Lift Inc's Leesport facility

Lift Inc has invested in a 68,000 sqft. (6,317 sqm) facility as the new home in Leesport, Pennsylvania for both its materials handling division (representing Toyota and Crown in Berks, Lebanon, and Schuylkill counties) and its Reading Tractor and Equipment division.

President Don Herman says the new structure has enhanced all of Lift Inc's relations with original equipment manufacturers. The new location became operational in September.

"It gave us a much better opportunity" with more space for parts inventory and mechanical services, he notes.

In addition to Leesport, the Toyota and Crown brands work through the Mountsville headquarters site and other branches in Mechanicsburg and Williamsport.

Lift Inc handles work for Genie, JLG and Skyjack scissor and boom lifts in Manheim.

Lift Inc acquired Bobcat of Lancaster LLC in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in 2009 and Reading Kubota Inc, now operating as Reading Tractor and Equipment, in 2012.

Lift Inc services 31 counties in east-central Pennsylvania and employs a staff of 270, of whom more than one-half are technicians.

Herman says the businesses experienced growth of 8-9% for the fiscal year ended 30 September versus the comparable 2013 period.

Michael Scornavacchi Sr founded the business in 1973 as an independent forklift parts distributor.

As a dealership, Lift Inc added Crown Equipment Corp products in 1987 and the Toyota Material Handling USA Inc line in 1991, the latter through an acquisition from Pennlift of York. Also, Lift Inc represented the TCM Americas Inc forklift line starting in 1976.

Scornavacchi and Robert Kirkpatrick sold the business in 2003 to Herman, vice president Kirk Sears and Mike Scornavacchi Jr, who subsequently sold his interest to Herman and Sears.