Airtrax Acquires Filco GmbH, Attracts Filipov to Board

click to enlarge> Caption 1: The Sidewinder omni-directional lift truck and the Phoenix aerial work platform are the first commercially produced omni-directional vehicles using the Airtrax wheel. clilck to enlarge> Caption 2: The Airtrax wheel is manufactured by Timken Corp. under exclusive product rights to Airtrax.

August 4, 2004 - After finalizing an agreement in March to acquire a 51 percent interest in German forklift manufacturer Filco GmbH, Hammonton, N.J.-based Airtrax, an omni-directional forklift and aerial work platform manufacturer, has announced Fil Filipov will serve on its board of directors. Filipov, current owner of Filco GmbH, is most widely known as the president and chief executive officer of Terex Cranes. He retired from Terex in January.

In April 2003, Filco GmbH purchased the assets and intellectual properties of Clark Material Handling GmbH, including a 200,000 square-foot manufacturing plant in Mulheim , Germany , after Clark filed for bankruptcy protection in early 2003. By March 2004, Airtrax and Filco settled on terms of the agreement.

Peter Amico, Airtrax's president, said, "We are hopeful that the agreement with Filco GmbH will enable us to leverage Filco's established production facilities and its European associations for our Sidewinder omni-directional lift truck, as well as provide a platform for us to private label non-omni-directional forklifts on a worldwide basis." Amico also said this arrangement could help transform Airtrax into a global player virtually overnight.

"Having someone with Mr. Filipov's qualifications serve as a director exemplifies the industry's view of our products and the omni-technology we've developed," Amico said. "We are thrilled he'll be part of our board of directors." Filipov said he is equally excited to be working with Airtrax and expressed his belief that the omni-directional technology will have a significant impact on the industry.