TVH, your parts supplier for construction equipment

With a forklift in its logo, it’s unsurprising that TVH is best known as a supplier of parts for material handling equipment. However, with more than 8 million known references, we also have a fair share of parts and accessories for construction equipment. But what exactly does this range for small earth-movers, mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), and telehandlers look like? We sat down with TVH Experts Joris Tijtgat and Rik Vanwildemeersch to talk about TVH’s range, how we ensure we can supply customers with the parts they need and what the future holds.

About the experts

Joris Tijtgat is Market Management Specialist for small earth-movers at TVH. He monitors and analyses the market in order to effectively develop TVH’s range of parts and define the future global operational approach for that equipment. He started working for the company in 2012 and has transitioned through several roles, first in the Hydraulics Team until he moved to the Small Earth-Movers Team in 2019. He was team leader for four years before settling into his current position at the beginning of 2023.

Rik Vanwildemeersch is TVH’s Market Management Specialist for mobile elevating work platforms and telehandlers. He facilitates the strategic development and stocking of parts for these machines through market monitoring and analysis. Rik started working for TVH in 2004 and has since held various positions in different departments, from e-commerce advisor over external sales support to product manager coordinator. These experiences have given him a profound understanding of TVH, MEWPs and telehandlers.

How long has TVH been active as a parts supplier for construction equipment?

Joris: “I suggest we start with the equipment that is technically the youngest member of the TVH parts family. Although we officially launched parts and accessories for small earth-movers in 2020, we have been active in the market for much longer. In fact, we started providing parts in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ed.) as early as 2006. However, this offering was limited to a demand-driven supply of rubber tracks and undercarriage parts, meaning that we only supplied these parts in response to specific customer requests. Through this approach, we began to build an offering that grew steadily. We started focusing on other product groups and zoomed in on specific machines and makes.

As we expanded our offering, we noticed an overlap between parts and customers. On the one hand, some products like filters and engine components are used across multiple machines. But we also saw that some of our customers, for instance, those active in rental, also had small earth-movers in their fleet. That is why, in 2017, the company decided we wanted to enter the market officially. We took the time to prepare and build our product range to launch in 2020. Unfortunately, due to the standstill caused by COVID, our planned ‘big bang launch’ was more of a ‘soft launch’ instead.”

Rik: “While parts for small earth-movers are a relatively recent addition to TVH’s range, the history of parts for mobile elevating work platforms goes back much further. In fact, TVH has been supplying parts for these machines since the late 1980s, but on a limited scale. We had parts in our range and could help customers who needed them, but we didn’t actively promote them. This changed at the turn of the century. In 2002, TVH accelerated its move to become a global player in MEWP parts in preparation for the official launch of the range in 2004. And this range has been growing ever since. Today, we are a one-stop shop with parts and accessories suitable for all major makes, models and machines.

Around the same time as the official launch of parts for MEWPs, TVH started to stock and develop parts for telehandlers. By 2010, our range was suitable for the most common makes, such as Manitou, Merlo, JCB, Dieci, and others. Since then, TVH has expanded this range gradually, but we wanted more. That’s why, in 2021, we kicked off the proactive development of parts for telehandlers mainly used by construction and agricultural customers. Today, our range includes parts suitable for many telehandler models, and we are committed to continuous market analysis to expand our range for new and popular machines.”

What does our current offer for these machines look like?

Rik: “As Joris mentioned, there is a significant overlap between machines. Whether it is a skid steer loader, scissor lift, telehandler, or other equipment, all these machines need parts such as hydraulic components, engine parts, filters, joysticks, switches, etc.

Of course, we also supply machine-specific parts and accessories. For mobile elevating work platforms, this includes parts such as body and chassis parts or stickers and decals, as well as accessories to increase MEWP safety and efficiency like fall protection kits, wind metres, and more. A different range of parts is required for telehandlers, partly because these machines have cabins. So cabin parts like seats and mirrors are a must in our range, as are windshields and other glazing. In addition, through our own brand CAM attachments, we supply attachments which allow you to change the function of telehandlers in a matter of minutes.”

Joris: “As small earth-movers also have cabins, we naturally stock cabin parts for these machines as well. But we also have other equipment-specific parts in our range, such as tracks and undercarriage parts, vital components of mini-excavators and compact track loaders. In addition, small earth-movers must be able to dig, level and move earth to live up to their name. To this end, we supply vital hardware for excavator arms, such as bucket teeth and blades, bucket and tipping links, etc.”

