Raymond breaks ground for $7 million expansion

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 8/1/2000

With 1999 sales being "the best in Raymond history," says James Malvaso, president and CEO, "and 2000 sales taking off like gangbusters," the lift truck manufacturer needs to add more production capacity.

Company executives broke ground on a $7 million, 62,500 sq. ft. expansion of the Brantford, Ontario plant of Raymond Industrial Equipment Ltd. When fully completed in 2002, the addition to the existing 145,000 sq. ft. plant should double its capacity.

"We are operating 24 hours per day, 5 days a week plus weekend overtime to ensure reasonable lead times for our customers," says Jim Locker, general manager of the plant and Raymond vice president. "But we need capacity to keep up with demand."

Raymond builds walkie pallet and reach trucks at the plant with a work force of 500. Employment might soar to 900, in order to realize full capacity when the expansion is complete.

The market for pallet trucks is strong, and particularly so for Long John models that move two pallet loads at a time, Malvaso says. Grocery firms and others want this added productivity, he explains. And walkies serve in an increasing number of order picking applications.

Users today want trouble-free trucks. "The more maintenance free they are, the better they like it," says Malvaso.

In reach trucks, one trend is "to go higher and higher," Malvaso says. Raymond also "will be pushing the envelope on performance factors and truck ergonomics" as new designs emerge.