Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc (MCFA) plans to break ground during the first quarter of 2013 on an expansion of its manufacturing and assembly facilities in Houston.

In particular, MCFA aims to address the materials handling industry's growing demand for electric products.

Under-roof production capacity will increase by more than 40%, according to MCFA. The company intends to increase manufacturing and assembly for all electric and internal combustion forklifts that it builds or will build in Houston.

MCFA says existing production and assembly facilities on its 42-acre site are certified under ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management system standards. MCFA distributes Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Cat lift trucks and Jungheinrich warehouse products through dealers in North, Central and South America.
With the increased capacity, MCFA expects to include production of Cat lift trucks and Mitsubishi forklift trucks' internal combustion models with lifting capacities of 6-16 T and eventually support manufacturing of the newly introduced Jungheinrich ECR 327/336 series of electric end rider pallet trucks.

"Upon completion of this new addition, MCFA's Houston factory will become the most comprehensive forklift manufacturing facility in North America," says Kent Eudy, vice president of MCFA sales and marketing. "We plan to build all five classes of products right here in Houston, giving us greater flexibility to respond to the needs of our customers and dealer network."

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd of Tokyo and Caterpillar Industrial Inc of Peoria, Illinois formed MCFA as a joint venture in 1992. A unit of Hamburg, Germany-based Jungheinrich AG entered into a manufacturing and distribution agreement with MCFA in January 2010 and closed its North American operations.