Since its founding nearly 70 years ago, Hangcha Group Co. Ltd. has established a worldwide reputation as one of the most respected makers of high-quality forklifts.
One of the world’s top eight forklift manufacturers, China-based Hangcha has a presence in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. A few years ago, the company welcomed Hangcha Forklift Canada Inc. to the fold, attracting new and repeat customers alike.
Dedicating itself solely to forklifts in 1974, Hangcha’s reputation for reliability, service, and support is unmatched in the industry. Selling its many products through a dealer network from coast to coast, Hangcha provides extensive certified training to ensure employees operate its equipment safely and worry-free. Growing to approximately 5,100 employees globally, Hangcha today sells over 400,000 new forklifts every year and shows no sign of slowing down.
Building on its global success, the Hangcha Group established Hangcha America in 2017, followed by Canada just two years later. “It was going very well, so they wanted to continue coming into North America, and coming into Canada was the next step,” says Louanne Rioux, Sales and Marketing Director. This enabled the company to bypass an importer and establish itself as Canada’s official distribution centre for Hangcha forklifts.
In just five years, the company has grown to 35 employees in Canada. Headquartered in Montréal, the company has warehouses in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Greater Toronto Area in Mississauga, Ontario.
Forklifts and aerial equipment for every need
At Hangcha, the company serves clients of all types and sizes, ranging from relatively small operations to Fortune 500 companies.
“We’re selling to everybody,” says National Sales Director John Sedlacek. “You name it, we’re selling it. This includes automotive, warehousing, retail, the food industry, cosmetics, and more. We’ve touched just about every segment out there. If you need to move it, we sell it.” In fact, Hangcha Canada was one of the official forklift suppliers for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal in 2023 and 2024.
To meet every need, Hangcha Canada provides both internal combustion- and lithium-ion-powered forklifts as well as a full lineup of aerial equipment. These range from Class I electric-powered forklifts—perfect for general warehouse retail and food storage applications—to large Class VII forklifts. Also known as rough terrain forklifts, rugged Class VII are well-suited for outdoor applications such as construction sites where surfaces are uneven.
“One of Hangcha’s greatest strengths is that we’re a full-line manufacturer, so we have forklifts for any and every need,” says Rioux. This includes the company’s extensive line of innovative lithium-ion material handling equipment. Representing the next generation of power, Hangcha provides customers with a wide range of electric forklifts, narrow aisle trucks, electric walkie/rider trucks, and tow tractors.
On the forklift side, this includes the 3-Wheel Electric Lithium-Ion Forklift 1,000-1,700 lbs. and the Electric Lithium-Ion Cushion Tire Forklift 4,000-6,500 lbs., up to the high-capacity forklifts of the X Series 4 Wheel Pneumatic Forklift ranging from 22,000 lbs. to 100,000 lbs.
From narrow aisle trucks like the Medium Level Stock Picker 1,000 lbs. to the Electric Lithium-Ion Heavy Duty Tow Tractor with a 44,000-70,000 lbs. capacity, Hangcha Canada has it all. “There is so much product,” says Sedlacek. “We do everything. And if we don’t do it, we’ll make it.”
Some products at the larger end, such as the 4WD Rough Terrain Forklift, “were developed on the basis of the XF series of Hangcha,” says the company. “It adopts the Deutz engine, which is powerful and reliable, and easy to maintain.”
With an 11,000-pound capacity, the 4WD Rough Terrain Forklift boasts a powerful 3.6-litre Deutz/Tier 4F-compliant engine, reinforced truck chassis with CAE simulation software, PVC roof, rear working light and strobe light, emergency switch, and many more standard features.
Opening up power options
When the company’s National Sales Director Sedlacek entered the forklift industry about 25 years ago, he says the market was evenly divided, with about 50 percent internal combustion and 50 percent electric. Today, the market has shifted to approximately 80 percent electric and 20 percent internal combustion, including propane and diesel.
This September, the company launches its first lithium-ion rough terrain unit in Canada. A welcome addition to Hangcha’s ever-expanding fleet, this move furthers the company’s commitment to offering customers a choice of power options.
“At Hangcha, we have all the propane and diesel available, and we are also leaders when it comes to the alternative,” says Sedlacek. “If you need lithium, we have it all in lithium. So customers have both choices.”
An eye on safety
Known for its wide selection of quality products, Hangcha also has a sterling reputation for safety. With the mission of making material handling simpler, safer, and more efficient, the company has many add-ons available. These include a pedestrian safety system as an option on its forklifts—if a human is detected, the forklift will notify the operator or stop to prevent injury.
Customers can also choose to incorporate the company’s unique fleet management system software. Recently launched, this system enables clients who have many forklifts to know precisely where they are at all times, what they are doing, and how they are being operated. And of course, all units coming into Canada are equipped with the standard Canadian package, which includes features such as seatbelts, horns, and rearview mirrors.
Stellar support
One of Hangcha’s greatest strengths compared to other manufacturers is its ability to quickly supply parts for its products. With over $1 million in inventory, the company has more than 10,000 available parts ready for speedy shipment. This means less downtime for customers, and the ability to get their machines up and running as fast as possible.
“We are the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and have factory support directly in Canada for our dealers and our customers, which a lot of manufacturers don’t have,” says Sedlacek, “and we have stock on hand. We are continuously running anywhere from 500 to 700 units in stock in Canada at any given time, which is a massive investment, and no one is doing that except Hangcha. So availability is a huge win for us,” he says.
“We also have great pricing, so when you pay, the value of what you’re getting is substantially greater than our competition.”
Another key advantage of dealing with Hangcha is delivery. Any equipment that needs to be specially ordered arrives in just four to five months. This is a fraction of the time compared to other companies, which can take a year and a half to two years for delivery.
Five years of progress
This October marks the fifth anniversary of Hangcha Canada. The company recently had dealers and attendees from China come for the grand opening of its massive new 108,000-square-foot warehouse in Quebec, just 30 minutes west of Montréal, which saw the launch of several new products.
The new facility also has a comprehensive 30,000-square-foot parts department, which means Canadian companies can receive spare or replacement parts quickly. Across all locations, Hangcha Canada now boasts about 150,000 square feet of combined warehouse space.
As Rioux says, “We are going to continue growing and are doing extremely well.”
