Combining a children's book with one of Ireland's largest companies is a novel way to communicate with existing and potential customers and engage in educating the next generation, according to Emer Conlon. "Children will love the superpowers of the characters based on the unique selling points of Combilift's forklifts and I wanted to use it as a marketing tool for adults too so that everyone gets something out of the book. Martin McVicar (Combilift Managing Director) really liked the idea - especially because of the educational aspect for children, and so CombiKids was born. So Combilift is 'Lifting Innovation' and CombiKids is now 'Lifting Imagination'."

"The aim was to achieve a balance between the Combilift branding and creating an exciting story. The Combilift Adventure is an exciting read that has a few 'bad guys' - but of course these are not Combilift forklifts!"

The CombiKids book emphasizes overcoming adversity, the importance of friendship and that bullying is unacceptable - and the hero is always a Combilift forklift who 'saves the day'. As the forklifts are all different shapes and sizes, this emphasizes the importance of accepting others and their differences, no matter what they look like. There is an activity section at the end of the book that has something for all ages. There is a mixture of puzzles as well as activities that can be done over and over again, which adds to the engagement and interaction that children get from the book.

McVicar explains: "We believe it is very important to engage with the education of the next generation and to this end we already have a number of programs including apprenticeships, factory tours etc. However, our new CombiKids initiative will involve even younger children with Combilift by engaging and connecting them with the Combilift brand. This will encourage future engineers and many other young talents and also motivate children to read."

The creation of the Combikids book reflects Combilift's ethos of supporting local businesses and Irish jobs, particularly during Covid19. The book was printed, typeset and illustrated in Ireland and all proceeds from sales go to the charity Make a Wish Ireland. Store and info at www.combi-kids.com