A COMPANY is making further inroads into the UK forklift truck market by taking over one of its national rivals.

The Northern Echo can reveal that Rushlift, of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, part of the Specialist Hire Group, is about to complete a deal for Lex Komatsu South (LKS).

Rushlift, which comprises Rushlift Ltd and Rushlift Mechanical Handling, is already a leader in the forklift sector, supplying new and used forklift trucks. Founded by County Durham businessman Bill Moody, it employs between 40 and 50 staff at the South Church industrial estate, in Bishop Auckland.

The company, which is the main sponsor of West Auckland FC, is also engaged in fleet management, hire, driver training and parts, and is the main distributor of Still equipment.

LKS, which is based at Colnbrook, near Heathrow Airport, employs about 120 staff and is responsible for the sale and distribution of Komatsu forklift trucks in the UK.

It closed a number of its depots last year and is based largely in the South of England

Managers at LKS were told about the takeover last week and a number of meetings have been held with staff at the company.

John Chappell, managing director of Rushlift, said: "We are proceeding with the deal, but it is not yet complete and it will not be finalised until at least March 31.

"We are going through a transfer of undertakings at the moment, and I am hopeful that we will have more news in the next week or so."

Mr Chappell would not comment on how much the deal was worth, nor what the impact would be on the companies' workforces.

But there are no indications that the enlarged business will be looking to shed jobs.

A member of staff at LKS, who did not want to be named, said: "We think it is good news because the new owners are a specialist hire group and all the indications are that they have money to invest."

Rushlift's parent company, Specialist Hire Group, which also has a crane hire division in the North of England, recently recorded increased profits year on year