What is the scope of this offering?

Joris: “Of course, our range is not just a random collection of parts and accessories. We have a particular focus, especially for small earth-movers. We take proactive action — meaning we ensure we have the parts before there is a demand — for mini-excavators, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders and backhoe loaders from nine makes: Bobcat, Case, Caterpillar, JCB, John Deere, Kubota, Takeuchi, Volvo and Yanmar. However, it is important to reiterate that this is a focus, not a limit. We research many other makes outside our focus, and we also have parts for other machines such as articulated wheel loaders, dumpers, etc.”

Rik: “As TVH has a longer history with parts for telehandlers, the number of machines in our focus scope is more extensive. This means we proactively develop a range for compact telehandlers, fixed-frame telehandlers and rotating telehandlers from all major makes, including Caterpillar, Dieci, JCB, Magni, Manitou, Merlo, and many others.

But when it comes to mobile elevating work platforms, TVH really is a one-stop shop. We have parts and accessories for scissor lifts, articulated and telescopic boom lifts, spider lifts, lower access MEWPs such as vertical mast lifts and push-around lifts, and much more. These are suitable for all major makes on the market, including Genie, Haulotte, JLG, Sinoboom, Skyjack, Zoomlion ...”

What are some of TVH’s key brands and partnerships for supplying parts and accessories for construction equipment?

Joris: “To offer our customers the best service, TVH first relies on its own brands. Think of TotalSource, which is undoubtedly one of TVH’s flagship brands. It was developed to provide the broadest possible range of quality parts and accessories at the right price.

Rik: “But of course, we have much more to offer. Since 2018, TVH has been the official partner of GemOne, a telematics and fleet management solutions provider. Likewise, TVH is the sole supplier of Energic Plus, a brand of industrial battery chargers and innovative technologies to extend battery life. CAM attachments, our brand of forks and attachments I mentioned earlier, is also part of this list.”

Joris: “Since glazing is crucial for construction equipment, TVH strives to be a strong player in this product. This is made possible thanks to meaningful partnerships with strong market leaders who have their own specific expertise in glazing. For example, we have partnered with CAB Glazing Services, GDI and Wissink Trading, specialists in glass solutions for small earth-movers and other equipment.

In addition, TVH’s service is guaranteed by collaborations with top-quality brands. We have already entered numerous partnerships, such as with Casappa, Danfoss, Parker and Rexroth for hydraulics; with Grammer, KAB Seating and Sears for seats; with Baldwin, Donaldson and Fleetguard for filters; with Carraro for transmission parts … and I could just go on and on. Moreover, TVH is an official repair centre for some of these brands, for example, Carraro, Curtis, Danfoss, Parker (in Belux, Ed.), (for joysticks, Ed.), Sevcon, and many others.”

Rik: “Another brand partnership I would like to add to Joris’ list is Harness ON™, an essential solution to increase safety when working with mobile elevating work platforms. Harness ON™ is an intelligent safety device permanently shackled to the MEWP’s anchor point and is electronically wired to the machine’s function controls. In this way, the MEWP won’t work until the operator clips a carabiner to the inductive ring of the Harness ON™, effectively connecting their harness to the machine.

But our partnerships are not limited to product brands, we also establish ties with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers, Ed.). In fact, we have recently taken some important steps in the mobile elevating work platform sector. TVH has been an official distributor of Sinoboom parts for Europe since 2021, and as of 2023, we are also an official distributor of Zoomlion parts for Europe and Turkey.”

How does TVH help its customers to find the right parts for particular machines?

Renewed online shop

Joris: “As society gets more digitised, online shopping has become second nature to most people. This means people have high expectations of their e-commerce experience. At TVH, we can meet these expectations thanks to our renewed online shop. This shop has an intuitive look and feel, where our customers can search for parts in the way that is most convenient for them: by part number or by machine details. In addition, the shop includes many additional features to make the search even more straightforward, such as MyPartsFinder and MyProductSearch.”

