Atlantic Industrial Equipment offers complete LiuGong product line

Posted on Jul 6, 2020 in Shifting Gears

Michel Marchand, Vice President of LiuGong Canada, has announced Atlantic Industrial Equipment LG as its newest member in the LiuGong North America family of dealers.

Established in late 2019, Atlantic Industrial Equipment will offer the complete LiuGong NA product line – wheel loaders, excavators, mini excavators, Dressta dozers, skid steers, and 31 models of Class 1, 3, 4 and 5 industrial forklifts. The new dealership is partnering with Nova Truck Centres for locations and product support from three of Nova Truck’s four Nova Scotia facilities: one in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Dartmouth, one in Truro and one in Westville.

Throughout his career, Atlantic Industrial Equipment President James Bond has represented the construction industry’s top-rated heavy-duty equipment manufacturers. Marchand said: “We are confident James and his team will provide vital support to the construction industry throughout Atlantic Canada. They offer years of experience and highly trained technical staff to maximize their customers’ uptime and productivity.”

Ken Biediger, President, LiuGong NA Forklift Division, said he is “personally excited” to add Atlantic Industrial Equipment to the LiuGong family for both construction and material handling equipment: “Atlantic Industrial gives LiuGong a new presence in Atlantic Canada and gives us the opportunity to show our Canadian friends how strong our products and our support can be. I fully expect Atlantic to become a major player in their market very soon, mirroring the success we’ve had in other markets.”

High-value choice

Vender options for the Atlantic Canada region, Bond said, have been somewhat limited. “We are really fortunate have a bordering dealer in Montreal, Gymdex, that has been a very successful LiuGong dealer over the past nine years selling hundreds of machines to all sectors.  Now we offer Atlantic Canada the same high-value, LiuGong choice.”

The timing is “ideal,” Bond said: “COVID-19 has taught us that doing business will change. LiuGong NA offers a completely new business model and value proposition for the Industry.”

Plus, Atlantic Industrial Equipment has competitive customer financing and leasing programs in place through Hitachi Capital. “We’re open for business right now. We invite Atlantic Canada customers to come put us to the test!”

Those that know the LiuGong brand may recognize it as the world’s largest manufacturer of wheel loaders. LiuGong, however, stood out from other brands; Bond said his partners vetted it for many reasons. “LiuGong is a fast-growing company that places high priority on customer service,” Bond said. “They have the same values we do and are a great match for us. Then they backed it up immediately by making a huge investment in a significant number of people, facilities, inventory and resources to support us.”

Bond said the LiuGong product lines give customers their highest value choice by combining world-proven designs with features and performance that customers throughout Atlantic Canada require with low cost of ownership and excellent North American-based product support. “And they stand by their equipment with industry-leading, five-year warranty – the most comprehensive coverage in the market.”

The depth of LiuGong’s product lines was especially attractive to Bond. “It makes LiuGong a nice fit for Atlantic Canada,” Bond said. “For our customers to be able to get everything they need from a single trusted dealer is an advantage for them. With LiuGong, we offer them that.”

Nova Truck Centres partnership

Founded in 1968, Nova Truck Centres, a Daimler Group dealer specializing in sales and service of new and used Freightliner and Western Star trucks and a variety of name brand and custom-built trailers, offers LiuGong equipment owners access to 70 of the province’s top OEM-trained technicians from four locations. That means no matter where LiuGong equipment owners find their machines working, they have access to close product support ensuring maximum productivity with lowest downtime for maintenance and service.

Nova Truck President and CEO Peter Macgillivray, who is also principal and chairman of newly formed Atlantic Industrial Equipment, said, “Customer-wise, the partnership is a very nice fit. The customer lists for vocational equipment of both companies align almost perfectly.”

Macgillivray had looked at the possibility of Nova Trucks offering heavy equipment several times in the past. “I’d see our customers’ trucks towing a trailer behind them, thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if we could put an excavator on it for them.” All that held him back, he said, was lack of expertise in those lines. “James has that. He’s the expert when it comes to heavy duty equipment.”

Nova Truck Centre’s 41,000 square-foot Dartmouth facilities located on a 7.5-acre parcel of land, Macgillivray said, provide sufficient space for a sharing arrangement with Atlantic Industrial Equipment. Parts will be stocked locally for LiuGong customers in Nova Truck’s 7,000 square foot warehouse.