1920's
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Hyster Company’s story begins with its two parent companies, Electric Steel Foundry and Willamette Iron & Steel Works, pioneers in the development of special machines and metals to meet the needs of the Northwest logging industry.
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1929
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Willamette Iron & Steel Corporation and Electric Steel Foundry join forces to form a new company named Willamette Ersted Company.
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1934
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A straddle carrier with forks is one of the earliest forklift trucks manufactured by the company which, by this time, has been renamed Willamette Hyster Company.
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1935
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The ‘BT’ with its cable hoist system is one of the first Hyster forklift trucks. It is a pioneer in the heavy duty lift truck field and boasts a lifting capacity of 6,000 pounds.
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1940
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By experimental use of tractor frames, an advanced type of mobile crane is developed, later named the “Karry Krane”.
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1941
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As the need for a variety of lift truck sizes becomes more apparent, Willamette-Hyster designs a new 4,000 pound lift truck, known as the “Handy Andy”.
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1942
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A 15,000 pound lift truck, the “Jumbo” is Willamette-Hyster Company’s first truck to use pneumatic tires and a telescoping mast.
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1944
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The organization is renamed “Hyster Company” and an export department is created to provide better service for lift trucks being sold in other parts of the world.
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1946
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Hyster Company’s first plant devoted exclusively to the mass production of lift trucks opens in Danville, Illinois (USA).
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1952
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Hyster opens its first plant outside the USA, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The Hyster 40” and the Karry Krane are the first machines to be assembled there.
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1959
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Hyster moves into a new market with American-built container handlers, later called “Big Trucks”.
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1964
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Hyster introduces the famous Monotrol® pedal, a unique direction and travel control in one simple pedal.
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1966
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Hyster opens a new design and development center in Portland, Oregon (USA). Today, this is still the world’s best-equipped and largest lift truck testing facility.
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1970
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Mass markets are developing and Hyster meets this challenge by developing the XL design philosophy, providing quality at an affordable price.
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1981
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Hyster opens a new manufacturing plant in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, dedicated initially to manufacturing internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks.
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1989
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Hyster Company is purchased by NACCO Industries, Inc. a Fortune 1000 company based in Cleveland, Ohio (USA).
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1993
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The XL philosophy is progressively replaced by the XM generation of product, combining outstanding performance and excellent driver comfort.
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1994
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NACCO Materials Handling Group (“NMHG”) is established.
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1996
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With the acquisition of manufacturing plants in Modena and Masate (Italy) a complete warehouse equipment range is developed for Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
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1998
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A substantial program of investment begins to establish the Nijmegen plant as the Global Centre for Big Truck design, development and manufacturing.
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2000
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Warehouse product launches and improvements begin focusing on harmonization and standardization of key components such as controllers and tiller arms.
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2002
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Following a substantial program of investment, Nijmegen becomes the global center for Big Truck design, development and manufacturing.
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2004
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NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc. facilities are awarded ISO 9001:2008 quality accreditation.
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2005
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Hyster begins to roll out a complete new generation of internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks (FORTIS® and FORTENS®), with a modular design platform and innovative features, providing unprecedented reliability and value to users.
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2006
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As warehousing and distribution hubs grow world-wide, Hyster introduces the sophisticated VNA truck, featuring its unique quad mast design.
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2007
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Investment programs focus on product-line development, quality and efficiency in the supply chain and optimization of NMHG’s world-wide manufacturing capacity.
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2008
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Hyster introduces a new generation of Electric Counterbalance trucks, which continues the company’s strategy of modular design and innovation offering customers both outstanding performance and significant savings in operational costs.
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2009
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Hyster celebrates its 80th anniversary and transformation over 8 decades into a leading global manufacturer of materials handling equipment.
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2010
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By introducing fuel efficient upgrades, Hyster takes an engineering and environmental lead responding to Tier 4i/Stage IIIB emissions legislation affecting the sector.
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2011
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A brand new Engineering Concept Centre opens in Basingstoke, UK, illustrating the company’s appetite for innovation, design excellence and technology advances to support the development of future product offerings.
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2012
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The Nijmegen plant in the Netherlands celebrates its 60th Anniversary and surpasses all its previous production records for heavy capacity and container handling trucks.
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Future |
Hyster's parent company, NACCO Materials Handling Group, expands further into the Asian market by opening their first office in South-East Asia. |