Presto Lifts acquires ECOA Industrial Lift Products

Material handling equipment provider Presto Lifts Inc. has acquired ECOA Industrial Lift Products Inc. of Hialeah, Fla., the companies announced Monday.

Norton, Mass.-based Presto makes equipment such as powered pallet trucks that allow an aging workforce to handle heavier loads, are more convenient to use than hand pallet trucks, and are more economical than ride-on devices, the company says.

The merger extends Presto's product range and will allow both companies to operate more efficiently by combining certain operations, Presto said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Presto Lifts has developed a very complete range of lifting and positioning equipment to optimize the safety and productivity of workers in factories and warehouses," Presto Vice President Steve Albert said in a release. "ECOA's products complement this range, and also expand it by allowing us to target bigger-footprint, heavier-capacity, and custom-designed equipment required throughout these same facilities."

ECOA offers a full line of ergonomic lifting and work-positioned equipment, such as scissor lift tables, tilt tables, hydraulic lifts, and custom lifts.

In order to leverage the two firms' strengths, Presto will move ECOA's manufacturing business into Presto's own facility in northeast Arkansas in order to create more geographically centralized business operations. In another change, Presto has already opened a new office in South Florida, close to ECOA's location, which will be staffed by experienced ECOA sales and technical support associates.