Crown Equipment Corporation is a privately held American manufacturer of powered industrial forklift trucks based in Ohio.

Based in the small community of New Bremen, Ohio, Crown got its start by first manufacturing temperature controls for coal-burning furnaces and then television antenna rotators.

Its lift trucks are used worldwide in a variety of applications, such as transporting goods through the narrow aisles of warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities.

Crown manufactures up to 85 percent of the parts used in its lift trucks, producing components ranging from wire harnesses to electric motors.

All Crown manufacturing facilities – including the small components, motor, mast and final assembly plants, as well as engineering, purchasing, design, distribution center and tool rooms have obtained ISO 9001:2000 certification.

[1] In 2004, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Crown a Waste Minimization Partner, publicly recognizing the firm for its voluntary efforts.

Crown reduced its hazardous waste emissions by more than 300,000 pounds by removing chromium (in the form of ammonium dichromate as a flash rust inhibitor) from water-based paint formulations.

In 1972, Crown introduced its first rider stand-up counterbalanced (RC) truck which featured a side stance position that allowed the driver, standing sideways, to see both forward and backward by turning his head.

In 1980, Crown introduced its RR Series rider reach trucks, designed for the narrow aisles of warehouses and distribution centers.

[4] Crown’s TSP 6000 Series (Turret Stockpicker), which enables warehouse storage on shelves dozens of feet above the floor, won 2007 international “Best of the Best” Red dot design award[3].

[6] Crown’s research will address the technical and commercial barriers to using available battery replacement fuel cell power packs in industrial lift trucks.

[7] In 2006, Crown’s training approach, called DP QuickStart®, earned an Award of Excellence for Outstanding Instructional Product from the International Society for Performance Improvement [9] (ISPI).

For two decades, starting in the late 1950s, Crown’s survival and growth were supported by subcontract work, manufacturing mechanical and electrical components for private industry (e.g., Baldwin Pianos and IBM) and the U.S. government, especially the military.