Cat – JLG handler alliance 'going well'

Caterpillar showed at Intermat the first telehandler built by JLG Industries in Belgium under the recently agreed telehandler manufacturing alliance.

Klaus Ukens, Caterpillar's global telehandler alliance manager, told AI that the presence of the 330B model - which he described as “exactly the same machine” - was evidence of the rapid progress being made by JLG; “it shows that the partnership is going well.”

Mr Ukens said the switch in manufacturing from Cat's plant in Leicester, UK to JLG's facility in Maasmechelen, Belgium, would be completed by September this year with the equivalent changeover in North America expected by November.

By the end of the year, JLG will be producing all Cat's telehandlers, supplying the same Cat models in Europe but a different range of handlers for North America. “We needed dedicated product [for North America]”, said Mr Ukens, “With JLG we have the opportunity to use its telehandler experience to offer that to our customers.” JLG will also be responsible for developing new handlers for Cat, although “under guidance with Caterpillar - it's a partnership”.

The Cat handler alliance has led to some personnel changes at JLG in Europe. Maurizio Risso, JLG's European telehandler sales director, has been promoted to become JLG's leader for the manufacturing alliance in Europe. His replacement as sales director in Europe is Jonathan Dawson, an Englishman living in Italy, who joins from Merlo where he spent eight years, latterly as export manager for Australia, Canada and Portugal.

JLG meanwhile used Intermat to show a new model in its own range of telehandlers. The Lo-Pro 266 is a 2.6 t capacity, 5.8 m lift height model with a stowed height of under 2 m.