Bibby Leasing, part of the Bibby Financial
Services Group, has made a significant step into the materials
handling market through a vendor finance partnership with European
forklift brand Cesab.

The Liverpool-based leasing company, which
also has lines of business in trade and cash-flow finance, was
selected late last year as the UK funding partner for Cesab, a
subsidiary business of TICO (Toyota Industries Corporation).

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The launch of the joint venture recently took
place at Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire. At the event, Cesab
unveiled several new forklift models, including the new
counterbalanced M330. According to Cesab, the new offerings will
allow it to offer a comprehensive range of forklift trucks in the
UK.

Cesab, a European-wide supplier of
front-loading forklifts, is increasing its presence in the UK
market, and intends to significantly grow its market share all over
Europe.

Many of the brand’s European finance
partnerships are with international banks – as such, the UK deal is
a significant accolade to Bibby’s relatively new materials handling
division.

John Bradshaw, Bibby’s sales manager for
materials handling business, began negotiating the deal with Cesab
general manager Pompeo Siracusa in October 2008, and says he is
looking forward to growing the relationship in 2010.

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Siracusa said that Cesab chose Bibby as a
funding partner because it was “both approachable and
flexible”.

Currently, around 80 percent of Cesab’s sales
are achieved through leasing – a figure that matches the average
for the materials handling industry.

Fred Crawley

• Cesab was founded in 1942 in
Bologna, Italy, as a tractor manufacturer. In 1951, it launched its
first electric forklift model, following it up in 1954 with a
diesel model. The popularity of its forklift products led to Cesab
investing heavily in research and development, becoming one of the
larger brands by market share in Italian materials handling. Its
range include electric and internal combustion counter balanced
forklift trucks, with capacities spanning from 1000kg to 8500kg
machines. Cesab Ltd, the UK arm of the company, was established in
1991.