 Crown's IC engines will be used in the C-5 range. |
In an in-house capability expansion, Crown Equipment Corp is moving to manufacture its first internal-combustion (IC) engine. Crown has manufactured motors for its electric forklifts since 1991 and procures other IC engines as needed.
Crown will build the 2.4 l four-cylinder liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered engines in a 165,500 sqft. (15,375 sqm) Troy, Ohio building that Crown purchased in 2012. The operation is ISO 9001:2008-certified.
Crown will transport the completed engines to a Greencastle, Indiana plant for installation in models of its C-5 Series IC forklift. The Crown C-5, with an on-demand cooling system, multiple design upgrades and lifting capacities up to 6,500 lb. (2,925 kg), entered the market in November 2009.
Over several years prior to 2009, the power systems business of Deere & Co collaborated with Crown to develop and modify an existing John Deere diesel-based gasified engine and convert it to LPG capability for Crown's use. The firm's Industrias John Deere México SA unit has built the engine at its Torreón, México facility, co-operated with Crown in extensive beta testing and is working closely with Crown in transitioning the engine production technology to the Ohio plant.
Dave Besser, Crown senior vice president of manufacturing, says: "Throughout all of our manufacturing operations, we use what we believe to be some of the most advanced manufacturing and related practices to support tooling, fabrication, assembly, electronics and finishing. We invest in training and sophisticated manufacturing technology to ensure that quality and precision are built into each step of the process."
As for the possibility of manufacturing other engines in-house, the company says, "Crown Equipment's supply chain decisions are based on changes in specific market conditions or customer requirements and may include alternate sourcing, product design changes to utilise different components or moving component production in-house."
At its Greencastle facility, Crown manufactures several models of its forklift trucks, employs more than 400 staff, uses a fully automated materials handling system and operates 10 machining centres.
Including the Troy facility, Crown Equipment has 17 manufacturing plants in 11 locations on four continents.