As the end of the year is fast approaching the team here at EP Equipment is reflecting on a fantastic year for our dealers, partners, internal team and the material handing industry in general. The end of a year is often time to reflect on everything that you have a achieved and everything that you want to achieve in the new year. Here at EP we have a lot of amazing events and launches to reflect on.
At EP Equipment we have developed more and more into an international company. A company that is proud of our Chinese heritage and our innovative products with their origin within our Chinese engineering and development team, but the addition of our international team and diversification of skills within our organisation is what really makes us different. 2022 was a difficult year for the material handling industry but since the start of EP, we have always focused on the global market. At a time where the Chinese market was still very focused on IC engine forklift trucks, we continued to develop our product portfolio to be an electric and later Lithium driven company. This style of work has allowed us here at EP to change the market again in 2022 and planning has already begun for game changing activities in the years to come.
We are an international company, We are close to our customers and give them the opportunity to influence our development. At EP Equipment everything is about the community. We grow together, we face challenges together and we support each other. Through this community of internal and external Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs we continue our growth path.
We have achieved so much as a manufacturer this year with 21 new products launched, but also as a community so lets take a look at 2022 for EP Equipment:
A Year In Review
EFL702 Announcement: Electric Went Big In 2022.
February saw EP Equipment gather our German partners together to welcome the latest new and ground breaking innovation to the EP catalogue. The Beast had arrived in Europe in the form of the EP EFL702 .
In previous years EP Equipment had established Li-ion forklifts in the material handling market and since then we have seen more and more demand for heavier electric trucks as well. With the EFL702 counterbalance we added an affordable li-ion 7 ton truck to our innovative range of equipment and increase the range available in our market changing EFL Series. In true EP. style we welcomed our dealers to test out the product first hand as we value the opinions of our dealer and end users as these are the ground level industry experts that can support and drive forward the vision and goal we share at EP Equipment. This means that with the launch of the EFL702, the opportunity to invite our most valuable assets, our dealers, to preview and drive the latest model was taken and the feedback was incredible.
Arjan van Zanten, VP Business Development Europe at EP shared his thoughts on the EFL702`s place in the market; “The EFL702 7t is a great new asset to EPs family of lithium ion forklifts. With the familiarity of the established chassis and mechanical
components as we know them from the diesel trucks, and the proven EP battery technology the EFL702 is made up of all the best components from EP Equipment. The battery is big enough to last through the day for customers, and if required, opportunity charging is made easy so the truck is always available when you need it. I like the idea of being able to connect 2 chargers simultaneously for faster charging at low current and it is nice to hear the positive feedback from the market, especially from the rental companies who will add this truck to their rental fleets.
But we didn’t stop here… We started the year with our 7t Beast and we ended it with our 10t Giant at our Global Dealer Event 2022, keep reading for more!
The Next Generation of Electric Pallet Trucks: EP F-Series Launch
The Next Generation of Electric Pallet Trucks: EP F-Series LaunchIn April we launched the F Series – The next generation of revolutionary, entry level pallet trucks from EP as we changed the game again with innovative designs from the market leader in lithium-ion technology. This newest range of entry level pallet trucks from EP transformed how you choose with the introduction of our cloud approach to finding the right truck for every application. Here at EP we pioneer the idea that you must find the right machine for your specific application and accepting the diversity of the environment we are working in. in 2022 we introduced a completely new series of pallet trucks honouring the heritage of our iconic models and giving them the advantages of a platform-based manufacturing process.
LogiMat: By The Way, It’s Electric
May saw the EP Europe team attend LogiMat 2022 with our slogan “By The Way, It’s Electric” to highlight our successful and revolutionary forklift series designed to operate like an IC truck but designed around the benefits of lithium-ion technology. For this trade show appearance EP’s global dealership network came out in full force to support the team. With many international visitors such as our partners from Saudi Arabia, Mexico and South Africa visiting travelling to visit our team at the booth this was a key moment of the year for realisation of how much our network has grown and how strong our partners across the world have become.
EP’s EFL Series was on display and the interest in our EFL 252 was incredible. The EFL series combines the advantages of IC trucks and electric trucks by replacing the diesel engine with a 205AH li-ion battery.
This event also saw the creation of our reusable trade show booth that we will carry forward for years to come. The booth is an asset to our dealers and was reused for multiple events throughout the remainder of 2022 and will continue to be used in 2023.
EP Global Dealership Network: Belgium and Netherlands Dealer Event
Early June 2022 saw us finally an opportunity to be together again as EP Dealers from BE and NE were invited by sales manager Michael Smith to visit our Belgium DC for a dealer event. The event was held across 2 days and was an opportunity for some of our dealers to visit us in person for the very first time. With an introduction from VP Bennit Schmieder the dealers were welcomed to the event with EP background and information about the message and story of EP Equipment.With presentations held n a mixture of English and Dutch our multi language team was used to its full potential to provide our dealers with an informative session on working with EP Equipment and how to make the most of the resources provided to EP dealers as part of our customer service and dealer support systems.
The dealers were transported by bus to visit our European Warehouse in Lembeek to test drive our equipment and have lunch surrounded by the hundred of trucks available on stock. In 2023 we hope to have many more localised event and welcome our growing dealer base to our growing locations and distribution sites across Europe,
Let’s Grow Together: 629 Event in China
Later in the month on the 29th and 30th of June, 2022, EP Equipment 629 New Product Announcement kicked off at the new plant, EP North Industrial Park at Anji, which was triple the size of the previous year’s event. Over 1,000 industry professionals, media guests, and EP’s partners came to Anji and enjoyed this annual summer gathering.
