Crown Equipment Corp has opened company-owned facilities for the Louisiana market in Metairie and Shreveport.

"These new company-owned branches will allow us to take our customers' experience to a new level," says Jim Mozer, senior vice president of New Bremen-based Crown.

The Metairie branch will have a fully equipped maintenance shop, battery and charger service, rental fleets, forklift remanufacturing capabilities and training opportunities for forklift operators and technicians. Dennis Fulmer is the branch manager. Metairie is a census-designated place within the New Orleans metropolitan area.

The Shreveport branch in north-west Louisiana serves a broad region including nearby markets for west Texas and south-west Arkansas. Kevin Poling is the branch manager.

Both Louisiana locations can provide access to maintenance services for any brand of forklift and offer warehouse products ranging from a two-wheel hand truck to a complete design solution.

"The whole Crown team including (the branch managers) has worked tirelessly to get our Louisiana operations running quickly, and we've seen a tremendous response from customers who are thankful to have support from Crown's entire branch network," says Chris Fogt, general manager of Crown's south-west region.

"Crown has served customers in Louisiana for more than 25 years," Mozer notes.

An independent dealership, Daily Equipment Co, cancelled its agreement to represent the Crown line after Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc acquired Daily on 31 December.