The remarkable global success of Monaghan company Combilift has boosted the entire county. In a special feature, 'Monaghan Match 2006' caught up with managing director Martin McVicar to gain a closer insight into this incredible local, national and international success story. On the GAA front, Monaghan craves success. An Ulster championship would do nicely for starters! In the business world, things are fairly similar. Success is the main objective and, if you can do it in style, then all the better. Combilift has made spectacular strides in the eight years since its inception and - as one of the county's biggest employers - is a successful entity we can all be proud of. Privately-owned (by Martin McVicar and Robert Moffett), Combilift began life operating out of the original Moffett Engineering factory in Clontibret in 1998. The company was established essentially to manufacture its eponymous piece of engineering excellence - the innovative Combilift. Driven by substantial reinvestment in research and development and constant sourcing of new markets, average annual growth of more than 25% transformed the company from a small manufacturer of a niche product into a major brand name in the global forklift truck market. In June 2006, to cope with spectacular growth and allow for further development of global markets, Combilift officially opened its new ten-million-euro manufacturing facility in Monaghan town, a move that will create 100 jobs over three years and bring the total number of staff from the current level of 160 to 250. (Combilift took over the old Monaghan Poultry chicken processing factory in the town three years ago and significantly redeveloped the premises into a manufacturing site complete with office block and R&D unit.) A proportion of the jobs created at the new HQ will be highly-skilled and the vast majority will be made available to residents of the immediate catchment area. Thus, Combilift's ongoing progression is a massive fillip for County Monaghan as a whole. Combilift produces the world's first engine-powered all-wheel drive multi-directional forklift. Since its inception, the Monaghan enterprise has grown to become a global market leader in the long-load handling market, having devised an innovative space-saving forklift for materials handling. Due to its multi-functionality, the Combilift saves users the inconvenience of requiring a number of forklifts for long and awkward load management. Combilift exports 94% of its forklifts to almost 50 countries nationwide. The company predicts that exports will increase from 60m euro to 100m euro between now and 2010. The extraordinary success of the Combilift has been due to management nurturing a strong link between research, product development and exports. MD Martin McVicar began his career in engineering with a summer job at truck-mounted forklift manufacturer Moffett Engineering, where he became chief engineer before the age of 20. When the company was sold in 1997, he decided to set up his own company to develop a niche product in the materials handling sector, eliminating the need for a combination of forklifts for individual jobs. The four-way Combilift is a practical yet ingenious solution and Martin was named Ernst & Young Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001. Company director Robert Moffett is from a family synonymous with the Moffett Mounty truck-mounted forklift. The concept of the Combilift evolved between both men. Robert had played a major part in the development and growth of Moffett Engineering before it was sold and joined Martin as technical director in 1998 to help establish Combilift. The Combilift is basically a combination of a forklift and a side loader - it moves forward and backward like a conventional forklift and from side to side like a side loader. An extremely clever development - but how has the company managed to achieve such remarkable growth levels? "When you base your business around the export market, it will be quite some time before you saturate it," Martin notes. "We're exporting to over 45 countries at the moment. The US is our biggest market followed by the UK, but we're also exporting into every country in Europe, including the new member states, and have also developed markets in countries like Russia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand." And who exactly does the Combilift appeal to? "Our niche is businesses that need to save space when moving products. This includes people involved in timber frame manufacturing, concrete or steel products, and joineries as well as anybody involved in the materials handling sector. Regular forklifts require a lot of space to manoeuvre but the Combilift saves customers a lot of hassle due to its ability to also move sideways. It's a space-saving piece of equipment but it also provides a much safer means of moving materials." Combilift currently produces about 34 units per week. Many of these are customised according to exact customer requirements to provide an optimum solution. The Irish market is still very important to the directors, with over 450 Combilifts operating in the country at present. "About 10% of those would be sold into County Monaghan and we're really appreciative of the loyalty shown towards us by local people," Martin stresses. "145 of our employees are native Irish people who all live within a 30-mile radius of the factory. Every one of them is local and they haven't had to relocate to take up employment here. We have a deliberate policy of mainly employing local people who can travel to work from their homes as they are more likely to stay loyal to the company and thus we can build their expertise in the business. "We try to bring in new recruits who will be able to work alongside experienced individuals and we look as much for enthusiasm as qualifications. The majority of our employees tend to come from an agricultural background and this is also of benefit as these people have experience working with machines." What kind of back-up service is provided with the product? "The Combilift is sold directly in Ireland from the factory and is distributed abroad through a network of forklift dealers, each of whom has their own mechanics in place to provide service and repairs. But the unit is designed in such a way that it is very simple to service anyway. The simplest designs are the best and we try to make this as simple as possible. The majority of users who have any experience with forklifts or machinery will be able to maintain the Combilift." Though business takes up most of his time, Truagh native Martin McVicar keeps an eye on everything happening at local level, including the GAA scene. He concludes: "I would be delighted to see Monaghan's footballers achieve some success in the coming seasons because any success for County Monaghan is good. It would boost the people of the county and also the business community. Although the business takes up the vast majority of my time, I'm fortunate in that I see it more as a hobby than work. "If there's anybody out there who has a problem handling their materials by forklift, they should give us a call because there's nothing we love more than the challenge of finding a solution. We have a passionate team behind us and they are our greatest asset." Tweet

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