Capital Equipment News February 2020

and ease of service for our customers,” explains Esterhuizen. The model is mostly focused on the agricultural sector. However, Dicla has seen continued growth of the model in other sectors, and the installed base is now evenly spread between agriculture and other commercial materials handling applications such as warehouses. “We have really done well with this model. In some instances we have sold more than 100 machines a year,” he says. “The Dicla forklift is a cost-effective solution for companies seeking a reliable, yet competitively priced product, especially considering the tight budgets often allocated for materials handling. Apart from the reliability of our product range and competitive pricing, superior service and support ability place us in good stead for continued growth of this range,” says Esterhuizen. The sub-dealer agreement with Smith Power also allows Dicla to offer other forklift ranges – AUSA and Kipor – from one stable. AUSA forklifts are versatile machines capable of handling heavy loads on rough and sloping terrain. This makes them suitable for construction, mining, agriculture and industrial

applications. The wide line of off-road and semi-industrial models ranges from 2,5 to 3,5 t. Earthmoving offering To close a gap in its product offering, Dicla was recently appointed the SEM dealer for Gauteng, covering certain areas in North West and Free State as well. “We realised that we didn’t have big earthmoving machinery in our stable, and we saw SEM as a perfect fit to close that product gap. The SEM brand also fits well with our approach of offering a competitively priced product backed up by great support,” says Esterhuizen. On the other hand, the distributorship agreement allows SEM to leverage Dicla’s extensive knowledge and coverage of the agricultural sector. Dicla supports its customers from its main branch in Muldersdrift, Gauteng. This is complemented by a strong dealer network across all provinces. “We have an active network of 60 dealers, offering sales and service. Most of them are existing tractor dealers, with extensive knowledge of the industry, allowing them to offer high levels of support to our customers,” concludes Esterhuizen. b

own Dicla-branded range. Manufactured in China, the range is rebranded under the Dicla name. This has been the case for the past 10 years. “Our approach is to keep the machine basic. We supply the 3 t machine only, which comes with standard 1,2 m forks. The machine is as basic as possible to allow for easy backup

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2020