Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America celebrates 25 years of material handling equipment manufacturing

Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America (MCFA), manufacturer of forklifts under the Cat lift trucks, Mitsubishi forklift trucks, and Jungheinrich brands, celebrates a major milestone in July, marking 25 years of material handling equipment production and distribution. The company has continued to grow each year, expanding its 40-acre, Houston-based manufacturing facility and lift truck product offering. MCFA supports the three brands throughout North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean.

"MCFA has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last 25 years," said Ken Barina, president of MCFA, in a press release. "From a small operation of 335 employees to the nearly 1,200 we have today, MCFA has continued to make significant strides in not only the Class IV and V internal combustion forklift market, but also in the electric segment with our innovative Class I, II, and III warehouse products."

Founded July 1, 1992, MCFA has undergone an expansion of its Houston-based manufacturing facilities over the last several years to accommodate product growth as well as the industry's growing demand for electric forklift products. The portfolio of products manufactured at MCFA are distributed and supported by an extensive network of local dealerships.

MCFA's advances in the past quarter of a century include:

• The addition of Jungheinrich-branded warehouse products to MCFA's existing Cat lift trucks and Mitsubishi forklift trucks product lines, providing customers with access to all five classes of lift trucks through MCFA's dealer network.
• Opening a new electric assembly facility on MCFA's manufacturing campus, bringing a 40 percent increase in production capability and creating new manufacturing jobs in Houston.
• Localizing the production of several key forklift products in Houston to reduce delivery lead times.
• The launch of Jungheinrich's Warehouse Navigation technology in North America, offering customers a semi-automated approach to operating lift trucks within narrow aisles.
• A joint venture with Jungheinrich AG to form Industrial Components of Texas LLC (ICOTEX), a new company that will manufacture industrial components. Construction of a dedicated 71,000-square-foot facility is underway in Conroe, Texas, and is scheduled to open in August 2017.

MCFA will celebrate the production of its 450,000th forklift later this year. Later this month, the company will also begin a second expansion of its electric assembly building, doubling the amount of production space for electric forklift models on MCFA's Houston campus.