 Crown equipment on the job |
Prominent forklift industry brands are undergoing representation realignment on the Springfield plateau in south-west Missouri's Ozark region.
United Machinery & Supply Co Inc had a lengthy tenure there beginning in 1964 when Robert DeWitt Reynolds and his partners established the business. Initially, United Machinery dealt in used equipment and then progressed to early brand representation for the Allis-Chalmers equipment line and, at one time, Toyota forklifts.
Reynolds died in 2009 at age 85, but his widow, Frances D Reynolds, continued to oversee operation of the dealership, most recently representing the Clark, Crown, Doosan and Komatsu brands, and operating multiple service vans, enabling technicians to reach customers in its market, including portions of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. United Machinery started with Clark in the early 1980s, Crown and Daewoo-Doosan in the early 1990s and Komatsu in the early 2000s.
A change in direction occurred in October. The era for the United Machinery identity ended, but others continued operations in its former Springfield and Carterville facilities.
CrownCrown Equipment Corp took over the United Machinery business sites and established direct Crown-exclusive forklift truck sales, service and operator training locations in Springfield and Carterville, Missouri. Bruce Cline is operations manager.
"We're always looking for new opportunities to deepen our customer relationships," says Jim Mozer, senior vice president of Crown Equipment in New Bremen, Ohio. "These locations are one way to accomplish this goal in Missouri."
Chris Fogt, Crown south-west region general manager, says, "Crown has a long history of providing customers with first-rate service and support and high-quality OEM parts, which translates into lower total cost of ownership for Crown forklift users."
Crown did not assume responsibility for another United Machinery location in Joplin, Missouri that is about 6 mi. (9.6 km) from the Carterville facility. About 70 mi. (112 km) separate Springfield and Carterville.
Globally, Crown Equipment operates a service and distribution network with more than 500 locations in 80 countries.
ClarkFamily-owned and -operated B&H Industrial Service Inc has added representation of the Clark Material Handling Co brand in south-west Missouri locations of Springfield and Joplin. Previously, United Machinery & Supply handled Clark in those markets.
"We have high hopes with the Clark name in south-west Missouri," says David Bates, B&H Industrial vice president of marketing and sales.
His brother, Bart Bates, is vice president of operations, and their father, business founder Wayne Bates, is president, who "checks on us daily", David Bates says.
As a full-service Clark dealer, B&H Industrial has sales and service departments, a rental fleet, an aftermarket parts department and an offering of allied products. In addition to the Clark line, B&H Industrial represents Heli and TCM by UniCarriers forklifts.
"B&H Industrial is a great fit for Clark," says Scott Johnson, vice president of business development for Clark in Lexington, Kentucky. "They bring great market knowledge, presence and focus to our products and services."
B&H established the Springfield facility in 1992 and the Joplin branch in 1996 to support customers in south-west Missouri, north-east Oklahoma and south-east Kansas.
B&H opened its St. Joseph branch in north-west Missouri in 2012 and now, for all operations, employs 30 staff. Another forklift dealership, Lift Truck Sales & Service Inc, has Clark responsibility in the Kansas City, Missouri market, which includes St. Joseph.