About Us

Abbey offers the largest short term hire fleet of forklift attachments in the UK, as well as numerous operational solutions. Building off of 40 years of heritage, Abbey is committed to improving safety and efficiency in the UK forklift industry through manufacturing excellence, innovation, and outstanding service. We work collaboratively with forklift manufacturers and dealers, and give them the peace of mind that all solutions are implemented seamlessly and professionally.

WHERE WE WORK

Abbey operates out of a wholly owned 4,400 m2 purpose-built facility located in Manchester, UK. Our in-house engineering team specialises in the end-to-end reconditioning of forklift attachments for major material handling OEMs and dealers.

 

We stock over 2000 attachments for immediate hire or purchase and offer a range of innovative material handling safety solutions focused on the forklift aftermarket – all fully supported by our team of expert field service engineers.

A rectangle warehouse with a grey, cladded roof and a few cars parked outside

THE ABBEY WAY

The Abbey Way is how we stay focused on what matters most and how each of us plays a part in reaching our goals, both individually

and as a collective.

 

It’s built around 11 values that guide how we work, support each other and keeping finding way to improve the service we offer.

 

Want to know more? Click below to hear our team share what the Abbey Way means to them.

WHERE WE'VE COME FROM

1984

Vincent Saunders establishes Abbey Attachments Ltd after a long career in the forklift industry.

a crumbling brick garage with a grey shutter door and a tiled, triangular roof

1985

The company moves from a small, rented facility in Rochdale to larger premises in Bury.

the kooi® reachforks logo is centrally aligned on a blue coloured background

1991

Abbey takes the first steps to represent third-party material handling brands and is appointed the UK distributor for 𝗞𝗢𝗢𝗜® 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.

1993

Vincent’s son, Paul joins the business.

A large rctangle building with blue and grey cladded roof with a cash and carry sign on the front

2002

Growth drives a move to the current premises, initially 2,500 m2

the orlaco logo is centrally aligned in front of a white background

2003

Abbey is appointed the UK distributor for 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

the ravas logo is centrally positioned and in front of a black background

2008

Abbey is appointed the UK distributor for 𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗦 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

a large grey warehouse with a triangle shaped roof, with the central fold up door completely open

2013

The business continues to grow, and 500m2 additional warehouse space is built to house attachments for immediate hire.

paul saunders is standing on the left wearing a waistcoat and white shirt next to his father vincent, who is sitting down wearing a beige blazer

2015

Paul Saunders takes over from Vincent as Managing Director.

A rectangle warehouse with a grey, cladded roof and a few cars parked outside

2018

The facility is extended to 4400m2 and Abbey becomes a leading supplier to the UK forklift industry.

2020

Paul’s son, Jacob joins the business.

2022

Abbey anticipates the transformation of the MH world by partnering with 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽, and 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 to introduce 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆.

2023

The company rebrands as ‘𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗲𝘆’ to reflect the wider scope of operations: attachments and forklift safety solutions.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS

Hiring reconditioned forklift attachments from Abbey reduces your cost and environmental footprint when compared with hiring or purchasing forklift attachments from new.

Our forklift equipment and safety solutions are designed to help you meet your KPIs and prevent penalties by improving on-site safety, productivity, and efficiency.

Abbey’s firm commitment to innovation investment and collaboration will help you to compete effectively and stay ahead of ever-changing legislation.

A wide range of solutions integration options including AI and SMART technologies, is available to meet your complex operational needs.

Abbey has the people, solutions, knowledge, and expertise to seamlessly integrate with your operations, and become an extension of your business.

Our forklift material handling solutions have been designed to work collectively to help you drive efficiencies in the simplest and most cost-effective manner.

Abbey’s best-in-class forklift safety solutions will help you improve site safety and compliance, by protecting the lives of your most vulnerable workers.

Abbey is a family owned and run business with in-house customer support and engineering teams, and can
respond quickly to any number of situations.

Where we've come from

Mission

Raising standards
in our industry.

Abbey is dedicated to improving safety, efficiency, and productivity in the UK forklift industry through the manufacture and supply of world-class material handling solutions, service excellence, and continuous improvement and innovation.

Where we are now

Culture

Our inside-out
approach.

We believe that getting things right on the inside makes it easier to deliver great service on the outside. Our culture sits on five pillars, and we call this the ‘Abbey Way.’

  • Communicate clearly
  • Do the right thing
  • Be caring
  • Put people first
  • Stay sharp
Communicate clearly Do the right thing Be caring Put people first Stay sharp
Communicate clearly Do the right thing Be caring Put people first Stay sharp

OUR EXPERTS

Meet some of our talented family

I can just pick up the phone to them and they’re really quick and on the ball.

If we’ve forgotten something, they’ll remind us.

HEAD OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL AND USED EQUIPMENT

Linde Material Handling (UK)