Johnson Lift's locations boost Papé's footprint

The Papé Group has announced the acquisition of Johnson Lift, a Hyster dealer located in southern California.

"As a family-owned company since 1938, we've grown to be a leader in the capital equipment industry," says a Papé statement.

Papé has locations throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Montana. The Johnson Lift acquisition increases Papé's California locations from eight to 14.

The purchase makes Papé the official Hyster representative for eight Southern California counties previously covered by Johnson Lift, as well as Yuma County in Western Arizona and the Baja Norte region of Mexico.

According to Hyster, the transaction enables Papé Material Handling to grow its materials handling business, having represented the Hyster brand for 23 years and receiving the Hyster Dealer of Distinction Award 21 times - more than any other dealer since the award's inception.

"At Hyster, we are committed to staying ahead of our customers' expectations," says Bob Sattler, vice president of dealer development for Hyster Co. "Papé Material Handling shares this commitment and we are confident that they will continue to yield the expert service and support which our customers in these territories have come to expect. The transaction is yet another example of how our network of valued and experienced independent dealers keeps getting stronger - an invaluable resource for Hyster customers."

Johnson Machinery Co. will continue to own and operate its three other divisions: Johnson Machinery, Johnson Power and Ever-Pac.

Papé Material Handling is headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, and provides sales, rental, finance, parts and service for customers within the materials handling, warehousing, shipping and freight handling industries throughout seven western states. Papé Material Handling is also the authorised dealer for Yale, Genie, Skyjack, JLG, Doosan, Crown Battery and others.

In June, Hyster-Yale's dealership network went through a shake-up in a series of transactions between Gregory Poole Equipment Company, Dougherty Equipment Company, LiftOne Material Handling Equipment, VBS Materials Handling Equipment and Briggs Equipment.

Last month, another leading Hyster dealer, Modern Group, ended a long relationship with Hyster and realigned its materials handling business with five new manufacturers "to better serve its customers".