Nacco Materials Handling Group Inc (NMHG) believes that its new customised pay-per-hour leasing program is unique and fills a niche need for some forklift users.

"We had many customers request a program like this," says Tina Goodwin, NMHG director of financial services in Greenville. "The lease program's development was a result of listening to the customer, hearing their concerns and providing solutions to help make their business more efficient and profitable." She acknowledges that independent forklift dealers may utilise such solutions.

Goodwin notes, "We are not aware of any other (finance) company in the (materials handling equipment) industry in the United States currently offering this type of program for lift trucks."

NMHG started a pilot Power Advantage program in June 2011, "talking to select customers and testing out the processes", she says. "We formally launched the program in August 2012 (in the US)."

If a user needs a short-term forklift solution, it makes sense to go to a rental company such as United Rentals Inc, Hertz Global Holdings Inc's equipment rental unit, Fluor Corp's American Equipment Co Inc, CNH Global NV's Case Dealer Holding Co LLC or Anderson Equipment Co.

If a user needs a short-term forklift solution, Yale and Hyster dealers have forklift rental options as well, but the new Power Advantage program "is a longer-term commitment that can match revenue with expense", Goodwin says.


The program allows a customer to match forklift lease expenses with operational revenue cycles, she says. "Because the flexible lease term is based on total hours used and not on a flat monthly rate, we can offer a solution that results in the customer paying only for hours when it uses the forklift."

In press releases, NMHG announced the Power Advantage program for its Hyster brand on 21 August and for its Yale brand on 6 September. "The program is also available for Utilev lift trucks," Goodwin notes. A Hangzhou, China contractor manufactures basic low-cost Utilev-brand forklifts for NMHG.

Parent company Nacco Industries Inc is spinning off NMHG to current Nacco shareholders. Soon, the business is expected to operate independently as publicly traded Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc.