Baoli, a forklift manufacturer and part of the Kion Group since 2009, is known for its efforts to successfully serve customers with only basic needs for their forklift fleet. Marco Vettorel, Sales Manager of the forklift dealer Rent Srl in Fiume Veneto, Italy, explains why this approach works so well.
Question: Mr. Vettorel – since when have you been working with Baoli?
Marco Vettorel: Our collaboration with Baoli began in 2016 – initially very tentatively, with the order of the first machines. We were surprised by the result. Our impression of the delivered forklifts was extremely positive, and we were very satisfied with the quality. Following this, we intensified our commitment to promoting this brand by familiarizing our technicians with Baoli products through specific training. We can now say that the Baoli brand represents a significant portion of our business. Ultimately, Baoli enables us to successfully serve even those customers who only have basic requirements for their forklift fleet. As a dealer, we therefore strive to always have a sufficient stock of Baoli equipment. We currently have almost 25 vehicles in various configurations ready for delivery. This allows us to fulfill our customers' requests very quickly.
Were there never any problems or even doubts about the cooperation?
Indeed, during the initial phase of our collaboration – the getting-to-know-you phase – we did encounter some problems with Baoli products. These were primarily related to the availability of spare parts. Necessary parts were difficult to obtain, significantly increasing repair times. This changed dramatically when Baoli EMEA established a center in Rolo, Italy, from which all sales, customer service, and marketing activities in the EMEA region are managed. This center is now essential for the supply of spare parts and even new forklifts. In other words, this center has noticeably improved our confidence in the brand.
So, are you convinced today that Baoli is a quality brand?
Absolutely. Our sales figures show that the market perceives the Baoli brand as reliable and high-quality. In 2021, Baoli received almost 1,400 orders in the Italian market, representing a market share of approximately 1.6%. By May 2022, we had already received more than 800 orders. It looks like we will sell even more Baoli forklifts this year than last. Considering that the brand was only established a few years ago, achieving a market share of 1.6% is a truly impressive testament to the work we've done. However, we shouldn't rest on our laurels: there is still plenty of work for all of us to do to make the brand even more successful in the markets.
What would you consider to be the most important quality features?
Baoli products are robust, simple, and safe – without unnecessary technical accessories that could compromise machine reliability over time due to potential failures. Our customers also greatly appreciate the fact that the vehicles are built with minimal plastic and a significant amount of metal. This conveys an impression of unparalleled reliability. Therefore, Baoli machines are often sold to customers where the decision-maker is also the end user of the forklift. If the quality and functionality of the design convince them, a sale is usually completed.
So, in your opinion, is the quality better than that of other manufacturers from Asia?
Absolutely. Compared to most Chinese manufacturers, the Baoli brand stands out, particularly in warehouse equipment and electric forklifts, which represent the most important market segments for our markets. In addition, there's the Baoli range of internal combustion engine equipment. These are also excellent products that precisely meet our customers' needs.
How important is it that Baoli belongs to Kion?
Very important! It makes it easier for us to present the Kion Group's strategy to customers and to clearly demonstrate that Baoli can certainly find its place in an already established market and also stands out significantly from the offerings of other Chinese brands. After all, Rent is part of a corporate group that also includes other Kion Group brands. This allows our customers to compare models from different brands and choose the product that best suits their needs. Baoli significantly expands our product range, and in my opinion, this is of particular importance for our business and also for our customers.
The service team. Photos: Baoli Emea
What "vote" do your customers give to the quality and services offered by Baoli?
We continuously monitor customer satisfaction and the reliability of our forklifts, for example, by checking the number of genuine spare parts ordered from Baoli. We are consistently surprised by the very low number of such requests. In my view, this is a clear indicator of quality.
In your experience, how important is the product price for your customers' purchasing decisions?
Price is certainly an important factor for many of our customers, though not the deciding one. Often, our customers say, "This is exactly what I was looking for and what I need." In my experience, customers who haven't previously dealt with Baoli products tend to evaluate them in this order: quality, price, service, and the value of the used vehicle. If we can successfully present a compelling case on all four points, we usually close a sale. With Baoli machines, we are very often successful in this regard.
What does a typical sales negotiation look like at your company?
(...) In our current age of dematerialization and digitalization, we strive to maintain an "old-style" customer relationship. Almost all negotiations take place on-site at the customer's location. The vehicle is also presented there, tested together, and evaluated.
On average, how many Baoli stackers do you sell per year?
Since we established a sales team for the Baoli project, the number of forklifts sold has more than doubled. This year, we will reach this milestone a few months before the end of the year.
Do you have any particularly important customers for whom Baoli was the best choice and whose story you would like to briefly tell us?
There's so much to tell. But I'll limit myself to two short stories. For example, we loaned a forklift to one of our customers to cover peak production periods, offering him a 2.5-ton Baoli forklift with a combustion engine. Initially, the customer was somewhat skeptical. Now, two years later, he's replacing his old forklift from another manufacturer with this exact Baoli vehicle. Or take another customer who works with forklifts in a cold storage facility: We replaced his old forklifts with the Baoli ES series, providing him with greater safety and reliability.
Do you have any ideas on how the baoli business could be further expanded?
From my perspective, the collaboration is going very well. For example, we have started to jointly target some market segments already occupied by other providers with Baoli and develop corresponding strategies. I am certain that together we will generate significantly more market share.
Rent srl.
Rent was founded in 1996 in the Italian province of Pordenone. It is part of the Vecar Group, which was originally established in 1985 as the exclusive dealer for OM Pimespo in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Later, Rent added the distribution rights for Still vehicles, and in 2015, it began selling Baoli forklifts. Worldwide, the Vecar Group generated €67 million in revenue in 2021 with a total of 370 employees – 70% of which was in Italy.
Baoli Emea
Baoli was initially founded in China in 2003. In 2018, Baoli Emea SpA was established as a new organization to anchor the brand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with its own structure.
