Crown Equipment celebrates 80 years of customer focus

Material handling equipment manufacturer and technology provider Crown Equipment Corporation is marking its 80th anniversary this year, noting that its focus on innovation that improves customer productivity goes all the way back to its founding days.

Brothers, Carl H. Dicke and Allen A. Dicke, founded Crown Equipment Corporation in New Bremen, Ohio, in 1945 with an unwavering commitment to customer service. Eighty years later, Crown is a widely-recognized, global material handling equipment manufacturer and technology provider with more than 19,600 employees worldwide serving many of the world’s most recognizable brands and category leaders.

The fourth generation of the Dicke family continues to lead Crown from its global headquarters in New Bremen with regional headquarters in Australia, China, Germany and Singapore. The company provides sales and service through its Crown Lift Trucks retail locations and select independent dealers in more than 80 countries.

“I’m honored to be a part of this company. Since the beginning, Crown has earned a strong reputation for working closely with its customers to enhance efficiency, productivity and safety. We could not have reached this point without the support of the communities in which we operate, and our employees, an incredible group of people dedicated to our customers’ success,” said Jim Dicke III, president, Crown Equipment. “We are excited to continue our legacy for developing innovative technology and equipment that keeps businesses moving around the globe.”

Crown has a long history of exploring and developing advanced technology that has helped direct and define the future of material handling. Most recently, Crown noted, it introduced the SP 1500 Series high-level order picker, which features the industry’s first mid-platform window and leading lift and lower speeds.  The mid-window centered between the hand controls improves visibility while fast lift and lower speeds make order picking easier and more efficient.

Also recently introduced is the ProximityAssist System, an operator assist solution that uses Li-DAR sensing technology to detect objects in the lift truck’s path, providing operators opportunity to take corrective action. The system reinforces operator training and increases operator awareness. Crown has also expanded its award winning Demonstrated Performance training program to include optional virtual reality training. Crown’s Virtual Reality Simulator supplements the company’s acclaimed training by providing operator trainees with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency throughout the 11-step Demonstrated Performance training process.

As the company continues its industry leadership, it is working closely with customers to incorporate a number of trends creating change in the warehouse and broader supply chain. The company said these include:

• Exploring flexible approaches to automation. The prioritization of tasks and equipment that are ideal for automation is evident. Customers are developing a clear path for a tangible return on investment that they can build upon to strategically evolve their automation efforts in support of fulfilment strategies.
• Enhancing operator experience. Greater connectivity is enabling fleet managers to create a more informative and personalized experience for operators that is designed to simplify onboarding, maximize productivity, reinforce safety and emphasize engagement to improve workforce retention.
• Harnessing data. Customers are identifying and prioritizing the type of data they want to gather and establishing a plan and processes to share relevant, timely information with the right departments and individuals at the right time. Data is presented in a manner that makes it actionable to create meaningful operational and behavioral changes.
• Considering alternative power sources. Companies are looking at innovative power sources for their forklifts to eliminate some of the pain points associated with the lead-acid battery power source. V-Force® Lithium-Ion is one option that offers a number of productivity, maintenance and operating cost advantages.

Crown produces a broad range of forklifts, batteries and chargers, as well as automation solutions and fleet management technologies, and warehouse solutions products and design services. The company’s global headquarters is located in New Bremen, Ohio, USA, with regional headquarters in Australia, China, Germany and Singapore. Its employees number more than 19,600 worldwide. Crown operates a service and distribution network that exceeds 500 retail locations in over 80 countries.