Crown Equipment Corp., New Bremen, Ohio, opened a 165,500-square-foot forklift engine facility in Troy, Ohio, designed to produce 2.4L LPG engines used in its Crown C-5 Series industrial forklifts. Crown purchased this facility in 2012, and recently earned the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001:2008 certification.

Crown Equipment worked closely with John Deere Power Systems, Waterloo, Iowa, to jointly develop an engine built specifically for forklifts operating in the toughest environments. Initially, John Deere Power Systems supplied the engines and supported Crown throughout the transition of the engine production to the new facility. Moving forward, Crown’s completed engines will be transported to its Greencastle, Ind., plant to be placed inside Crown C-5 Series forklifts for delivery to customers.

Crown Equipment’s integrated manufacturing practices “provide a level of control and consistency that brings unsurpassed quality and increased dependability and reliability to customers. It’s a forward-thinking culture that Crown embraces globally, and has resulted in competitive differentiation for the Crown lift trucks customer experience,” says Jim Dicke III, president of Crown Equipment.

In addition to compiling a premier team of automotive and industrial engine experts to lead the new facility, Crown worked closely with best-in-class manufacturers from related segments to gain insight into proven processes for high-performance engines.

“Throughout all of our manufacturing operations, we use what we believe to be some of the most advanced manufacturing and related practices to support tooling, fabrication, assembly, electronics and finishing,” says Dave Besser, senior vice president of manufacturing, Crown Equipment. “We invest in training and sophisticated manufacturing technology to ensure that quality and precision are built into each step of the process. As a result, our customers know that the forklift they receive isn’t just a Crown forklift on the outside. It’s a Crown forklift on the inside, too. And this is a difference our customers value.”