Siam Motors Industries Co, the importer and distributor of UniCarriers forklifts, is planning to enter the used forklift market after seeing the potential for 400-500 units in circulation per year.
Siam Kongpukdeesuk, the company's managing director, said the company recently acquired a plot of 10 rai worth 30 million baht in Chachoengsao province to build a new facility to support the used forklift business next year, but an initial investment for the project has yet to be concluded.
"We plan to build a forklift repair workshop in the province, and all used forklifts will be refurbished before being resold," Mr Siam said. "We think there are lots of forklifts coming into this market, but they are normally sold through the spare parts market, which does not have high value."
Mr Siam said used forklifts of 1-10 tonnes cost 100,000-700,000 baht in the second-hand market, while new units cost 500,000 baht to 4.5 million baht.
He said prices of used forklifts are competitive because the company has witnessed high demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Moreover, the company sees the possibility of entering neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in the near future for the used forklift business.
"We also aim to anticipate rising demand for second-hand forklifts in those four countries," Mr Siam said.
Siam Motors Industries is a part of Siam Motors Group, owned by the Phornprapha family. It has engaged in forklift rental service since 1998 and founded a subsidiary called PPN to support rental solutions.
In 2018, the company expects revenue of 1.26 billion baht, an increase of 5% from 2017 at 1.2 billion baht. The revenue structure comes from sales of new forklifts at 40%, while forklift rentals and services represent 60%.
Pratarnwong Phornprapha, president of Siam Motors Industries, said revenue growth is in line with the overall forklift market in the country, expected to be worth 6.9 billion baht, up 5-7%.
"We foresee a bright sentiment for the economy in 2018, bolstered by rapid development of the Eastern Economic Corridor [EEC], which also stimulates growth of the industrial sector, triggering a continuous surge of demand for forklifts," Mr Pratarnwong said.
"Moreover, the EEC scheme will spur private investment in and out of the country and will encourage demand for logistics services, as well as warehouse management services."
