It’s official, A Square Forklift is the sole distributor of Still materials handling equipment in South Africa.

Founded in 1998, A Square Forklift went on to become one of the country’s leading forklift rental operations.  In 2006 it became the exclusive Nichiyu distributor in the country.  It continued adding further complimentary brands over the years, including Combilift Aislemaster, Bravi platform trucks and RCM industrial floor cleaning equipment.  

With the acquisition by Bidvest in 2022, A Square Forklift, a division of Bidvest Commercial Products, was at the threshold of even greater things.  After the acquisition, A Square continued to be managed by founder Craig Bradford, ensuring a continuation of the superb service levels which have become synonymous with the A Square brand.  Added to this reputation for excellence, the resources brought by the industry powerhouse that is Bidvest meant that a new era was dawning for the once fledgling rental business.

Having long since been servicing a much broader market than simply forklift rental, A Square’s service offering also includes outright sales of new and used equipment, as well as third party maintenance of all associated brands.

The rental fleet grew to in-excess of a thousand units and A Square moved into a new built-for-purpose head office in S&J Industrial Estate, in Germiston, early in 2025, complete with a myriad of facilities.  These include multiple spray booths, inspection pits, component assembly and fabrication areas, dock levellers, parts storage areas, new equipment warehouse and more.

Despite all of this, there was something missing. Although Nichiyu is a premium Japanese brand which has continued to offer best in class quality to its customers, there were limitations to the range when set against the backdrop of today’s rapidly changing and advancing logistics and supply chain environment.  Warehouses are getting higher and aisles are getting narrower, all with a view to maximising the storage footprint.  

There is an increased demand for automation and newer, more efficient and environmentally friendly fuel sources.  To ensure that they had a suitable offering for this ever more complex market, A Square set out to find another complimentary product range, backed by a partner who understands the demanding needs of A Square and its customers.

Enter Still

While A Square was searching for a suitable partner to round off its intralogistics offering, Still was on the hunt for a collaborator to adequately represent and grow its brand in the South African market.  

The stars aligned and Still met A Square, quickly realising that their values and passion for service delivery at the highest level were in perfect harmony. Ranked number one in Europe and second globally in terms of sales revenue as part of the Kion group, Still GmbH was established in 1920 by Hans Still.  

Since those early days, Still has developed into the leading supplier for intelligent logistics around the globe.  While covering the traditional internal combustion and electric counterbalance forklift market, it is their areas of specialisation which impress most significantly.  Still has a full range of warehousing trucks, including tow tractors, power pallet trucks, pallet stackers, order pickers, reach trucks and VNA trucks.  

Many of these are available in autonomous versions – automated guided vehicles without operators, enabling shift after shift operation without the need for breaks or breakages. Beyond very efficient conventional fossil fuel-powered equipment, Still is at the leading edge of advanced electrical energy solutions.  While lead acid and lithiumion batteries are in operation in the mainstream and available in Still products, the real advancement is when one considers the hybrid technology and hydrogen fuel cell offerings available from Still.  

While these options may be expensive to purchase, the lifetime cost savings and environmental benefits are unfathomable. This alliance between A Square Forklift and Still is the harbinger of a new era in the South African intralogistics landscape, where cutting edge technology meets old fashioned values.