Prominent UK attachments sales and rental firm B&B Attachments Ltd of Cramlington, England has appointed Lift Technologies Inc of Westminster as its distributor in the US and Canada.

B&B aims to raise its international profile and embarks on the new arrangement after being in a trading relationship since 1981 with Elecar SpA of Castel San Giovanni, Italy.

Lift Technologies and Elecar are operations of Calvi Holdings Srl of Merate, Italy.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for both companies, as the American market is so diverse, and Lift Technologies is very well positioned already," says Mike Barton, managing director of B&B Attachments. "Lift Technologies will be supplying B&B products, such as our BlockMaster range for the construction industry and other ancillary products."

Lift Technologies supplies masts, carriages, integral side shifters, fork positioners, reach carriages and related components for materials handling equipment including forklifts, automatically guided vehicles and telehandlers.

It has two plants in Westminster, employing 220 people. The mast manufacturing plant has fabrication, machining, welding, assembly and paint capabilities, while the second plant manufactures carriages, integral sideshifters and fork positioners and has a complete mast rail processing centre. A parts depot is also located at this site, servicing all product lines.

"This is an important step to further expand the product range offered by Lift Technologies Inc. following the recent agreement signed with Kaup GmbH to market their products in North America," says Konrad Ostmeier, president and chief executive officer of Lift Technologies Inc.