Godrej and Imer to produce Iteco lifts in India

Godrej Material Handling, India's largest manufacturer of forklifts, has signed an agreement with Imer International. Godrej has the exclusive rights to distribute the Iteco range of powered access equipment in India in an arrangement which will culminate in Iteco platforms being manufactured in India.

Godrej will offer the full range of Iteco products in India, Martin Connolly of Imer said, "The powered access equipment market in India has been growing consistently, over the last few years in India, Godrej and Imer International have decided to cater for this growing demand, by offering to Indian customers, a wide range of Iteco access equipment, Godrej and Iteco, both have a long term vision toward this business in India."

Initially Godrej will be responsible for the distribution, sales and service of the product through its extensive distribution network throughout India. In phase two of the project, SKD (semi knocked down) assembly in India will rapidly follow, leading to eventual manufacture of Iteco in India, in the not too distant future.

The programme will be phased in over a two to three year, period, phase two probably within 9 to 12 months. To start with Godrej will be serving just the Indian market, but with the expectation of moving into surrounding countries as the project moves forward.

Mr Connolly said, "When these plans come to fruition, Godrej Material Handling will be the only major manufacturer of Powered Access in India. This will enable Godrej / Iteco to offer a more customised product range of reliable powered access equipment, to the vast Indian continent, the products will be dual branded as Godrej / Iteco."

The first two x IT12122 scissors have been to the Honda motor cycle plant and a further IT12122 to the Crown Plaza Hotel, both in Delhi.

Mr Connolly said, "The great thing about Godrej is that the full sales and after sales structures are in place throughout India and the Godrej name, being one of the most respected in India, is held in high esteem, they are so big that they touch 400 million Indians daily, one way or the other, but then again they manufacture so many products."

Godrej Material handling is a market leader in counter-balanced fork lifts in India and is experienced in the logistics and warehousing sectors. With 16 branch offices and 20 sales and service dealers spread across India, Godrej has an extensive network across India.

Iteco is part of the €250 million, Imer International Group, based in Italy.