The third European Trade Press Days at the beginning of December 2009 again turned out to be a lively forum for floor truck experts from throughout Europe: 20 journalists from Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands were welcomed to the head office of Clark Europe GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The focus was on the outlook, insights and overviews regarding Clark activities in the past and future.

Fresh growth in 2010

The organiser Clark adhered to the two-day program established in 2007 without any change. The Clark Managing Director Egon Strehl began by looking back on the difficult year of 2009 before the assembled trade journalists. The essence of his speech: All in all, Clark was not able to escape the crisis, but notched up better figures than the competition in the financial year 2009. Strehl's outlook for the future was characterised by cautious optimism. The market appears to be signalling readiness for growth, even if experience shows that fresh growth in logistics occurs with a time lag. Irrespective of this, Clark has made it its goal for 2010 to win new market shares again.

Deepening support and know-how

Keyword growth: Sound judgement and continuity characterise the intensified regional commitment of Clark Europe GmbH. For improved dealer support, Clark is currently building up dealer support centres like the new Clark-Dependance in Lyon, which has already been advising the French-speaking region of Clark since the autumn of 2009. Rolf Eiten, Head of the Clark business unit Sales & Marketing, referred to the strategic Clark objective in this context, whereby an even better service for customers, partners and Clark dealers as well as more efficient and effective processes can be ensured via dealer support centres, technical training and the establishment of a Clark academy.

Contra Hybrid – Pro Electric

Before the Clark marketing team reported on the company's social sponsoring activities, Andreas Krause went into detail regarding technical aspects as Head of the Development department on site. Krause explained why Clark views the hybrid technology with critical eyes, examined the advantages of electric models and outlined innovations, which Clark currently has in the pipeline.

Finale in the "Schifferbörse"

The informal, voluntary exchange in the expert round came in the evening event. The trade journalists dined together with the host team in the Duisburg restaurant Schifferbörse, before setting off home the next morning. See you again in 2010.