A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists. Since World War II, the use and development of the forklift truck have greatly expanded worldwide. Forklifts have become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing. In 2013, the top 20 manufacturers worldwide posted sales of $30.4 billion, with 944,405 machines sold.
Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.
Komatsu Ltd. or Komatsu (コマツ) is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures construction, mining, forestry and military equipment, as well as diesel engines and industrial equipment like press machines, lasers and thermoelectric generators. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The corporation was named after the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, where the company was founded in 1921. Worldwide, the Komatsu Group consists of Komatsu Ltd. and 258 other companies.
Freightliner Trucks is an American semi truck manufacturer. Founded in 1929 as the truck-manufacturing division of Consolidated Freightways, the company was established in 1942 as Freightliner Corporation. Owned by Daimler AG from 1981 to 2021, Freightliner is now a part of Daimler Truck subsidiary Daimler Truck North America.
Toyota Industries Corporation is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively, a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues.
Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harvesters and other tilling equipment. Ransomes also manufactured Direct Current electric motors in a wide range of sizes, and electric forklift trucks and tractors. They manufactured aeroplanes during the First World War. Their base, specially set up in 1845, was named Orwell Works.
Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), also known as CLARK or CLARK the Forklift, is an American manufacturer of forklift trucks based in Lexington, Kentucky. The company has manufacturing facilities in Changwon, South Korea, Lexington, Kentucky, Qingdao, China, and Hanoi, Vietnam. CLARK currently (2023) offers one of the broadest product lines in the industry, with products covering all five forklift classes, ranging from hand pallet jacks to 18,000 pound-capacity sit down forklifts.
NACCO Industries, Inc. is an American publicly traded holding company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Through a portfolio of mining and natural resources businesses, the company operates under three business segments: Coal Mining, North American Mining, and Minerals Management. The Coal Mining segment operates surface coal mines under long-term contracts with power generation companies and an activated carbon producer pursuant to a service-based business model. The North American Mining segment provides value-added contract mining and other services for producers of aggregates, lithium, and other minerals. The Minerals Management segment promotes the development of the Company’s oil, gas, and coal reserves, generating income primarily from royalty-based lease payments from third parties. In addition, the Company has a business providing stream and wetland mitigation solutions.
Kion Group AG is a German multinational manufacturer of materials handling equipment, with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. Its principal products are intralogistics, warehouse automation equipment, and industrial (forklift) trucks. KION Group was founded in 2006 by the demerger of Linde's materials handling equipment operations. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer of forklifts measured by revenues.
Yale is a lock manufacturer and a subsidiary of Assa Abloy. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Its initial product was the Yale lock, invented by Linus Yale Sr., and it became the foundation of the enterprise founded by Linus Yale Jr. and Henry R. Towne.
Escorts Kubota Limited, formerly Escorts Limited, is an Indian multinational conglomerate that operates in the sectors of agricultural machinery, construction machinery, material handling, and railway equipment. Its headquarters are located in Faridabad, Haryana. The company was launched in 1944 and has marketing operations in more than 40 countries. Escorts manufactures tractors, automotive components, railway equipment, and construction and material handling equipment.
Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts, Inc. is a group of multinational companies that were formed under a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Caterpillar Inc. in order to manufacture and market trucks. The group manufactures and distributes Cat Lift Trucks, Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks and Jungheinrich warehouse products to the material handling industry.
Sammons Enterprises, Inc. is a diverse holding company composed of financial services, industrial equipment, real estate investment, and infrastructure businesses operating in six countries. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas (US), Sammons was established by Charles Sammons in 1938.
LiuGong, officially Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd., is a Chinese multinational construction machinery manufacturing company headquartered in Liuzhou, China. It is the world's 10th-largest construction equipment manufacturer by market share and the world's largest manufacturer of wheel loaders.
Digga is an Australian brand of Machinery Attachments to suit heavy equipment (construction), including excavators, skid steer loaders, telehandlers, truck cranes as well as tractors and mini loaders. The company's head office is based in Yatala, Queensland with 2 other facilities across Australia and a network of dealers across the country.
Perkins Engines Company Limited, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. since 1998, is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including agricultural, construction, material handling, power generation, and industrial. It was established in Peterborough, England in 1932. Over the years, Perkins has expanded its engine catalogue, producing thousands of different engine specifications including diesel and petrol engines automatives.
Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks is the brand name used for a range of materials handling products manufactured and distributed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and several of its Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts subsidiaries: MCFE Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe, MCFA Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America, MLAP Mitsubishi Logisnext Asia Pacific, and MCFC Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift (Shanghai).
The YTO Group Corporation is a Chinese agricultural machinery and construction machinery manufacturer part of Sinomach, a comprehensive machinery conglomerate. Although composed of many subsidiaries and divisions, the company is best known for manufacturing a range of farming products including tractors and combine harvesters. The company was founded in 1955 and become the largest manufacturer of tractors in China. The company also manufactures construction machinery trucks and diesel engines.
CNH Industrial N.V. is an European multinational corporation with global headquarters in Basildon, United Kingdom, but controlled and mostly owned by the multinational investment company Exor, which in turn is controlled by the Agnelli family. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is incorporated in the Netherlands. The seat of the company is in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a principal office in London, England.
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., through its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Hyster-Yale Group, Inc., designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster and Yale brand names. It was spun off from NACCO Industries in 2012, but had been running as a standalone company within NACCO since 2002.
