PALFORET: new timber concept in France

PALFORET: first demo trucks ready for the "Tour de France"

Preparations have been thorough and intense but the wait is finally over – the first two PALFORET demo trucks have been delivered to PALFINGER France and are ready for a roadshow taking place throughout France. The official kick-off for the unveiling of the new trucks is the demo event due to take place at the French truck racing championships on 25/26 September 2015 in Clermont-Ferrand.

Result of transnational cooperation

The name PALFORET, which represents an innovative concept in the field of wood haulage, is the result of a transnational cooperation between PALFINGER France and PALFINGER EPSILON and will be presented throughout France starting in autumn.
The starting point for all considerations was how to meet the traditionally very diverse customer requirements for wood haulage in France. While short wood haulage may be dominant in the south-west, long wood applications are the most popular in the north and east of the country. However, even in areas where long wood haulage dominates, there are significant regional differences. In the east, wood is predominantly hauled with small, mobile dollies, whereas in the north, the preferred means of transport is large semi-trailers.

Full-range solutions for wood haulage business

As a result of the special situation in terms of truck body building in France, it soon became clear that a reasonable increase in market penetration in the French timber industry can only be reached by following an entirely new approach – from trucks and truck bodies to the perfect crane. Therefore, individual truck body solutions for each haulage purpose have been developed over the past year in cooperation with Faymonville, a leading manufacturer of trailers and semi-trailers for specialised transport.

“Timber-Experts”-System for best possible customer support

The first two vehicles from the PALFORET series have just been delivered and the remaining truck bodies will be completed in the coming weeks. Hence, as PALFINGER France will be responsible for the sales of the vehicles as well, it is turning to be a full service provider for the forestry industry. In addition, a "Timber Experts" system has been set up to ensure the best possible customer support. Each of the three experts is responsible for a particular region and therefore a haulage cluster and will train the individual local dealers.

PALFORET-Tour des France: A concept to touch
In order to not only present the PALFORET concept to customers but also to literally give them hands-on experience, up to ten demo trucks will be taking part in a huge roadshow, the “PALFORET Tour de France”, throughout the entire country starting in autumn.
Back in June, the Sales team took the first two trucks to the French skidding championships, "Les Cognées", in the mountains of Les Gets to get an idea of what customers thought in advance. "Initial feedback from the customers has been fantastic," says Francois Cuttaz (Sales, France). "The Faymonville trailers have been brilliantly designed and their quality has an excellent reputation throughout the world, just like the EPSILON cranes themselves," says Cuttaz, summarising the initial feedback. Another advantage of the concept is the extensive service network of PALFINGER offices in France. "Even though our products have been designed with top quality and durability in mind, customers require increased security of supply when it comes to new concepts. This is another clear advantage we have over our competitors, as we have 125 service partners throughout France and therefore the most close-knit service network on the market," says Peter Pürgy (Area Sales Manager, EPSILON).

Opening at the French truck racing championship VIP-Event

The official start for the tour is the PALFORET kick-off event on 26/27 September 2015, which will be held at the French truck racing championships in Clermont-Ferrand in the heart of France. Customers from all over the country will be invited to attend the varied, two-day event based around these spectacular races. The ready-for-action, white, red and black PALFORET show trucks will also be making an appearance at the racetrack during the weekend. What a sight for the audience – even without timekeeping. Instead, here at the race track, as well as at all other stops on the PALFORET tour customers will be offered the opportunity to put the various loaded vehicle bodies through their paces and experience the outstanding performance of these new developments for themselves.
After all, only when customers can see, feel and understand the advantages in terms of handling and personal support does an idea become a real success – both for customers, who finally find the best material for their application, and for the dealers who discover new ways to respond to and meet special customer requirements as well as developing and implementing new tailor-made concepts.