New premises, New forklifts: Three new models will be built at new combilift headquarters

Back in June, Irish Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin TD officially opened the new e10 million global headquarters of Combilift in Monaghan, Ireland, which will pave the way for its continued dominance of the global long-load handling market. The investment will create 100 new jobs over the next four years and see the company’s turnover rise to e100 million by 2010. A high proportion of the new jobs created will be high-skilled requiring technical and engineering qualifications.

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

Combilift has developed a unique and innovative, space-saving forklift for materials handling, which 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 over 45 countries around the world.

Three new models were unveiled, enhancing the wide range of Combilifts already available.

The TeleCombi was originally developed to meet the specific requirements of a major UK aluminium extrusion customer Alcoa (UK) Ltd. Fitted with a one stage boom mounted on a moving carriage, the TeleCombi 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 lift heights.

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

The Semi-Rough Terrain C 5000L forklift is designed to handle long loads in narrow retail and wholesale yards, two examples include timber and steel.

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

Commenting on the announcement, Martin McVicar, Managing Director of Combilift, said: ‘This new facility in Monaghan will help us to strengthen our dominant position in global markets by developing our product range, and significantly expanding our output.’