Are Linde Forklifts Really Worth The Money ?

The saying goes, there are forklifts, then there are Linde forkliftsLinde forklifts origins start in Germany, as a German designed forklift with roots going back over a 130 years.  Linde is now part of the Kion Group and is a publicly traded company

Linde Forklifts entered into at the Australian Market in the 90’s, and has since continued to grow in a tough Australian Market.  The Linde forklifts are unique in that they are designed with a Hydrostatic drive.

Basically this means that, Linde integrated the hydrostatic drive, hydraulic pump, hydraulic motor and gearbox into one compact axle so the forklift has less moving parts that will wear out.

With the current 392 Series H25T model , costing somewhere in the vicinity of $40 000 AUD (depending on specifications), and the second tier 351 Series H25 costing early $30 000 AUD, you need to ask yourself are Linde forklift really worth the money ?

Its worth pointing out here, in the industry bread and butter 1.8T – 3T bread and butter range of forklifts. Linde actually do a cheaper budget 2.5T Forklift, bought in under the Baoli brand, which is manufactured in China.

We’ve looked at this quite a few times when it comes to choosing a forklift for your business, there are two main things to consider :

Utilization

How many hours are you doing per week ?

Application

What is the environment that it is working in.

Linde forklifts fall into 3 different categories.

Baoli – Made in China

Low utilisation – Up to 15 hours per week – light application

35 Series (also made in China)

Up to 30 hours per week, and a medium application

39 series (out of Germany)

In excess of 30 hours per week and a harsh application

So are Linde forklifts really worth the money ?, to answer that properly you need to look at the above two factors. A Linde forklift will cost you more money, but they will still pick up a load and transport it from A to B.

A high end Linde forklift, does have some unique features, over and above the competition, but as an outright purchase if you are wanting to use a forklift for 10 hours per week in a fruit shop, you might want to consider saving your money and spending it else where.

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By John

John Condron, has had a very long varied career in heavy equipment industry. Including a 10 year stint in the USA materials handling markets. John now make a full time writing for several online publications.