments have also been made in the way Jungheinrich UK has structured its sales operation. Due to increased merger, acquisition and consolidation among its customer base, Jungheinrich’s large customers are becoming even larger, with many now being truly global enterprises. According to sales director, Bill Goodwin, regardless of location, these customers increasingly expect a contract that encompasses the use of key performance indicators, extremely high levels of service and penalties if failure occurs.

As well as its direct sales approach which cuts communications, thanks to the implementation of SAP throughout the company, Jungheinrich is in a strong position to service these customers with standardised reports available throughout Europe.

Jungheinrich has identified different concerns from its smaller customers, who tend to want more local contact, effective, straightforward administration and quick fixes to any problems that may occur.

In order to better service all its client base, the company is now operating two separate strategies – one for small customers and one for large.

“Previously we were all things to all people,” says Goodwin. “Now we are more focused and better able to recognise the individual needs of each customer.”

The company also promises a plethora of new products, which will be rolled out as the year progresses. Notably in May there will be a new counterbalance series, followed by a stacker and a new low level order picker.

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