Hyster Forklift

Hyster is currently a global leader in lift trucks as well as warehousing solutions. However, it started as a manufacturer of lifting machinery and winches. Most of its production was concentrated in the northwest United States and dealt primarily with the wood and logging industry. A couple years after the first forklift trucks were invented Hyster became synonymous with quality production. Over the last eighty years Hyster has continued to get bigger and develop its product line. The expansion of its products coupled with its want to stay service oriented has allowed Hyster to grow into the worldwide player it is in the present day.

The 30 years between 1940's and the 1960's saw a huge evolution in the amount of products existing under the Hyster brand name. In 1946, Hyster opened a plant in Illinois that was entirely committed to bulk manufacturing trucks. This allowed Hyster to force its expenses down and, at the same time, offer a better quality product at industry competitive rates. In 1952, Hyster began its first foray in to the international production market through opening its first plant in the Netherlands. The Netherlands plant was originally designed to produce two products: Hyster 40" and the Karry Kranes.

Between the late 50's through the 1960's, Hyster continued to expand into new markets. They started constructing container handlers in the United states in 1959 to satisfy the ever growing demand for transportation goods. In 1966, Hyster developed a means for enabling a lift truck to go both ahead and backwards using the same pedal. This pedal was known as the Monotrol pedal, which revolutionized the industry. Later on in the decade Hyster opened a research and development centre in Oregon that was concentrated on improving the design and functionality of forklifts. The centre is still one of the world's top testing facilities in the materials handling industry.

The sixties was characterized by rapid growth throughout the whole materials handling industry. Due to this, Hyster needed to refocus its strategy towards these growing mass markets. Hence, in 1970, the XL design philosophy was born. The XL design philosophy allowed Hyster to supply better quality at a more affordable cost. A further expansion in manufacturing capabilities was necessitated by the demand in Europe for Internal Combustion Engine Trucks. To plug this gap, a plant in Craigavon, Ireland was opened in 1980. Through the 80's Hyster continued to concentrate on developing industry leading lift trucks. The Hyster company name was known throughout the world for its commitment towards superiority. This attention to excellence brought several suitors for the company. In 1989, a large international corporation based in Ohio called NACCO Industries bought Hyster and began an aggressive expansion plan. NACCO promptly changed the XL philosophy with a more driver oriented forklift that concentrated on operator comfort, which is known as the XM generation of trucks.

The evolving requirements of Hyster's consumers, led by changes in supply chain management, required Hyster to constantly innovate and make investments in modern production systems during the next few decades. Acquisitions and investments were made in the United States, Italy, Netherlands, and a lot of other places all over the world. All of these investments have made Hyster a world leader in the lift truck market. In 2009, Hyster celebrated its eightieth anniversary as an industry leader of materials handling equipment, which comprises over three hundred different versions of lift trucks.

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