Socage targets east and west

31 May 2011

Fiorenzo Flisi managing director of Socage (centre) with his sons Alesandro (left) and Stephano (right)

Fiorenzo Flisi managing director of Socage said that outside Italy Russia is the company's largest market -and growing - but the company is also dedicating resources to developing the US, "It [the US] should be one of the most important markets for us in the future," he said.

Through its Russian dealer, Chaika Service, Socage sold 100 truck mounted machines in the 18 to 35m range, in Russia last year and expects to increase that to at least 150 this year. Meanwhile having shown a pick-up mounted boom at ConExpo earlier in the year, Socage has appointed a spare parts dealer in the Us and plans to show again at ICUEE - the utilities show held in Kentucky later this year.

Mr Flisi was speaking to Access International at the GIS exhibition held in Piacenza, Italy - 27 to 29 May where the company was also showing a new machine and whetting the market's appetite by announcing more new machines to be launched throughout the year.

The most notable feature about Socage's new 35m working height truck mounted machine, TJ35 are the extendable outriggers which were previously employed on the larger working height machines (70m) and are will now be standard on the TJ range. The range currently has two models with 30 and 35m working heights the 38m and 54m models will be coming to the market early next year.

The extendible outriggers provide additional flexibility when positioning the machine and, says Alessio Nannini, Socage's marketing manager, "Makes the machines more appealing to the Northern European market."

For APEX we can look forward to a 20m working height A314 mounted on an all electric vehicle from TAAM and Italian electric vehicle specialist. Another version of the A314, this time mounted on a very compact vehicle 1.6m wide by 4.5m long will be launched this year plus an 18m spider.

Mr Flisi said, "We have a long term commitment to research and development - financially 6 to 7% of turnover and three dedicated engineers one looking after the B-License products, one for special machines and one for spiders."