Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts
# Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts

Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts, Inc. is a group of multinational companies that were formed under a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Caterpillar Inc. in order to manufacture and market trucks. The group manufactures and distributes Cat Lift Trucks, Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks and Jungheinrich warehouse products to the material handling industry.

## History

The joint venture was formed on July 1, 1992 when MHI entered a joint venture with Caterpillar Inc.

The joint venture includes the following companies based on the geographic markets they serve:

* Americas: Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America based in Houston, Texas, USA.
* Europe & Africa: Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe based in Almere, Netherlands.
* Far East: Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Asia based in Singapore.

The joint venture combined a variety of operational strengths to form a successful company. Mitsubishi's operational strengths include cost-effective manufacturing expertise, vast engineering resources and possession proprietary powertrain. Caterpillar Inc. provided marketing experience, worldwide dealer organization, brand recognition and effective product support.

## Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America

Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. ("MCFA"), headquartered in Houston, Texas is a manufacturer and distributor of material handling equipment and parts under the Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks, Cat Lift Trucks, and Jungheinrich brand names. MCFA also owns the rights to Towmotor brand name, and manufactures under it. MCFA is ISO 9001-2000 certified and has obtained compliance certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). MCFA provides a full line of forklifts with complete sales and product support through more than 400 dealer locations throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.

The company's 860,000 sq ft (80,000 $m^2).$ facility in Houston is located on 42 acres (170,000 $m^2)$ of land and employs 1,200 workers, capable of producing over 25,000 forklifts per annum.

MCFA is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and one of the worldwide MCF group of companies:

* MCFE (Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe) based in Almere, Netherlands
* MLAP (Mitsubishi Logisnext Asia Pacific) based in Singapore

Each group, with the exception of MLAP, is responsible for design engineering, manufacturing and marketing the product lines and handling parts distribution in their respective regions.

### History

MCFA was formed through a joint venture in 1992 between two major companies, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Caterpillar Industrial Inc. (CII). Jungheinrich Forklifts joined this partnership on January 1, 2010 through a manufacturing and distribution agreement with MCFA.

### Products

* Internal Combustion Cushion Tire Lift Trucks
* Internal Combustion Pneumatic Tire Lift Trucks
* Electric Counterbalanced Forklifts
* Electric Narrow Aisle Forklift Trucks
* Electric and Manual Walkie Forklifts

## Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe

Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe B.V. (MCFE) is a manufacturer and distributor of materials handling products under the brand names Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks and Cat Lift Trucks.

Serving customers in Europe (including Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States – CIS), Africa and the Middle East, it is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) and Caterpillar Inc. whose other materials handling subsidiaries include:

* Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc.
* Mitsubishi Logisnext Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
* Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift (Shanghai) Co. Ltd

MCFE is based in Almere, the Netherlands, from which it supports a network of more than a hundred independently owned and operated dealers and distributors covering more than 72 countries. MCFE has received the following quality accreditations from the International Organization for Standardization: ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 14001

### History

MCFE was formed in 1992 when MHI entered a joint venture with Caterpillar Inc.

### Production and support facilities

MCFE’s headquarters are located at the ‘De Vaart’ industrial park in Almere, the Netherlands. They also own a separate manufacturing facility in Järvenpää, Finland, and can call on the resources of the Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift centres in Asia and America for further manufacturing capacity.

In addition, MCFE has a central European parts centre based in Puurs, Belgium. The European parts operation is supplemented and supported by those in Asia and America.

In 2012 production in Almere stopped due to recession and lack of sales. MCFE changed from a production facility to a sales office.

