Hoist evolved from humble beginnings. In 1980, Marty Flaska started Forklift Exchange from his house in the western suburbs of Chicago, specializing in buy-ing, selling and renting material han-dling equipment. Over the next decade, the company grew tremen-dously, and in 1994, Flaska acquired the rights to build cushion-tire forklifts from Brooklyn, New York-based Silent Hoist and Crane. Moving the business to Addison, Illinois, Flaska trans-formed Silent Hoist and Crane into Hoist Liftruck Mfg., Inc.

    In a few years, Hoist became the preferred vendor for high-capacity cushion-tire forklifts for the automotive, steel and aluminum industries. In 1998, Hoist moved its operations to its current location in Bedford Park, Illinois to accommodate its expansion, with Hoist acquiring Cleveland, Ohio-based Elwell-Parker in 2000, and Bucyrus, Ohio-based Schreck and Autolift in 2001.

    Hoist Liftruck Mfg., Inc. engineers and manufactures heavy-duty forklifts ranging in capacity from 6.7 tons to 50 tons for a wide range of industries.