A prominent Michigan-based forklift dealership has a new corporate identity, a newly purchased headquarters and at least three acquisitions to absorb.
Alta Equipment Co, formerly Alta Lift Truck Services Inc, moved about 1 mile (1.6 km) into a 67,000 sqft (6,030 sqm) building still in Wixom and added some operations of Mid-State Industrial Services Inc of Eaton Rapids, Michigan; Aurora Lift-Truck Service Inc of Montgomery, Illinois
(Forkliftaction.com News #442); and Wolverine Tractor & Equipment Co of Byron Center, Michigan.
Apparently, Alta, a longtime Yale dealership, is not finished acquiring.
"We are in active discussions with United Lift Truck LP for two branches," says Ryan Greenawalt, Alta vice president of business development. "We are not acquiring any (United) facilities."
Bellwood, Illinois-based United Lift Truck has operated since 1963, is an authorised dealer of Hyster forklifts and Genie aerial lifts and has Chicago market sites in west suburban Bellwood and south suburban Lansing.
"We are the Hyster dealer in the Chicago market," Greenawalt notes. Nacco Material Handling Group Inc appointed Alta as the Hyster dealer in the western Michigan and Chicago markets, effective from 1 January.
"We are very pleased to see the merger of Alta and Mid-State to create a strong dealer representing both Hyster and Yale brands in western Michigan," says Colin Wilson, chief operating officer and president, Americas for NMHG. "We are equally pleased to have Alta move into Chicago as the Hyster brand representative and feel that the dealership will do a great job serving the needs of current and future Hyster customers in that market."
NMHG is moving toward selective geographic dealership consolidations in North America for its Hyster and Yale brands.
Wilson notes that existing Yale dealerships-YES Equipment & Services of Itasca, Illinois; Voss Equipment Inc of Harvey and Hillside, Illinois; and Fitzgerald Equipment Company Inc of Rockford and Mackinaw, Illinois-will continue to represent Yale in the Chicago market.
Including the additional businesses, Alta projects 2010 sales of USD120 million, up 166% from USD45 million last year and employment of 370 persons including 200 service technicians, up from 185 including 100 technicians.
Alta needs to deal with overlapping forklift sales and service locations in western Michigan. "We have duplication in Grand Rapids, Battle Creek and Lansing," Greenawalt says.
In earlier deals in Michigan, Alta acquired the assets of Detroit Forklift in April 2009 and Van's Industrial Equipment Co in October 2008.
In a separate market niche, Alta reached an agreement to acquire certain assets of Wolverine Tractor including a Byron Center building and from Volvo Construction Equipment North America Inc, a business unit of Gotherburg, Sweden-based AB Volvo.
As a result, Alta is the authorised dealer for construction equipment makers Volvo, Gomaco, Sennebogen, Mauldin and Link-Belt Cranes in the state of Michigan. In restructuring its organisation, Alta formed a construction division and a separate industrial equipment division for the forklift-related operations.
Alta was formed in 1984 and recently received its eighth Yale "dealer of excellence" award.
In an unrelated development in November, Yale dealer YES moved its Illinois location about 10 miles (16 km) to a 54,000 sqft (4,860 sqm) site in Itasca from smaller quarters in Rosemont.