Offering one-stop industrial equipment shop

Staying one step ahead of the
competition in a province where
warehousing and new developments
have seen an extensive slowdown
remains one of the challenges of
doing business in the Western Cape.
This is according to Frikkie
Human, general manager of the
Western Cape region for Toyota
Forklift, who says being able to
retain its position as a market leader
is a key objective for 2009.
“The worldwide economic
downturn has definitely played a
role as we are seeing older and wellestablished
businesses having to close
down. These are not easy times to be
operating in.”
The company, which was recently
accredited by the Engineering
Council of South Africa to do loadtesting
on lifting tackle and forklifts,
is however determined to ride out the
storm. “With our new accreditation,
we can now offer our customers
a one-stop industrial equipment
shop with services ranging from
training, load-testing, service and
maintenance to purchasing and
rentals of machines as well as quality
parts,” says Human.
While the Western Cape is
important to the company, Human
says it is imperative for Toyota
Forklift to maintain its presence in
the whole of southern Africa.
But, he says, supplying services
to the harbour and shipping industry
in Cape Town as well as the mining
and fruit industries of the Western
and Northern Cape is an important
business focus.