The US subsidiary of Inter Product has abandoned plans to sell a budget line of Chinese-made lifting clamps after intervention by its parent company in the Netherlands.

Inter Product USA announced in July that it was launching a new product line, called SLT clamps, which would be lower priced than its well known IP range of lifting clamps. It had taken the view that given the demand for budget equipment in the marketplace, and the success of cheaper Asian products, it was better to meet this demand than to ignore it.

Once the Americans announced that Inter Product USA was selling the Chinese-made SLT range, managers at the parent company, Inter Product BV, withdrew their support for this local initiative because it was presented using Inter product branding and they acted quickly to stop the plan.

Marketing manager Inge van Dreumel said that the SLT clamps tested by Inter Product and proposed for distribution may have met the necessary safety standards but did not have ‘the high level of quality of an IP safety lifting clamp’.

She added: ‘IP prides itself on being a manufacturer of superior quality safety lifting clamps. We believe the only way to achieve genuine long term growth is to offer a superior quality product together with an unparalleled level of service. We have decided to remove this SLT line out of the market, just to prevent confusion with Inter Product and its quality image. We are, and always will be, a high quality producer of safety lifting clamps.’