Matt Lincoln and Dan Conron

Prolift, with offices in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, reports a 15% increase in year-over-year sales, and attributes much of its success to employee loyalty and experience.

Founded in 1975, Prolift started as Clarklift of Buffalo when investors purchased the business from Brodie Industrial Trucks which had been a Clark forklift dealer for many years. Brodie was unique at the time in operating seven dealerships throughout the Northeast.

When Prolift founder John Lincoln started thinking about retiring in 1997, he believed his son Matt was not interested in inheriting the business and decided to launch an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to reward his loyal long-time employees. A few years later, Matt Lincoln joined the dealership and today serves as vice president, with his father as chairman of the board and Dan Conron as president.

Prolift offers a diverse product line that includes Caterpillar, Jungheinrich, Doosan and, more recently, Mitsubishi forklifts, after the Clark line was retired. Additional products are Factory Cat sweepers and scrubbers, Taylor Dunn and Columbia Par Car personnel vehicles and burden carriers, Pentalift dock equipment, Sellick rough-terrain forklifts and many materials handling products from racking to industrial supplies. Installation services are provided for dock construction, conveyor installs and all types of materials handling and fabrication.

Prolift's focus is on the needs of the customer and it provides parts, service, rental and sales along with forklift operator training. It offers a 24/7 emergency service with an experienced, factory-trained mechanical force of over 20, whose average mechanical forklift experience is 25 years.

There is parts and service support for all makes of forklifts and a large inventory of parts is kept in both locations. Financing is also offered through the company.
Matt Lincoln believes the employee stock ownership plan is a main contributor to the company's success. "We are very easy to do business with and treat our employees differently from our competitors. The ESOP is also a great recruiting tool. We have very little turnover and are completely service-driven."

The company plans to continue to gain marketshare by hiring additional sales people to increase its visibility through personal contact with potential customers.