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History

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The term “Hyster” actually originated with loggers in the greater Northwest woodlands in the early part of last century. As the logging and timber industry began to grow, there was a demand for tough, dependable equipment – particularly lift trucks. The Williamette-Ersted Company, founded in 1929, became the leading provider of these new machines. When a load was ready to be lifted, the cry of “Hoist’er!” would ring out – an expression that quickly became synonymous with the company’s trucks.

In 1934, the company officially changed its name to Hyster. Prosperity followed during the World War II years, as Hyster forklift trucks were called upon for use in unloading ships. Steady growth continued as Hyster Company moved into European markets in the 1950s, and then into the Middle East and Far East near the end of the twentieth century. The business remained family owned until 1989 when it was purchased by NACCO. Based in Greenville, North Carolina, Hyster now employs more than 15,000 people worldwide.

Company Structure

Hyster enjoys the stability of a company backed by tremendous resources. NACCO Industries, a $2.6 billion Fortune 500 Company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading producer of lift trucks. Hyster is a division of the NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG). Revenues for NMHG were $1.5 billion in 2001.

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Customer Experience

Hyster has provided materials handling solutions for a long list of successful companies around the globe, including:

ALCOA DuPont Ford General Electric

General Motors International Paper Procter and Gamble

United Technologies Volvo Weyerhaeuser

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ISO 9002

Providing customers with top quality products has been an integral part of our history.
In fact, Hyster was the first manufacturer in the materials handling industry to gain ISO 9002 accreditation for its quality manufacturing processes. Our advanced reliability testing includes finite element modeling, structural stress tests, prototype testing and ergonomic engineering testing.

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Association Memberships