By any reckoning, BAUMA 2001 was an enormous success for AUSA. With the help of the record-breaking professional visitor count at this year's show, that Spanish company sold over forty vehicles directly off its stand. Four of AUSA's top executives assess the event, which they consider "probably the best fair trade that AUSA has ever participated in."

BAUMA, the world's largest international exhibition of construction and public works material, recently held again in Munich, provides visitors a view of the latest developments of the foremost manufactures in the field. The event takes place every three years. Hundreds of thousands of visitors, mainly construction company decision-makers and machinery distributors from the five continents, come to examine the products on display. BAUMA has again lived up to its reputation and, off course, AUSA was there.

AUSA's experience at BAUMA this year was truly extraordinary. Never before has the company sold over 40 vehicles directly off the stand. Brian Annandale, Export Area Manager viewed the event as a "a total success" for his company. Annandale's satisfaction was not just due to the amazing number of machines sold. Perhaps more important, in his view, were the fruitful contacts with potential distributors in new markets. Claudio Hoyos, Export Area Manager, considers that, "Surely the good current economic climate, especially in Europe, has contributed to BAUMA's success, and to AUSA's along with it. I think this is has been the best show for AUSA in many years." Hoyos is also very pleased to have sold so many machines from the stand. For him, this year's BAUMA represented "our total consolidation as one of the world's top manufacturers of rough-terrain forklifts and site dumpers." Hoyos, like Annandale makes special mention of the new distributor agreements made for markets in which AUSA is not yet represented such as New Zealand, Greece and Iceland. Annandale mentions too that BAUMA has also helped AUSA to further strengthen its distributor network in Germany.

Enric Pons, AUSA's R&D Director likewise considers AUSA's experience at BAUMA as an unqualified success. Pons is particularly pleased with excellent response to the company's new designs, especially those of its new forklifts, "we are at the level of the best and have an enormous market potential." In his opinion, AUSA's product development image has greatly improved. The visitors at AUSA's stand reflected that opinion; indeed many praised AUSA's capacity to design, build and launch successful new models.

Xavier Perramón, Product Marketing Manager notes that "BAUMA's attendees were highly receptive to our dumpers and, especially, our forklifts." Many visitors, particularly those from Eastern Europe, also showed "great interest in the automatic concrete mixer 1000 RMX."

BAUMA was the setting of the official launching of AUSA's new forklifts CH 200/250, "the big brothers of the popular CH 130/150 introduced last year", in the words of Annandale . At the official presentation of the new CH 200/250 models, Enric Pons made special mention of their innovative lines, employed for the fist time in the CH 130/150 models, "which have changed the market trend." As Pons explains, when the CH 130/150 were on the drawing board, an enlargement of the range was already in mind, "the CH 200/350 here today." The original lines have evolved "to offer greater advantages", such as enhanced operator comfort. These models are designed to be utilised many hours on end by the same operator. Their ergonomic design, operator-friendliness and simple maintenance requirements make them an indispensable tool for a multitude of tasks. The compact, semi-industrial, rough-terrain features of these machines form "an original combination that makes AUSA unique in the market."
Claudio Hoyos, considers the CH 200/250 "excellent, with a highly promising future, especially in Europe". With the CH 200/250, "we have again demonstrated that we are capable of creating the machines that today's market calls for."

In the words of Xavier Perramón, Product Marketing Manager, the new forklifts have enabled the company to step ahead of its competition, "in fact, there is no other product on the market with their performance features." Perramón continues, "our new machines are perceived to embody the right combination of size, concept, components, design, ruggedness and performance. They will lead us into the future. They are a resounding success." He notes that AUSA's new machines have a decisive edge on the competition, "no other manufacturer offers such a small forklift so well adapted to rough terrain", and adds, "these qualities are just what rental companies are looking for, machines that respond to different needs in many different activities. The more versatile the product, the more rental companies will like it." AUSA's new forklifts "are a big threat to their direct competitors because they are suited to almost limitless applications", concludes Perramón.

A broad range of other machines were also found on AUSA's stand at BAUMA. They included forklifts CH 150x4 and CH 320; dumpers 108 DAx4, 150 DGx4 and 350 AHG; automatic concrete mixer 1000 RMX and telescopic handler TH 2306. Although the new forklifts were the biggest attraction on the stand, many visitors showed a keen interest in new site dumper 108 DAx4 with a Perkins motor and telescopic handler TH 2306.