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Australia's largest independent forklift supplier providing
Forklift Sales - Rentals - Service & Forklift Hire
Antonio takes us through the engineering and design phase of the Bomaq in Part II – “Building a product for the market as requested by the market”.
Stay tuned next week because we will be letting you all know what significance the name BOMAQ has to Antonio what it means. A question we are sure you are all wondering!
Perkins Engine
The components are high quality – how do you work with the suppliers to maximise performance and ensure quality?
“There are 5 keys in the heart of a Bomaq:
1-The engine is Perkins because of the reliability and simplicity
2-The transmission is Linde – the toughest and the best quality available from my point of view. I’ve had 0 problems after 8 years using them when at Mast
3-The hoses are Parker and Manulli – 2 of the best available on the market
4-The valves and gear pumps are Parker products and easily the best available
5-The mast is Liftek-elecar who supply to Toyota Industries
I have a great rapport with suppliers and a great coordination with their engineers to match and select the parts to fit Bomaq forklifts suitably. All the parts have been rated by the supplier engineers to ensure that they will work with Bomaq products.”
The aesthetics has people talking – is there any significance in the design that serves purpose to the final product?
The Bomaq MP Series Forklift
“Of course! The design is not the first stage of a product:
First you have to define what you want the product to do and determine the purpose for performance. To address this I took data from the main competitors and from the common industrial forklift, like Linde or Toyota. Then I made a list of characteristics that the product would need; like size, turning radius, height, weight power, ground clearance, etc. Then with the initial data I allocated the main components to achieve the performance: axles, engine, pumps, cylinders, cabin size, etc. Then with all the main components it’s time for the CAD system to work and integrate all of the factors ensuring the characteristics defined in first stage are met. At this point, several times you have to go back to step 1, then 2 and 3 again.
Once design is finished and everything seems to match the parameters you have to simulate and calculate over and over again until you are 200% sure everything is perfect. Once the prototype is complete the previous steps have been done properly and a few things should be changed for serial production; most of them come from the assembly. And this is how the Bomaq was designed – the final design was motivated by ensuring the forklift could complete all the necessary functions.”
The Bomaq endures some tough conditions. Can you tell us about the tests you have conducted with the forklifts? (Extreme snow & heat)
“The knowledge from Mast has had a strongly influenced Bomaq and the ten years of testing on the team with Mecano Continental has given us a lot of knowledge to work with. Here we have done: traction tests (for checking the diff locks in 4WD), noise measurements, vibration measurements, transmission approval by Linde, temperature and cooling tests (think here we reach 45 degrees Celsius in summer). I think that if the product is assembled properly the main thing is to control the quality of the parts used so that no problems can occur later.
For example; 1 thing that I’m sure the competitor’s don’t do: we wash every hose used in the machines regardless of how clean the supplier says they are; why? If one hose has any particles inside it can damage the pumps very easily and the cost would be huge. We have a machine that flushes water with a cleaning product and we wash all the hoses before assembling them.”
With the introduction of Tier 4 regulations in manufacturing you will have had to include electronic components in the design. Will this change the way Bomaq performs?
“So far we have not used a TIER 4 engine because it’s not suited to our market and there have been no requests for it. It depends on the power of the engine and in our range we have not reached it yet. Of course it will mean the use of electronics but only in the engine and the throttle pedal, nothing else. The electronics will be well tested and be as reliable as the engine.”
Bomaq Industries
What do you see for the future of Bomaq? Support and service for brands is a popular topic for internationally known brands and your experience would testify to this. What advice would you have for your prospective customers in regards to this?
“Future is always hard to predict. I think we will be pushing the 3 and 5 ton models creating all the documentation the customers need for service (parts and maintenance books). It will also mean that our parts website will be remain to up to date www.parts4spare.com so our customers can buy parts online. I will continue to update and modify our products with the feedback from customers so we never lose our essence of manufacturing products designed by the market, for the market. I’m also beginning to work on the 2 ton electric model (parts allocation stage).”
Meet Antonio Martinez – Engineer & Visionary – Bomaq CEO (Spain)
We want to provide you with all the information you need to decide if this is a product that you would use. It’s the first compact rough terrain forklift on the market and is unlike any other.
It has the potential to reduce forklift fleets and handles more applications and terrains than any other product. Lencrow Materials Handling has been working with Bomaq Industries since 2012. We invite you to discover the story behind the Bomaq and hear from the CEO and engineer Antonio Martinez (Spain) explain how the MP Series came to life.
Every Monday of this month we welcome you to learn more about building the Bomaq, what Bomaq means, see more demonstrations and hear reviews from Australian operators using the MP forklifts. To ensure you don’t miss anything we have placed a link at the bottom of Part I which will take you to our website so you can register your interest.
Antonio Martinez in his Bomaq workshop
What has been the most rewarding part of building the Bomaq so far?
“There are several moments that are special for me in this adventure: When I first started receiving the parts and storing them in the basement of my house in the country, when I sold the first unit to your father [Ross Grassick, MD, LMH], when I first drove the forklift with my 2 daughters on board and each time I receive a photo of a Bomaq or an email saying the forklifts are working well without problems. These are the moments that capture why building the Bomaq is so important to me.
Every day when I come to the workshop and open the door I enjoy that minute thinking about what I have created, thanks to a lot of factors, but mostly to a lot of hard work & thousands of hours dedicated to it.”
