MODERNISING THE SECTOR POST-COVID-19 As it rebounds, the material handling and equipment sector has more reason to digitise, writes JAMES FRANCIS
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Mishen Naidoo, engineering and solutions manager, Manitou
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vital part of the logistics world, the material handling and equipment (MHE) sector defines the machinery and operations for the movement, control and storage of goods and materials. According to Grand View Research, the global MHE market was valued at $26.3-billion in 2020, with prospects to grow over seven per cent for the next few years. But it adds that over half of factory owners have delayed new projects due to the pandemic, putting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) under pressure to digitise their operations. In some cases, OEMs had shuttered operations, while others vastly reduced output. According to Mishen Naidoo, engineering and solutions manager at Manitou, the market has rebounded considerably since last year. “For material handling in general, the trend in the first half of 2021 showed a leap from the stagnant market in 2020. It saw an incredible spike in heavy telehandlers across the mining industry, which links to the current mining supercycle, with some construction companies on a buying cycle for reach telehandlers. The demand for backhoe loaders has also increased in the plant hire, construction and agricultural sectors,” he says.
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