To meet an upsurge in demand for refurbished Flexi articulated trucks, Narrow Aisle Ltd is appealing for Flexi users whose fleet is due to be upgraded to contact them.
The company is also keen to hear from forklift dealers who have older ex-fleet Flexis on their books and is offering competitive rates to encourage dealers and truck operators to part with these older Flexi forklifts.
“Quite simply, we need to get hold of more used Flexi trucks to enable us to meet the growing market for ‘second life’ Flexis,” says John Maguire, Director of Narrow Aisle Ltd.
Used Flexis that have been refurbished at Narrow Aisle’s UK facility are only available directly from Narrow Aisle or through the company’s authorised distributors.
The trucks feature all new component parts, only the chassis, counterweight and heavy fabrications are re-used and these components are tested and repainted to the highest standards.
Because the heavy steel and cast-iron parts used in their original construction can be recycled with all new parts, the trucks deliver obvious environmental benefits and are supplied with an identical warranty to new Flexis.
John Maguire added: “There is a constant flow of used end-of-contract forklift equipment returned to distributors and dealers. Much of this equipment is often disposed of, but the Flexi product is very different.
“Flexi trucks are built with heavy gauge steel plate and one tonne cast-iron counterweights. This means the heavy chassis components – even when 10 or more years old – are able to be re-used and brought up to the latest specification, saving a great deal of primary and secondary manufacturing cost that we can pass on to clients.”
“As a result, a thriving market for used Flexi trucks has developed.”
In fact, such is the demand for used Flexis – both from users and within the ‘trade’ – that the resale value of a seven-year old Flexi truck in the UK market is frequently over twice that of, say, European built reach or turret truck alternatives.
“Typically a used and refurbished Flexi will be sold for in the region of only 60 per cent of its price when new,” says John Maguire, who likens the Flexi brand’s high resale value to that of classic cars – which are worth almost as much restored as they are when new.
