BT axes Prime-Mover

News Story
- 2 Feb 2006 ( #245 ) - MUSCATINE, IA, United States
1 min read
The Muscatine plant will continue producing Toyota and Raymond forklifts.
The Muscatine plant will continue producing Toyota and Raymond forklifts.
BT Prime-Mover is removing the Prime-Mover brand from the market to meet increasing demand for other products.

Ilidio Alves, Prime-Mover general manager for sales & marketing, told MHEDA Connection that resources used for the Prime-Mover brand needed to be released to support growth of the corporation's other main brands.

"The decision results from the increase we expect from Toyota and Raymond, which will translate into increased volume for the Muscatine, Iowa, plant where Prime-Mover products were built," Alves said.

According to MHEDA Connection, the company will accept orders for Prime-Mover products through to July 20, 2006, and will continue to handle warranty issues during the transitional period.

The Muscatine Journal reported that changes announced to employees on January 19 included five layoffs related to elimination of the field sales & marketing departments. It cited human resources director Corbett Howard.

Howard said more layoffs could occur in the next six to eight months as the brand was phased out.

The Prime-Mover Company was founded in 1950 by the Home-O-Nize Company in Muscatine, Iowa (now HON Industries). The first product built was a power buggy acquired from Bell Aircraft. Prime-Mover diversified and expanded into materials handling in the 1960s.

In December 1988, BT Industries AB, of Sweden, bought Prime-Mover and the name changed to BT Prime-Mover Inc. In 1997, BT Industries AB acquired Raymond Corp, of Greene, New York, and BT Raymond was established.

In June 2000, Toyota Automatic Loom Works Ltd (now Toyota Industries Corporation) acquired BT Industries.
Interroll completes Indian acquisition
Interroll completes Indian acquisition 12 Sep 2024 - Sant'Antonino, Switzerland - 1 min read
Doosan Bobcat announces global brand strategy
Doosan Bobcat announces global brand strategy 16 Mar 2023 - Seoul, Korea, Republic Of - 1 min read
Narrow Aisle delivers record turnover
Narrow Aisle delivers record turnover 16 Mar 2023 - Tipton, United Kingdom - 1 min read
Previously about:
BT expands Reflex range News Story - 17 Mar 2022 - Willebroek, Belgium - 1 min read
BT marks 70 years News Story - 1 Sep 2016 - Mjölby, Sweden - 2 min read
Briefs News Story - 20 Oct 2011 - 2 min read
MHI buys two new locations News Story - 24 Nov 2005 - DALTON, GA, United States - 1 min read
Raymond launches new detection system for forklifts News Story - 13 Feb 2025 - Greene, NY, United States - 1 min read
Toyota to build energy R&D centre News Story - 14 Mar 2024 - Greene, NY, United States - 1 min read
Jury awards injured forklift driver USD13 million, report News Story - 25 Jan 2024 - East St Louis, MO, United States - 1 min read
Briefs News Story - 15 May 2025 - 2 min read
Toyota moves to settle US emissions case News Story - 24 Apr 2025 - San Francisco, CA, United States - 2 min read
Toyota names North American leadership team News Story - 17 Apr 2025 - Columbus, IN, United States - 2 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.

Words of support …

At Linde Material Handling, we appreciate Forkliftaction for its competent and informative reporting and its global perspective. Forkliftaction is one of the few industry media with a transnational readership.

Heike Oder, Head of Trade Press

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Since July 2000, Forkliftaction News has been your guide to the developments that are shaping your industry.

Starting today we are also looking back on some of the key news stories from our extensive news archive.

In the news email and on the website, you'll see links to stories that were 'leading our news' multiple years ago, with topics spanning world-first products, big acquisitions, and major industry shifts.
We hope you enjoy this unique insight into the materials handling industry!

Inside The News
This week Forkliftaction News is celebrating its 25th anniversary! A wonderful achievement given we launched at a time when just 6% of the world’s population were internet users, according to Internet World Stats . Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing stories about our history and rolling out more celebrations, so keep an eye out... Continue reading

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

PREMIUM business

Lift Technologies Inc.
Global leader - manufactures masts, carriages, sideshifters & fork positioners

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Since July 2000, Forkliftaction News has been your guide to the developments that are shaping your industry.

Starting today we are also looking back on some of the key news stories from our extensive news archive.

In the news email and on the website, you'll see links to stories that were 'leading our news' multiple years ago, with topics spanning world-first products, big acquisitions, and major industry shifts.
We hope you enjoy this unique insight into the materials handling industry!