Raymond Corp.: Past, present and future of lift trucks

On its 85th anniversary, the company introduces new lift trucks and talks about manufacturing in the U.S. and the development of hydrogen fuel cells.

by Gary Forger, Editorial Director -- Modern Materials Handling, 6/26/2007

When a company celebrates its 85th anniversary, it ought to make the most of it. And this month, Raymond
did just that at its headquarters in Greene, N.Y.

The company not only had a large outdoor celebration for all employees and area residents, but it introduced three new lift trucks and offered some thoughts on its past, present and future. 

At a time when so many have moved manufacturing offshore, Raymond continues to build its lift trucks here. All of its Class 3 trucks are built in Muscatine, Iowa, all reach trucks in Brantford, Ontario, and all other Class 2 and other miscellaneous trucks in Greene, explained Jim Malvaso, president and CEO.

When asked why he thought Raymond was successful manufacturing here, he simply said, “Management commitment. We believe we can be as good as anyone else in the world.” 

He went on to explain that since 1993 the company has reinvented itself three times in the manufacturing arena, with lean being the latest push. “And today, we put out more trucks with fewer people than ever,” added Malvaso.

At the same time, Raymond is testing out in its own facility a technology that may well be the future of lift trucks – hydrogen fuel cells. Earlier this year, the company was awarded a $750,000 contract to research hydrogen fuel cells from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

According to Steve Medwin, Raymond’s manager of advanced research, two fuel cell equipped lift trucks are now operating in the plant. Each truck will operate for 24 months, he says. An additional two trucks will begin operation later this year.

Medwin says the program has gone well so far and is helping Raymond engineers to better understand how hydrogen works. 

“We need to go from the advantages of retrofitting lift trucks for hydrogen today to getting the advantages of full fuel cell integration with lift trucks,” he says. 

This is also a chance for Raymond to work more closely with fuel cell suppliers. “But it’s not there yet,” he says.