How has what you learned in previous roles influenced the product and your vision for Bomaq?
“I’ve always been a perfectionist in love with tidy and flawless design so I feel this has translated into the product as well as the company. I’m always listening and adapting the product and my company to the market. The market is continuously changing and competitors are running faster every day.”
What challenges have you and the team faced and what’s your process to finding solutions?
“There’s 2 incredible challenges I never thought would be so difficult. Firstly, finding people to work with me (not as easy as I thought) and the second is access to parts supply for assembly. The world has changed a lot since I worked at Mecano Continental (Mast Explorer). We have to be very careful to accomplish deliveries on time and also control costs. We’re a smaller manufacturer and most suppliers only supply in large quantities”
The Bomaq MP Series Forklift
Who is part of your team and how do they influence the project?
“I started alone but with the support of my family. I’ve since hired one person for assembling who was a colleague of mine at Mast Explorer and responsible for production. I also have one person who manages all the administration. So right now we are 3 people working at Bomaq. I know we are small but costs control is important so that we can optimize resources to expand the product.
I think the next movement will be to hire an electrical assembler and then an after sales service & support engineer.”
Bomaq is a newer product on the market. Can you outline the research & development phase? How did the concept come to life?
“If you want to establish a place and your resources are very limited you have to bring something new to the market, something never seen before. You also need to take care not to go too far away from the competitors. Sometimes if a product is too different it will create the opposite reaction. From my experience working in after sales, engineering, design and production with Mast Explorer you can take a lot of useful information if you listen. I listened and learned a great deal in 10 years. This is the foundation of Bomaq’s products, to offer customers what they have been demanding from a Rough Terrain forklift truck: ergonomics, design, simplicity, compact size, manoeuvrability, ease of use & easier maintenance.
I’ve tried to create a solution using the 10 years of feedback from owners and operators who use rough terrain forklifts. There are many competitors, for whom I have a great respect, like Ausa, Manitou, Piquersa, Agria, JCB and Liftking. Surely you know more than me but if you do the same as the others at the end it will be a price fight. A small company like mine would surely be lost. I can’t compete with other manufacturers so I created a solution that no one else has.
Another feature important to Bomaq’s design is the use of the latest technology in CAD [computer aided design] available. Purchasing the expensive technology means that I can do the work of 10 engineers incredibly precisely especially with everything is in one brain. The CAD also means I don’t have to share or adapt my design to 9 other technicians. Tools are very important to develop a job; sometimes things get very difficult without the appropriate tool to do the job. My computer is so advanced that if I need a specific tool and don’t have it the computer simulates it and then provides detailed instructions to make it.”
Lencrow’s Range of Bomaq All Terrain Forklifts Expands
Lencrow Materials Handling
The Bomaq M30 4WD All Terrain forklift features a unique turning circle of 2600mm.
Lencrow has now been importing, selling and using the Bomaq M30 4WD all terrain forklift in their hire fleet. This unit has received a lot of interest from our customers with its unique maneuverability. The unit has an amazing turning circle of 2600mm on a 3000kg 4 wheel drive forklift making it almost the same as a conventional forklift.
Ross Grassick managing director of Lencrow says “We have been so impressed with the quality and performance of the Bomaq we have forward ordered the new 5000kg model anticipating that this is the forklift missing in the market. The units roll out of the container ready for work. Antonio Martinez the engineer behind the unit has not only applied many years of design and testing experience to this unit he gained one of the engineers at Mast forklifts to refine the concept. He has given us two models in the M30 at standard height and now a low profile unit that will work less than 2000mm.”
The units have all been powered with Perkins engines and use Linde hydrostatic drive pump and motors. In testing, the units were worked in temperatures up to 40deg C and showed no loss of performance in drive of hydraulic controls. The hydraulics used pressure operated joy sticks which offer both longevity and smooth operation.
The range will have a 5000kg capacity unit that will be released in January 2015 and Antonio has a 7000kg unit now on the drawing board. All the units will offer the same maneuverability and attention to driver vision and ergonomics. Simple features like low access steps and large driver compartment.
Ross Grassick says “We have two units being delivered early in 2015 with fully enclosed cabins and pressure air conditioning. This keeps the cabin pressure higher than outside. The advantage of this is that it stops the ingress of dust making the drivers compartment more comfortable and much cleaner.”
For more details on the Bomaq range of all terrain forklifts Call Lencrow Forklifts on 1300 516 431 or visit www.lencrowforklifts.com.au.
Lencrow offers both full after sales service and parts for all the products they supply and have been doing so for 35 years as family owned and operated business.
Bomaq Industries has designed and built a forklift for the market, as requested by the market. We hope that you enjoyed this interview with Antonio. Bomaq is motivated by the market and the feedback that continues to be listened to when provided by operators and owners. Let’s find out what the significance of BOMAQ has to Antonio – inspired by “la familia” – the family.
And finally, the question we have all been wanting to know the answer to – What does Bomaq mean and what significance does this name have to you?
You don’t know how many times I’ve been asked about it. Look:
Antonio MArtínez BOrrajo (me)
MAria (oldest daughter)
Ana (youngest daughter and wife)
MAQuinaria (machinery in Spanish)
Then, I looked to a simple and easy to pronounce name worldwide which contains all the caps from before… BOMAQ.