Crown Equipment Corporation celebrates 75 years of innovation

It started with a vision in 1945 from a single room in rural Ohio. Today, some 75 years later, it is one of the top five largest lift truck manufacturers in the world, operating out of USA, Australia, China, Germany and Singapore.

Two brothers, Carl and Allen Dicke founded Crown Equipment Corporation with an unwavering ambition to build an organisation founded on innovation and extraordinary customer service.

By 1960, this aspiration had been realised with the consistent production of high-quality forklift trucks. The machines soon earned a global reputation as safe, reliable and productive. The company became renowned for pioneering machines that were always designed to improve performance and lower operating costs and Crown became the fastest-growing material handling company in its industry.

In 2020, it is a leader in the evolution of the material handling industry, having earned more than 100 global design awards. As a manufacturer of a wide variety of electric and internal combustion (IC) forklift trucks and components in 19 facilities throughout the world, it employs over 15,000 people and is still led by the fourth generation of the Dicke family from its global headquarters in New Bremen. It operates regional headquarters across Asia Pacific and Europe.

Jim Dicke III, president, Crown Equipment said: “I’m honoured to be a part of this company and the reputation we have earned for working closely with our customers to enhance efficiency, productivity and safety.  We could not have reached this point without the support of the communities where we reside and our employees, who are an incredible group of people dedicated to our customers’ success.

We are eager to continue to develop the innovative technology and equipment that will further evolve the material handling industry and our customers’ supply chains around the world. It’s exciting to think about what the company will accomplish in the next 75 years.”

Crown has a well established pedigree when it comes to exploring and developing advanced technology that has helped determine and define the future of material handling.

Most recently, the company expanded its IC line of counterbalance forklifts, enhanced the operator experience with the introduction of the InfoLink 7″ Touch Display Module, and announced a line of lithium-ion-powered forklifts.

In late 2019, Crown began the global rollout of the ESR 1000 reach truck. Its first lift truck utilising the new Gena operating system. This is currently available throughout Australia, Europe and the Middle East with other regions to follow.

As the company celebrates its diamond anniversary, it is working closely with customers to anticipate and incorporate a number of trends creating change in the warehouse and broader supply chain.

These include; adopting a strategic approach to connectivity, gaining control of data, exploring flexible approaches to automation, considering alternative power sources, and enhancing operator experience.

Crown believes the insight and knowledge they can offer in these areas will allow customers to gain clarity around organisational goals. That it will improve planning, process and communication that in turn can then drive operational and behavioural changes. By ensuring people and machines work most effectively together, they can not only maximise productivity and ensure the highest level of safety but sustain engagement and workforce retention. All of which manifests in tangible return on investments and a reinforcement of their original goals when they founded the company all that time ago. To be trailblazers in their field and deliver outstanding service to their customers.

As they celebrate their compelling journey so far, they also look keenly to the future and a continued collaboration with their staff, partners and customers.