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AASA, Autoelevadores Argentinos S.A. was born as a company at the end of the 40s. According to the oral transmission data that we were able to collect, between 1947 and 1948, in one of the usual trips to the US of one of the sons of a wealthy Argentine businessman, this time accompanied by two young friends, both Marx engineers and Simenelli, are amazed with the possibility of building in our country these new vehicles for movement and transport of loads, electric traction (batteries), with telescopic poles and nails to take the loads, called forklift.
Increase[]
What today in our country we know as electric elevator car, had little more than 20 years of development in the US, practically in our country was unknown and was not manufactured in any other country in Latin America. Upon returning to Buenos Aires they decide, almost like a hobby, to start the manufacture of this type of vehicle. In a house lent by the father, the son of the businessman and his friends founded Alcides S.R.L. , first factory of forklifts of Latin America. They start the manufacture of an electric model called FA, totally local design. It is a counterbalanced electric lift car from 1500 to 2500 Kg capacity. It should be noted that the manufacture of an electric lift car at that time is far from what can become today, where the owners of these vehicles assemble parts provided by specific suppliers (electric motors, controllers, pumps, hydraulic motors, cylinders, valves , etc.). At that time there were not even hydraulic seals, less valve manufacturers, engines, etc.
Because of this, everything had to be developed, and Alcides SRL was a development pole also of several small local suppliers that were developing and producing parts. Many of the parts were produced in the same Alcides plant. Then, when the demand for these machines in the local market was seen, the company moves to its own headquarters, on Hipolito Irigoyen street, between Castelli and Azcuénaga, in the city of Martínez, San Isidro district, Buenos Aires province. Years later he moved to Novaro Street, in the city of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, within the same municipality.
Despite being the only manufacturer of electric forklifts in the country, it is still an SME, tied to the frequent changes that occur in the economy of our country. The annual production surely does not exceed 100 machines. A couple of dozen people work for that time. One of the frequent crises caused the bankruptcy of Alcides S.R.L. For that time, a young accountant, Romeo Horacio Labrunee, who had a strategy aimed at saving first the sources of work and also the relationship with suppliers, had a great role in the rescue and resurgence of the company, a relationship that would continue almost 30 more years until the final closure. Birth of the ashes of Alcides SRL the one now called AASA Autolevadores Argentinos S.A. All this happened in the 60's.
International deals[]
For those times, AASA signs with an important North American company, the Elwell Parker, an agreement to manufacture in Argentina a line of electric forklifts between 2TM and 3.5TM of capacity. These will be called ELPAR-AASA and the corresponding models were named F60T 4, F60T5, F60T6 and F60T7 of 2TM, 2.5TM, 3TM and 3.5TM respectively. Based on these models, a 1.5TM version called FH1550 was generated. This line replaces the FA primitives and their successor FB. The line of counterbalanced combustion, which also existed, was called FN. Also developed was the so-called FNE, which was a hybrid lift car, that is, a combustion engine that moved an electric generator, which fed an electric motor in charge of the transmission. This is the principle used in diesel locomotives. Simultaneously to these manufacturing of standard machines, began the development of the line of light machines, many of them made according to the requirements of the client. This ability of AASA to manufacture the machine that the customer needed fully justified the commercial slogan of the company that was "AASA has the solution". One of the most successful creations of the company and one of the most sold models was called Junior (JR). The AASA JR was born according to story, with a very particular story that became an anecdote that is still quoted in some talks.
They synthetically say that Engineer Simonelli was challenged to provide a counterbalanced lift car capable of moving in aisles so narrow that no existing machine could meet. Simonelli not only accepted the challenge, but also sold three machines, still nonexistent in the design. When he arrives with the purchase order they tell that his friend and partner Marx was not very happy in having to design and then build this machine against the clock, with established deadlines.
Crisis and close down[]
Anyway, the challenge was overcome, the Junior was born, a machine that still has many in use in our country. The line of small machines was complemented with the KANGURO (KR), driver machine transported in stopped position, with retractable tower, up to 1.5TM. There was also his version of driver accompanying, the KW. The line was complemented with RT tractors, PTW pallet conveyors, and various special machines. In the 70s they moved again to Martinez , to the Monsenor Larumbe Street (formerly San Juan) 1654. At the beginning of the 90s, and due to the policies of opening of imports and the lack of protection to the local industry, AASA enters a crisis from which it will not be able to leave.
At that time, together with another Argentine company of vast trajectory, synonymous with the fuel lift car, Sampimovil , also in terminal crisis, is bought by businessman Franco Traballoni, who unifies the two plants in one, moving the staff of the plant from Sampi of Barracas to the Martínez plant. For that time, and due to previous business of its new owner, AASA leaves virtually no manufacturing and is dedicated to the marketing and after-sales service of the Balkancar brand of Bulgarian origin. This lasts a short time. The staff is considerably reduced and those who remain in the company become dependent on a company formed by an AASA manager with the mission of providing services of the AASA, Sampi and Balkancar brands and the sale of spare parts. Soon, this company ceased to exist. It should be noted that several companies have emerged from this original trunk, some of which still operate in the local market.
Models[]
| Model | Year(s) Produced | Horsepower | Engine Type | Misc Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AASA KR-TN | 197X-199X | KR-TN in Pesados Argentinos | |||
| AASA KR-TI | 197X-199X | KR-TI in Pesados Argentinos | |||
| AASA KR-HD-TN | 197X-199X | KR-TI in Pesados Argentinos | |||
| AASA KR-HD-TI | 197X-199X | KR-TN in Pesados Argentinos | |||
| AASA Kanguro-KR | 197X-199X | Kanguro-KR in Pesados Argentinos |