Kalmar Expands in North America with Kansas Lift Truck Assembly Operation

July 1, 2005
Kalmar Industries Corp. is assembling Kalmar lift trucks at its Ottawa, Kan. manufacturing plant for distribution throughout North America. "By assembling

Kalmar Industries Corp. is assembling Kalmar lift trucks at its Ottawa, Kan. manufacturing plant for distribution throughout North America. "By assembling big Kalmar lift trucks in Ottawa, we are dramatically strengthening our presence in North America and improving our service to markets and businesses outside of ports, which have traditionally been Kalmar's strength," says Leif Wallin, president of Kalmar Industries Corp in Ottawa. "The immediate advantages to our customers are shortened build times by up to 60 days, greater flexibility, improved parts availability and enhanced technical support," he notes. The U.S.-made content of the lift trucks will increase over time as the company plans to phase-in more U.S. manufactured components such as diesel engines, masts, carriages and forks. Newly expanded IT capabilities will help in this effort because Ottawa plant personnel now have immediate and real-time access to parts information and engineering drawings. Parts availability is being improved by consolidating the majority of Kalmar lift truck replacement parts and accessories into Kalmar's enlarged parts distribution center in Ottawa. The expansion gives western time zone dealers and customers an additional two-hour ordering window each day. The first Kalmar lift truck, a DCE 160, was assembled in April. The plant is assembling Kalmar DCE 140s to 160s (lifting capacity of 14,000kg to 16,000kg) used in lumber and paper mills, steel and pipe foundries, pre-formed concrete plants and other types of plants requiring specialized equipment to lift and move heavy, bulky materials.