Marketers, manufacturers gather to discuss forklift market

Attendees of PERC’s propane forklift market development workshop pinpoint some challenges and opportunities in this market segment. Photo by Megan Smalley

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) hosted a propane forklift market development workshop in Chicago to evaluate the opportunities and challenges in that market segment.

PERC invited propane marketers, equipment manufacturers and others involved in the forklift market to discuss the propane industry’s experiences in one of its traditionally strong demand areas. The workshop presented general forklift market trends, as well as discussion on what attendees thought to be the biggest challenges and opportunities in the market.

“What we really hope to get out of this [event] is the good, the bad and the ugly about marketer experiences with forklifts, customer experiences and what PERC can do to build and maintain this market,” says Jeremy Wishart, deputy director of business development at PERC. “One of the outcomes we want to have with this is rebuilding the sense of urgency and commitment to the forklift market on behalf of the propane industry.”

PERC addressed some of the opportunities for the propane forklift market during the workshop, including propane’s reliability as a fuel for forklifts, complexities with Tier 4 diesel engines and increased interest in new propane engines and models, Wishart says. It also addressed some of the challenges the market faces, such as threats from electric forklifts, propane maintenance costs and regulatory issues in states such as California.

The workshop marked one of the first of its kind hosted by PERC, Wishart adds. PERC had the idea for the workshop from two similar workshops it hosted for the mower market.

“I think this is the wave of how PERC wants to move in the future,” says Tucker Perkins, chief business development officer at PERC. “A focused group of people to look at one segment of the industry to discuss things we might not have thought of.”