Continuing with last year’s theme of “building a greener future,” EPs new shout out “Let’s grow together” is this year to urge for dealers to combat climate change and the oil crisis with lithium material handling equipment. In this event, We debuted an array of new product lines showing dealers that EP has more to help transform their business through forward-thinking design and technology.
Our founder John He spoke at the event and said “We must accelerate the adoption of latest technology for product innovation to keep up with the market trend and connect with our customers… Furthermore, to explore new opportunities. Connecting to our community is at the heart of EP’s vision. With new technology, innovative products, and keen eyes on market needs, we are confident to identify further market opportunities with innovative product solutions for an adventure of the growth of the business.” This vision and message will remain with our company for many years to come.
Dealer Events & Shows 2022
As our dealer network has grown we enlist the help of our trusted Distributors to host localised events for our dealer communities across Europe. EP’s Italian Distributor KFE hosted the Italian dealer event 2022 on October 7th and the event saw huge success. ‘We strongly wanted this event to regain the warmth that in recent years through webinars, video-calls and on-line meetings was definitely lost,’ says Franco Ruggiero, CEO of K.F.E. srl, Italian distributor of the EP brand. “And, going a little against the tide, we didn’t talk about numbers, forecasts and trends but simply about forklifts, with the presentation of all the news and test drives – adds Ruggiero -. We have launched a new challenge with EP EQUIPMENT: to dominate the market, through an unparalleled promotion on the brand new ‘F4’ lithium pallet truck.
Almatec – Argentina participated in Expo Logisti-k, at La Rural in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they exhibited to professional visitors from the logistics sector from different industries. The equipment exhibited were the EFL 252 Forklift, the REACH CQD 20L, the Stacker Stackers ES16RS and ESL122, the QDD10 Tow Tractor and the EPL185 and F4 Series Electric Foxes. Among them, the biggest attractions were the EFL Forklift, the REACH Stacker and the F4 Electric Foxes, along with the large number of inquiries from those interested in converting their lead acid battery equipment to EP Energy’s new Lithium Ion technology, compatible with all electrical equipment.
It is worth mentioning, the number of people who came to the event during the afternoon of Thursday, August 11, exceeded all public expectations and marked an expected return after the editions suspended by the pandemic.
Of course we had many more dealers participating in events locally all over Europe and to keep up to date with these follow us on LinkedIn
EP Spain – Logistics & Automation 2022
EP Sales Manager for Spain Colin Ballard told our team – The Logistics & Automation Spain fair was a huge success and I would like to thank everyone who helped set up and dismantle the EP EQUIPMENT stand and all the people who took the time to visit us. We made fantastic new contacts and it was also a great opportunity to meet with our distribution network in Spain. We are very fortunate to have such friendly and professional distributors working with us. Thank you all!
Global Dealer Event 2022
A much talked about event in the EP Community and in the material handling industry itself. EP Equipment Global Dealer Event 2022 marked the end of fantastic milestones of the year. The EP community is commited to changing the industry again and during the first ever Group Buying event in Europe, an unimaginable total of 10,016 F-SeriesElectric Pallet Trucks were sold during 11-11 singles day. The international dealer community of EP has showed their strength and commitment to change the industry once again and finished 2022 with a bang!
21 New Product Launches
We are a product focused company. If we want to keep growing together with our partners it is our job to continue deliver innovation. Only if our partners believe that we are the right company to invest their time, their team and their business future in, we can continue our journey. We believe we have some strong ideas to continue changing this industry and we are excited to follow up on our promise.
To finalise in 2022 we saw 21 new product launches from a variety of areas in our material handling portfolio. With a fantastic community we have created something very special with EP Equipment and our products. From the EFL702 & EFL1002 and the revolutionary F-series releases mentioned above to the end of year bombshells including our EFL353.
Thank you everyone for a fantastic year and take a look at our comprehensive list of 2022 product releases from EP Equipment here:
| Electric Forklift | CPD15/18/20TVL |
| Electric Forklift | EFX251 |
| Electric Forklift | EFL702 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | F4 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | F1 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | F2 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | F3 |
| Electric Forklift | EFL1002 |
| Electric Forklift | EFS151 |
| Reach Truck | CQD25RV(F) |
| Electric Stacker | EST104 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | EPT20-ET2L |
| Reach Truck | CQD20LB |
| Electric Stacker | WSA161 |
| Tractor | QDD301/601T |
| Electric Forklift | CPD18/20FVL |
| Electric Forklift | TDL201 |
| Electric Forklift | EFL253/303/353(S) |
| Electric Stacker | KSi201 |
| Electric Stacker | ESi161 |
| Electric Pallet Truck | WPL202 |
During the group buying activities, we have exceeded our original goal of 6.000 units significantly receiving orders for more than 10.000 units F Series to be shipped by the end of the year to our export markets.
“While group buying has been a common activity in the Chinese market, it was new to our international partners, but quickly they realised the advantages of transparent pricing, digital purchasing processes and the feeling of buying as a community” said John He CEO of EP “We are proud of the success of our community and look forward to a strong growth in 2023 together with our partners”.
This promotion ended at our Global Dealer Event in Belgium on November 9th 2022 and we saw first hand the power of the EP Community to change the Material Handling Industry.