The 1,000th big truck that Hyster produced leaves the Njimegen plant.

Hyster has reported record numbers of large capacity forklifts produced in 2012 as its big truck factory in Nijmegen celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

A total of 1,927 units were assembled in 2012 at Nijmegen, beating the previous record set in 2008. Plant manager Wim van Dam says the company knew it would be a record year from the northern summer of 2012, when the 1,000th big truck was manufactured after just six months. The 1,000th truck was a Tier 4i / Stage IIIB Hyster reach stacker.

"It is the first time in the plant’s 60-year history that the factory has produced such volumes of trucks with a lift capacity of 6 to 52 tonnes," Wim explains.

The Nijmegen plant is the global centre for Hyster big truck design, development and testing, producing high capacity Hyster forklifts, as well as the Hyster empty and laden container handlers and the Hyster reach stacker.

Hyster has introduced new technologies across its range of materials handling equipment, including the introduction of Tier 4i / Stage IIIB-compliant engines on big trucks and the award-winning tyre-saving axle technology for Hyster empty container handlers.

"Demand for the new Tier 4i / Stage IIIB regulation equipment has increased as more businesses learn about the significant benefits delivered by the new Hyster big truck range, including fuel savings of up to 20% compared to previous models," Wim explains.

The Nijmegen plant has undergone significant changes to boost its efficiency, with initiatives resulting in the optimisation of costs, product quality, parts availability and speed of resolution of problems, both in production and in the field.

"Quality runs through every aspect of our business from design (and) manufacture and through to the support of our products."  Wim says. "Our intelligent designs are based on what applications need, using real market intelligence."  

In 1952, Hyster opened its first European plant in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, beginning manufacture in January 1953. This was only six years after its first manufacturing plant dedicated to truck mass production opened in Danville, USA in 1946.

Separately, the Nijmegen plant has won a Dutch environmental award, the Milieuprijs Westenweurt 2013. NACCO Materials Handling BV beat 25 companies to be honoured as the most environmentally friendly company in the industrial area of The Netherlands.

The plant’s five key achievements that contributed to winning the award were sustainable, improved processes; improved energy use; reduced fuel usage; reduced necessity to repaint vehicles; and the 93% reduced emission of volatile organic compounds.