Newtown, Wales, United Kingdom
The company relocated to a bigger site in Newtown in 1979
One of the first forklift attachment manufacturers in the United Kingdom, Contact Attachments, is celebrating 50 years in business.
"As a mechanical engineer designer, back in 1974 aged just 24, myself and John Cufley started a business: Contact Poweriser," says Contact Attachement director Robert Taylor.
"It all began in a rented unit in Rochester, where we created a whole host of custom equipment for businesses worldwide."
Taylor says the company branched into manufacturing automatic specialised palletising, dispenser and forklift products, becoming the first company to develop and launch a complete range of innovative mechanical attachments.
The company secured contracts with global giants, including Cadbury's, Tate and Lyle, Tayto Crisps and Hellman's Mayonnaise.
In 1987, after a name change or two, the company became Contact Attachments and focused on the forklift attachment sector.
"We now proudly offer around 300 types of attachments, which provides over 1000 different product variations," Taylor says.
"It's certainly been a busy 50 years but we're just getting started."
Gauthier Chariots Élévateurs celebrates 30th birthday
Warwick, Quebec, Canada
The company celebrated with an open house at its headquarters
Canadian forklift dealership Gauthier Chariots Élévateurs (Gauthier Lift) celebrated its 30th birthday with an open house at its headquarters in Warwick, Quebec.
“When I inherited my father’s garage in the basement of our house and started running it with my cousin Charles, we were two 19 years-old kids who didn’t speak a word of English and knew very little about business but we were willing to learn and to work hard,” says Louis Gauthier, president and co-founder of Gauthier Lift.
“Thirty years later, our English is still horrible but we sure learned how to take care of our customers and focus on what matters most: solving problems and giving our clients the best return on investment and peace of mind as far as their materials handling equipment are concerned.”
From the small two-person operation, Gauthier Lift has expanded to four sites with more than 50 employees selling and servicing TCM, Hyundai and Clark forklifts.
Palfinger celebrates stock market anniversary
Bergheim, Austria
Palfinger listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange 25 years ago
Palfinger is celebrating its 25th anniversary on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
“Since the IPO on June 4, 1999, Palfinger has become established as the world's leading provider of innovative crane and lifting solutions, » says Palfinger chief executive officer Andreas Klauser.
« The IPO made it possible to expand the financing base and achieve our strategic goals. Access to capital markets has significantly supported growth.”
Since the IPO, revenue has increased tenfold from EUR 243 million (USD261 million) to EUR 2.45 billion (USD2.63 billion).