Irish Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin TD has officially opened the e10 million global headquarters of Combilift in Monaghan, Ireland, which is anticipated to create 100 new jobs over the next four years and see the company’s turnover rise to e100 million by 2010.

Combilift manufactures the world’s first engine-powered multi-directional forklift. It was set up in Clontibret, County Monaghan in 1998 by entrepreneurs Martin McVicar and Robert Moffett and in just eight years has grown to become a global leader in the long-load handling market.

Combilift has developed a space-saving forklift for materials handling that solves the issue of needing a number of forklifts to handle long and awkward loads. The company exports 94 per cent of all its forklifts to more than 45 countries worldwide.

Three new models were unveiled at the opening. The TeleCombi is fitted with a one stage boom mounted on a moving carriage. It has a reach of three metres when carriage and boom are fully extended and can reach across the full width of a trailer at all heights, allowing the driver to offload from one side only.

The GT stand-on forklift is capable of working in narrower aisles than a conventional Combilift as it features a stand-on rather than a ride-in cab.

The Semi-Rough Terrain C 5000L is designed to handle long loads in narrow retail and wholesale yards and uses larger solid pneumatic tyres.

Minister Martin said: ‘The success of Combilift and other entrepreneurial companies is one of the foundation stones of Ireland’s remarkable success over the last 10 years.’

Source

Glass Age