“Reliable, tough, affordable forklift trucks - that was our remit in the factory back in the 1980’s,” said Alan Little, vice president manufacturing and logistics EMEA, who first joined the company in 1983. “These are design principles still built into all Hyster products today.”
The forklift factory at Craigavon, built at a cost of £25 million, is claimed to be the largest volume forklift plant remaining in the UK.
The highly automated factory was equipped with the latest robot systems and numerically controlled cutting and milling machines. Starting with 22,000 sq m of manufacturing space and 4,000 sq m of office space, the facility has grown to over 41,300 sq m and now employing hundreds of people.
Hyster now produces a varied range of electric trucks, with powerful, robust and high capacity trucks available alongside small, three-wheel electric forklifts which are the most energy efficient in their class.
In April 2016, Hyster introduced the Hyster XT series. This range of 2 to 3 tonne capacity forklift trucks has been designed to suit a variety of everyday applications in logistics, distribution and manufacturing.
The Craigavon factory received a visit from Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2012, during which he emphasised the importance of great manufacturing operations to the UK’s ability to compete in what he referred to as “the global race”.
