Dave Lam

Van Gent Forklift Parts has opened a US subsidiary that will be headed by the former general manager of a US Yale dealership.

Van Gent general manager Dave Lam said the Nijmegen, Netherlands-based company, established in 1967, was the first family-owned worldwide major forklift parts wholesaler.

Run by Marijke Heijnen-Van Gent, John Heijnen and Dave Lam, Van Gent has established Intella Lift Parts, a wholly owned subsidiary.

Marcel VandenTop, former general manager of Alta Lift Truck Services, a Yale dealership in Michigan, will run Intella. VandenTop was employed with Alta Lift from 1997 to 2007.

Based in Holland, Michigan, Intella will only sell forklift parts wholesale, not to end users.

VandenTop said Intella was on the west side of Michigan, bordering Lake Michigan.
"The west Michigan area has a good base of talented workers and logistics throughout the mid-west region of the US are good."

Lam claimed Van Gent's Alligator forklift jack, manufactured by its machine shop, was the only European-manufactured forklift jack in the world. It would now be available in the US through Intella.

"Quality is considerably better than other models imported from the Far East. It's sold to mechanics from all major OEMs," Lam said.