Crown's new Fresno facility.

Crown Equipment Corp has opened a new company-owned branch in Fresno in the centre of California's agriculture-oriented San Joaquin Valley.

The leased 22,000 sqft. (2,044 sqm) facility increases Crown's market presence and regional customer service and training capabilities.

The facility offers educational courses for forklift operators and trainers through Crown's Demonstrated Performance-brand service training program allowing participants to develop skills through customised lessons and personalised feedback from instructors.

"Many of our customers are part of California's prominent agricultural industry," says Jim Ellis, senior vice president of Crown Equipment. "They need forklifts that deliver reliable power and performance in demanding environments. Increasing our service offerings in this region, such as including on-site service for forklift batteries and chargers, allows us to work closely with customers to reduce costly downtime from maintenance-related incidents."

Keith Heinke, general manager of Crown's six branches in California and Nevada, says: "Many of our employees for the new facility came to us from other Crown facilities across the country." Currently, the Fresno branch has 16 employees.

In addition to Fresno, Heinke oversees Crown branches in Ontario, Long Beach, City of Industry and San Diego, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Equipment manufacturing Crown is based in New Bremen and, globally, has more than 300 Crown-owned and independent sales and service locations. Crown has 53 company-owned branches in the US.