With forklifts a key link in the logistics chain for African economies, most manufacturers are picking steady growth in the sector, with electrification, increasing use of pallets and other efficiencies helping the warehouse sector grow.
From her base in South Africa, Vuyokazi Bangazi, National Sales Manager at CFAO Equipment South Africa, distributor for Toyota Material Handling, has a clear view of the nuances of the market, and what that will likely mean for forklift sales. Key factors include inflation, volatile exchange rates, and loadsheddiFng. Global geopolitical tensions are also disrupting international supply chains.
Despite the challenges, bright spots include a higher economic growth forecast for 2024, while innovative solutions from startups and growth-stage businesses are driving positive change and contributing to Africa’s resilience and growth, says Bangazi.
Loadshedding has forced many businesses to invest in alternative energy sources, which in turn can make utilizing electric equipment more attractive, not to mention aligning with carbon neutral strategic objectives, says Bangazi.
Electrification of the African forklift fleet has been widely noted, even if today the majority of the fleet remains diesel.
Christophe Burel, Managing Director of Manitou Group for North & Central Africa, estimates that one out of every three machines sold is electric. “The trend toward electrification makes us also forecast that soon, this ratio will turn into one out of two [machines sold] in the next three to five years.”
Bangazi estimates that in South Africa the split has been averaging 51% (electric) and 49% (internal combustion). The South African market has also embraced the global trend of shifting from lead acid to lithium batteries over the past three years, she notes.
Robert O’Donoghue, Vice President Marketing Solutions, for Hyster Europe, says that electric motive power is increasingly popular among high-intensity operations. He points out that while electrification can present advantages for many facilities, every operation is different and challenges can arise.
For example, operations located in areas with weak electrical grids are more prone to experience brownouts, which could temporarily bring work to a grinding halt, particularly when charging lithium-ion powered equipment.
“Likewise, going electric may require your facility to dedicate extra space for battery storage or to upgrade its electrical and other infrastructure in order to support the necessary chargers or dispensers.”
Getting Ownership Costs Right
First and foremost, businesses want “durable lift truck solutions that are also uncomplicated,” says O’Donoghue. “Affordability is key, and it is important that businesses can select the right truck for both their needs, and their budget.”
And it’s essential to consider Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), not just the purchase or lease prices, he says. In the case of Manitou Group, which Burel describes as “the leading brand for rough terrain forklifts in Africa for decades,” brand awareness and quality built machines ensure longer usage and higher resale value. “This drives heavily down the TCO for Manitou machines,” he says.
Support and service from the local dealers network, including spare parts availability and the quality of technical documentation, is a key determinant of long term usage and uptime, says Burel.
Bangazi says that businesses need to consider potential disruption costs when making decisions. “[CFAO] has always prided itself in offering total solution to the customers; including our premium products and services.”
Rising fuel prices are another ownership cost for operations to factor in, says O’Donoghue, when running diesel units. “Choosing a fleet of lift trucks that offers optimal fuel efficiency is increasingly important,” he says. “The Hyster H2.0-3.5A forklifts offer industry leading fuel economy. Compared to leading competitors, the H2.0-3.5A models have lower VDI fuel consumption and may achieve up to 27% more fuel efficiency, which helps to keep costs down.”
The Race to Efficiency
The nature of logistics operations also impacts demand for equipment. At Manitou Group, Burel says they’re witnessing growth in the overall warehouse market. One reason is the increased use of pallets, and growing flows in the logistics centres drive this market up. “Comparing African emerging markets to more mature European, required lifting capacities are generally higher,” he says.
With businesses often looking to optimise budgets within the warehouse equipment fleet, that can include investing in agile and versatile equipment in order to optimise storage space, improve material flow, and increase throughput, says Hester’s O’Donoghue.
“Operations can enhance their warehousing capacity and meet the growing demand for their products and services. This can also lead to higher efficiency, productivity, and profitability in the long run,” he notes.
Some warehousing applications are also storing items outdoors to maximise use of their space, says O’Donoghue. “These businesses need flexible trucks that can be used both inside and outside to optimise their fleets, and costs.”
Bangazi highlights the benefits of Toyota Material Handling’s operator-assist system (SEnS+). Designed for forklifts to enhance warehouse safety, it features pedestrian and object detection, and Truck Control, which limits truck movement to ensure safe operation if an obstacle is detected. It also has a wide detection range, able to detect obstacles up to 10 metres away, with a horizontal detection angle of 130°. It also has an auto steering guidance system (as standard) to assist the operators – especially important when driving in narrow warehouse aisles. “Our customers have been interested in this additional feature on our products as it was aligned with their health and safety strategic objectives,” says Bangazi.
Bobcat Range Hits Africa
In January 2024, the first Bobcat-branded material handling units began rolling off production lines at plants in South Korea, China and Germany. It represented the culmination of a two-year global initiative, with the full range of forklifts and warehouse equipment formerly produced by Doosan Industrial Vehicle (DIV) rebranded to Bobcat, and now available for the African markets, says Nicolas Dumont, District Sales Manager – Africa for Bobcat.
Aside from the rebrand, there’s also new machines on offer. Dumont says that they’ve witnessed the shift from IC to electric, with the portion of class 1 trucks (electric counter balance) having significantly increased over the past three years. ‘We believe that this trend is going to continue in the future.”
Consequently, Bobcat is bringing new electric trucks from 6 to 10 tonnes, to meet what Dumont says is growing demand for bigger electric trucks. “We showed the B80NS 8 tonne product at Logimat in Stuttgart in March 2024 and dealers and visitors from Africa immediately showed a lot of interest.”
“These new products from 6-10 tonne provide industrial users with a wide choice of zero-emission, low-noise level, environmentally friendly trucks capable of tackling heavy duty tasks,” says Dumont. “For example, the B80NS and B100NS heavy-lifting electric trucks with capacities of 8.0 and 10.0 tonne, respectively, offer improved capability, power and performance for businesses across a broad spectrum of industry – from manufacturing, engineering and foundries, to building supplies, transport and warehousing.”
