Q&A with… Martin McVicar, CEO and Co-Founder, Combilift

Posted on Tuesday 9 December 2025

Innovation is in Combilift’s DNA, with 6% of annual revenue invested in R&D, resulting in numerous product advancements, patents, and industry awards.

Q&A with… Martin McVicar, CEO and Co-Founder, Combilift

Q: What is your company’s USP?

A: At Combilift, we are renowned for our innovative multidirectional forklifts, engineered to handle long and awkward loads while navigating tight spaces. We offer a wide range of products, from pedestrian stackers to straddle carriers, with lift capacities going from 1t to up to an impressive 150t.

Our flagship products are the Aisle Master articulated forklift, perfect for high-density storage in very narrow aisles, and our multidirectional C-Series and CB range, which are ideal for handling long and bulky loads and work equally well indoors and outdoors.

Every Combilift solution is purpose-built to help businesses maximise storage capacity, enhance safety, and improve efficiency in their existing warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

However, we have always seen Combilift as much more than design engineers and manufacturers of forklifts and other handling solutions. Space is one of the most valuable assets our customers possess, and optimising it can make a great difference to their operations.

We have a dedicated in-house team of design engineers and layout consultants who offer companies a free, no-obligation warehouse and yard optimisation service. This includes detailed layout drawings and a full rack or storage bay count tailored to the company’s specific products and operational needs. Through the unique capabilities of Combilift’s products, we demonstrate how to maximise storage capacity—often doubling it—while improving throughput and reducing double handling, all without the need for costly relocations or expansions.

Q: Tell us about your recent innovations?

A: Innovation is in our DNA, with 6% of annual revenue invested in R&D, resulting in numerous product advancements, patents, and industry awards.

This year, we launched the Combi-SPI Self-Propelled Inloader, developed in response to customer demand for a safer, more efficient way to handle 30-tonne precast concrete and oversized materials — offering a highly manoeuvrable, cost-effective alternative to traditional trailers and trucks.

At Ligna, we also unveiled two major innovations: the Combi-FSE 8000, an 8-tonne four-wheel electric sideloader delivering powerful, emission-free performance indoors and outdoors, and the Combi Load Xtender, a pantograph-style load extender that enables full loading and unloading from one side — ideal for tight yards and restricted access areas.

Q: What you are doing to meet sustainability objectives?

A: At Combilift, sustainability is at our core. We’re highly focused on making our vehicles more environmentally friendly and helping our customers maximise their warehouse efficiency.

98% of our R&D is dedicated to designing and manufacturing energy-efficient and electric-powered equipment, and more than 70% of our current production is now electric. Most of our recent product innovations, such as the Combi-CB70E, Combi-Cube, and Combi-FSE8000, are fully electric and provide powerful, emission-free performance.

As well as using electric power, our space-saving warehouse solutions reduce energy use by narrowing aisles, increasing racking height, and maximising storage capacity. Additionally, we produce versatile forklifts that can fulfil multiple roles with our “one-truck-does-all approach”. Engineered to navigate narrow aisles, doorways, and confined spaces with ease, they help customers maximise racking capacity, reduce fleet size, and lower their carbon footprint—delivering a more efficient, sustainable, and space-optimised solution.

We also provide free warehouse layout designs to optimise existing warehouse space, avoiding unnecessary greenfield expansion, and operating more sustainably.

Q: What is the latest news from your company?

A: We’re very proud to have been in business for over 27 years, and this year we reached a major milestone: the production of our 100,000th forklift. It’s a real testament to how far Combilift has come and to the trust our customers place in our products worldwide.

Another highlight for us is that our multidirectional electric Combi-CB70E, the shortest 7-tonne counterbalance forklift on the market, recently won the prestigious Red Dot Award for Product Design 2025. The jury recognised its ergonomic design, energy efficiency, and focus on operator comfort and productivity in demanding industrial settings.

Winning the Red Dot Award for the third time is a fantastic achievement for us and reinforces Combilift’s reputation for innovation, quality, and leadership in the material-handling industry.

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