On Wednesday, New Bremen, Ohio-based Crown Equipment celebrated the opening of the new facility, which manufactures the 2.4-liter LPG engine used in its Crown C-5 Series forklifts.
Crown Equipment selected Troy for its new manufacturing facility because of the site’s proximity to Interstate 75 and the availability of skilled workers, said Lance Ibrahim, Crown Troy plant manager.
“We’ve had very good success so far in filling positions,” Ibrahim said.
The 165,500-square-foot plant employs about 50 workers and has produced 2,000 engines since production started there late last year. Currently, the Troy plant has four job openings.
“Based on Crown’s historic growth, I imagine we are going to continue to grow,” Ibrahim said.
Founded in 1945 in New Bremen, Crown Equipment is a $2.5 billion global forklift manufacturer and material-handling technology provider with more than 12,000 employees worldwide, Dicke said.
In Ohio, Crown Equipment also has manufacturing facilities in New Bremen, New Knoxville, Minster and Celina that employ a total of more than 3,700 production workers. The company also has a number of Ohio sales and service locations, including one in Vandalia.
Crown purchased the building at 1050 S. Dorset Road in Troy in 2012 and took occupancy in 2013. The previous owner, Stillwater Technologies Inc., continues to occupy space in the building and supplies Crown with high-precision components, Ibrahim said.
Crown moved into space once occupied by robotics manufacturer Motoman.
In August 2012, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 50-percent, eight-year job creation tax credit for Crown, with the expectation that the company would create 45 full-time positions, generating $2.2 million in new annual payroll as a result of the company’s new location in Troy.
The engine manufactured in Troy was jointly developed by Crown Equipment and John Deere Power Systems for forklifts used under harsh conditions at manufacturing and distribution facilities, as well as scrap yards.
The completed engines are transported to Crown’s assembly plant in Greencastle, Ind., where they are installed in Crown C-5 Series forklifts for delivery to customers.
“A big share of the market right now is North America, but we are growing in many other markets,” Ibrahim said.
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