Crown Equipment collaborates with university to open forklift technology and training center

Crown Equipment, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, today announced the opening of Crown’s Technology and Training Center at the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). The center, which is fully outfitted with Crown forklifts and service equipment, opened on April 1 with the beginning of the first Forklift Service Technical Training Course.

The entry-level, six-week course is modeled after the course offered by Crown Equipment at its own training centers across North America. It is designed for students who seek service technician employment in the powered industrial forklift field. Offered as part of the Agricultural Diesel Program within UNOH’s College of Applied Technologies, the course will be taught by instructor Chris Marker, who was trained at Crown’s Dallas training facility.

“We are excited because this course exactly follows the teaching methods we employ when training new Crown service technicians at our training facilities,” said Neal Hittepole, director of branch aftermarket sales, Crown Equipment. “Once students complete the hands-on course, they have the knowledge needed to work as a technician at one of our branch facilities. We employ about 1,300 technicians in our U.S. Crown Lift Trucks branches and have a need for quality students.”

Stephen Farmer, vice president of development at the University of Northwestern Ohio, added, “With the opening of Crown’s Technology and Training Center, our students have an opportunity to become trained in a job classification that was not previously available to them.”

The University of Northwestern Ohio is a private, not-for-profit University founded in 1920. It is located in Lima, Ohio, approximately 30 miles from Crown’s world headquarters in New Bremen, Ohio.