Look-up service

Joris: “Of course, it is always possible that a customer can’t find what they’re looking for in our online shop. In this case, they can submit a search request via the online shop or their sales contact within TVH, who will pass it on to our look-up service. As the name suggests, this department specialises in looking up specific parts and accessories. To do this as efficiently as possible, the service is divided into several specialist teams. Therefore, for construction equipment, there is a dedicated team for small earth-movers, one for mobile elevating work platforms and one for telehandlers. Within each of these teams, each member specialises in one or more makes to ensure optimal knowledge.

In this way, the look-up service allows us to supply parts outside our usual scope. I’ve already mentioned that we take proactive action for four types of small earth-movers of nine focus makes. But thanks to the look-up service, we can also provide parts for other machines and makes, albeit in the category of up to 10 tonnes. To give you an idea, our small earth-mover look-up service handles requests for more than 30 makes!

It’s important to note, however, that responding to customer requests is not the only role of the look-up service. Through its activities, the service is also responsible for expanding TVH’s range and further elevating technical expertise within the company. Much of this new information is then uploaded to our online shop for the benefit of all our customers.”

How is TVH dealing with the changing landscape in construction equipment?

The rise of Chinese makes

Joris: “In order to provide our customers with the best possible service, we must naturally remain attentive to market trends and changes. In doing so, we cannot let the rise of Chinese machine makes go unnoticed, especially in Europe and North America.”

Rik: “For mobile elevating work platforms, the share of Chinese OEMs is quite high. Of course, we have already taken this into account at TVH, for example, with our partnerships with Sinoboom and Zoomlion. These partnerships are reviewed on a regular basis to see if we need to adjust anything in our offering. But we also keep an eye on other developments in the market, such as new makes. Another development is that several Chinese OEMs are starting to include telehandlers in their range, which we’re also watching closely.”

The rise of electric and other low-emission models

Rik: “Another important trend is the rise of electric and low-emission construction equipment. In this area, too, mobile elevating work platforms are the most advanced, with already more than 50% of the machines in use today being electric. Stringent emission standards and regulations in urban areas are a vital reason for this, but electric MEWPs are also more versatile since they can be used both indoors and outdoors.

Of course, this trend is not limited to MEWPs. Emission standards apply to all equipment, and there is increasing awareness of environmental concerns. As a result, OEMs are expanding their low- and zero-emission ranges to include more machines, thus also including telehandlers. For the time being, this range is mainly limited to compact machines, as only these can get enough power from electricity to function properly.

On the other hand, it’s not yet certain that electricity will be the only route for telehandlers. Besides electrification, several manufacturers are experimenting with prototypes that use hydrogen or fuel-cell hydrogen. Whatever the future holds, TVH will remain attentive, and we will adapt our range to what the most current machines require.”

Joris: “The same can be said for small earth-movers. Again, electric models are certainly not as far advanced as MEWPs, but as with telehandlers, the range is expanding. More and more OEMs are going electric and adding more machine types to their electric ranges. However, I don't think ‘classic’ small earth-movers with internal combustion engines will disappear as newer models are better equipped to reduce their emissions. Much will depend on legislation and the perception of the users: will they find the electric version as productive as their diesel counterparts? Therefore, we are looking towards the future and are always ready to adapt our parts range to the needs of the market.”

What will the future bring?

Joris: “Since the launch of our range for small earth-movers in 2020, we have worked hard and invested a lot in building up our stock. In the future, we want to focus on further commercialising our wide range and, of course, continuing to expand it. Exactly how we will expand — either with new makes or new machine types — remains to be seen. But we definitely also want to raise awareness about what we have to offer. Customers should simply know that, in addition to parts and accessories for forklifts, MEWPs, telehandlers, tractors, etc., they can also come to TVH if they need something for small earth-movers.”

Rik: “The situation is more or less the same for telehandlers. However, we've been active as a supplier of parts for these machines for a much longer time, so we already have quite a wide range. But we are still striving to expand this range even further. Another focus at the moment is to make our offer more visible to our customers in agriculture, as telehandlers are increasingly finding their way into this sector.

For mobile elevating work platforms, TVH has already established its position in the market. Most of our customers know us as a one-stop shop for all their MEWP part needs. But of course, we continue to monitor all the trends and developments, and we keep a close watch on the needs and expectations of our customers so we can always adapt where necessary. However, we take this approach for all the machines we have parts for. It's the only way we can continue to offer the best possible service for construction equipment parts.”

Looking for parts?

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