HAMMONTON - - Developers of an omnidirectional forklift say they'll start seeing revenues this quarter once commercial production begins on the trucks later this month.

Airtrax Inc., a Hammonton-based firm, expects assembly of the first 10 Sidewinder lift trucks to begin at Schaeff Forklift in Bridgeview, Ill., before the end of the year, said Peter Amico, the company's president. The trucks use Airtrax's patented wheel comprised of six tapered barrels, allowing the vehicles to turn in a full circle within their own footprints. The trucks will be the first commercial product using the wheels, he said.

"It's a fairly new market, but there's a tremendous interest in it," Amico said. "A number of dealers say they want this product."

The firm announced in November that it already had received orders for 55 units of the trucks, valued together at more than $1.7 million.

The trucks are touted as space-savers for warehouses, since the area once needed for turning forklifts now could be used for additional storage. Each Sidewinder costs about $36,000, but developers said they require little maintenance, costing about 25 cents an hour compared to other trucks that could require from $2 to $8 an hour in maintenance.

Airtrax also plans to bring the MEC-Phoenix, a scissor lift using the same wheel technology, to the market.

With the Sidewinder sales, OTC Financial Network - the company's financial communications firm - projected Airtrax will see profitability at the end of 2005. The initial orders indicate a strong demand for the products internationally, Geoffrey Eiten, president of National Financial Communications Corp., said in an OTC report on the company.

November was a busy month for Airtrax. Along with the impending production, the company announced a five-year agreement with distributors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Under the terms of the agreement, the distributors will promote Sidewinder sales in United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. It could mean recurring sales of more than $2 million beginning in 2005, according to Amico.

Airtrax also announced Wednesday that it had closed on its acquisition of German forklift manufacturer Filco. The company eventually will manufacture omnidirectional vehicles from the Filco facility, which also will continue to sell conventional forklifts.

But Amico is most excited about seeing the first Sidewinder come off the assembly line. He said they sell themselves, as his best sales technique is directing potential customers to the demonstration on the company's Web site:

www.airtrax.com

"We tell everybody it's a must-see," he said. "Once they see the videos, then they belong to us."

To e-mail Michael Baker at The Press:

mbaker@pressofac.com

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