Progress in Pakistan shows no signs of stopping for VERLINDE FRANCE. Last month's announcement of a massive order with Indus Toyota has been followed up with a special new crane order for global motor giant Pak Suzuki.
Verlinde installed one of its latest overhead gantry cranes in Pak Suzuki's new state-of-the-art motorcycle production facility at Bin Qasim, Karachi, in time for the grand opening of the plant at the end of July. This crane has the lifting power to supply the needs of this key manufacturing and distribution centre with a capacity of 44,000 units working on a double shift operation basis.
Commenting on the order, business development Manager for Verlinde, Simon Rothechild, said: "Being able to announce work with big global players like Pak Suzuki and Indus Toyota so soon after Verlinde's move into Pakistan is amazing progress and confirms our decision to work in Pakistan was a sound one. Karachi is a city on the move and we are proud to be already playing our part in the development of new plant and production facilities in the region."
"We have always said there was great potential in Pakistan for the services we can offer and two high profile contracts in as many months, including this latest one for Suzuki shows we are on the right track," said Shahid Akram, who as Verlinde's Country Representative has been hard at work with his Lahore based team with Pak Suzuki. "Global manufacturers need products they can trust and having a manufacturer of Verlinde's standing on hand is clearly proving to be a popular and a welcome resource for manufacturers in the region."
Pak Suzuki is a pioneer in automobile business and this new facility means they can boast the largest modern manufacturing facilities in Pakistan with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. Pak Suzuki also has the largest dealer network, offering sales, service and spare parts facilities throughout Pakistan.
As the financial capital of Pakistan and the largest seaport on the Arabian Sea, Karachi is often called the gateway to Pakistan and this latest Pak Suzuki plant is creating job opportunities for the country's largest city. Like Verlinde, Pak Suzuki is making a significant contribution to the economy of the country as a whole and as well as motorbikes, exports Suzuki components to Bangladesh and Europe, earning vital foreign exchange for the Pakistan economy.
"Supplying Verlinde cranes to Pak Suzuki is another important milestone in the growth of our operations in Pakistan," said Thomas Descamps, managing director of Verlinde. "Pakistan is a country full of potential and Verlinde, along with other global companies are proud to be playing our part in this country's developing success story through our range of services."
These services include Chain Hoist, which is new from Pakistan and is a product in which Verlinde has direct expertise and it is available from stock immediately. Verlinde is also able to supply the same equipment (including the ATEX explosion proof range) that customers in Pakistan are familiar with and the liaison office continues to have rapid access to genuine Morris brand name spares for cranes, ensuring continuity of service for those customers.