 Dick Rossi |
Forklift manufacturers UniCarriers Americas Corp and Crown Equipment Corp have stepped into the arena for factory-owned dealerships and will be working through the issue of internal competing brands.
UniCarriers AmericasOn 1 August, UniCarriers Americas
acquired New England Industrial Truck Inc (NEIT) of Woburn, Massachusetts from the heirs of NEIT founder Robert E Krueger.
In addition to the Nissan by UniCarriers line, NEIT represents Caterpillar, Mitsubishi, Jungheinrich and Big Joe forklifts, Ottawa and Magnum trailer movers and Princeton delivery systems.
On the future of the other brands, James J. Radous III, executive vice president of sales for Marengo-based UniCarriers America, says: "We have been in contact with other OEM brands currently represented by NEIT. We look forward to continuing relationships, but it is too early to speculate about the future."
Dick Rossi heads NEIT as general manager, reporting to Radous.
NEIT employs 84 staff and occupies about 40,000 sqft. (3,716 sqm) in Woburn, 17,000 sqft. (1,579 sqm) in its Saco, Maine branch and 5,600 sqft. (520 sqm) in its Wallingford, Connecticut facility.
Radous notes the NEIT received gold-level Nissan service excellence program awards for 20 consecutive years and is a four-time winner of the Nissan president's award.
CrownAs
reported recently, Crown signed an agreement to acquire JH Ryder Machinery Ltd of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with expectations to complete the transaction in August or September.
In addition to the Crown line, JH Ryder represents Nissan by UniCarriers, Clark, Doosan and Sellick forklifts and Cushman commercial and industrial vehicles.
Crown is tight-lipped about the future of the other brands: "Due to the confidential nature of those relationships, neither Crown nor Ryder can provide comment," says Jim Mozer, senior vice president of New Bremen-based Crown Equipment.
JH Ryder has more than 400 employees including 200 mobile technicians and 14 sites throughout the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
"The 14 locations are essential to support customers in the region," Mozer says. "We value and need the team that is in place."
Globally, Crown operates a service and distribution network that exceeds 500 retail locations in more than 80 countries.