DC Velocity - March 2018

low. But limiting options doesn’t mean limiting performance and durability, he says; a value truck can incorporate improvements in engines, drivetrains, and other components that also appear in premium forklifts.

“It’s really not a matter of technology; it’s
more about the approach to design and
manufacturing quality,” Arnold says.

As the example of “disposable” lift trucks suggests, initial purchase price is the No. 1 priority for some who are looking to buy, lease, or rent value trucks. “A ‘mom and pop’ shop may not have the capital to buy based on the total cost of ownership,” Arnold observes.

“In a case like that, the initial purchase price
can be driving the decision because they
have such a limited budget. Sometimes, it’s
the only perspective they can take.”
But Arnold and the other experts we

Briggs represents lift truck brands across the

price and application spectrum, including Hyster, Yale,
Manitou, Combilift, and heavy-duty outdoor forklifts.

“The professional fleet managers we interact with today ... their focus is on the total cost of moving their product over a period of time—not on the upfront cost of equipment,” Jones says. That total cost, he adds, includes the cost of the equipment over time, the efficiency/pro-ductivity of the equipment, the energy source needed to power it, and the employee(s) required to operate it.

Keep in mind, experts say, that the more a forklift is
in use, the lower its total per-hour cost to operate. Even
a high-priced lift truck that runs a lot of hours in a year
can cost less to operate on an hourly basis than a low-
priced forklift that spends most of its time in park.

Once the basic specifications have been determined—

The greater the number of hours a piece of equipment

will be utilized and/or the greater the severity of the
application, the more sophisticated the equipment that
will be specified, Weidmann says. (See Exhibit 1.)
Small distributors, manufacturers, or other types of

1,000 hours a year probably will get the functionality
productive, making expensive productivity-enhancing