Marty Flaska

The assets of Hoist Liftruck Mfg., LLC have been acquired by Toyota Industries North America, effective April 1, 2019. The name of the new company is Hoist Material Handling, Inc., and it will be managed directly by Toyota Material Handling USA in Columbus, Indiana.

The acquisition, announced in February, adds to Toyota's already robust forklift product line.

Hoist has nearly 25 years of experience in manufacturing heavy-duty cushion tyre and pneumatic forklifts, reachstackers, container handlers and other equipment, ranging in lift capacity from 7 to 57 T.

Hoist Material Handling will be led by Dan Kossow, general manager and vice president; Bob Miller, vice president of engineering; Stu Jacover, vice president of sales; and Ryan Delaney, vice president of operations. Delaney, who spent the last six years as director of quality for The Raymond Corporation, will join the Hoist Material Handling team in East Chicago, reporting to Tony Miller, senior vice president of operations and engineering for Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing.

Hoist founder Marty Flaska will leave the business.

"After 25 years, we are honoured to send Marty off with a sincere thank you," says Kossow. "His entrepreneurial spirit has driven Hoist Liftruck from a once-small business to one that now has the distinction of joining the industry leader in Toyota."

Toyota has had an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Hoist for the manufacture of large-capacity forklifts under the Toyota Heavy Duty (THD) brand since 2015.

"This is the perfect next step in the expansion of our big truck strategy," says Jeff Rufener, president of Toyota Material Handling USA. "Hoist has been a great manufacturer of heavy-duty equipment for years and brings a group of passionate and talented associates that will help us expand our product offerings as a full-line equipment supplier."

Flaska, meanwhile, says he will be focusing his efforts on his other businesses, including Forklift Exchange, Hoistlift of Florida, Specialized Liftruck Services, Flaska JCB and his real estate portfolio.

"I will be putting 100% of my effort into the businesses with my two sons, Vincent and Maxx; my brother, Mike; and Mike Swieter. My amazing mother, Corinne, will also be joining us. She spent the past 40 years at my side; the past 25 years at Hoist," he says.

The Hoist founder will spend the majority of his time between Chicago and Florida, "building our real estate and distribution businesses".