The story of Konecranes Lift Trucks
The province of Småland, in southern Sweden, is the world’s heartland of heavy-duty lift trucks. It has a greater concentration of heavy-duty lift truck companies, history, heritage, craftsmanship and passion for the industry than any other part of the world. It was here that the story of Konecranes Lift Trucks began, in the 1950s and the beginning of the modern era of the lift truck business.
We put our heart into that first delivery in 1959, making the truck with great care. Since then, a lot has happened, but we have never let go of that tradition of fine truck craftsmanship, or the mission to provide each customer with trucks that are built for the world they are working in. Our trucks are now in operation in many types of industries across the world, and have evolved throughout the years with the latest technologies and industrial design.
We live and breathe lift trucks. Leading the way from the world’s heartland of lift trucks.
Watch our story:
History of Konecranes Lift Trucks
| Year | Milestone |
| 1947 | Founding of SMV (Silverdalens Mekaniska Verkstad) |
| 1959 | Production and delivery of our first forklift |
| 1994 | Appointment of new management |
| 1995 | Opening of a new production plant in Markaryd, Småland, southern Sweden. A complete new truck range was introduced, including forklifts, container lift trucks and reach stackers. |
| 1998 | Delivery of the world’s largest reach stacker for handling containers on river barges. Factory and office extension. |
| 2000 | Introduction of a new forklift concept, the SPECTRA range, 10-16 tons and 18-25 tons. Introduction of a new range of empty container handlers, stacking 5-8 high, 9 tons capacity, single and double stacking. |
| 2002 | Factory and office extension & Certified according to ISO 9001:2000. |
| 2003 | Certified according to ISO 14001:1996. Introduction of new range of 60-ton forklifts, first delivery to a UK steel mill. Patent obtained for the SPECTRA forklifts. |
| 2004 | SMV becomes part of KCI Konecranes of Finland through acquisition. SMV becomes a business unit of Konecranes with the legal name Konecranes Lifttrucks AB. Introduction of a new range of reach stackers for laden container handling & intermodal handling, the TB & CB series. |
| 2006 | KCI Konecranes launches a new global master brand strategy and identity, and dropped "KCI" from the brand name. Konecranes Lift Trucks business unit introduces a new range of 10-16 ton forklifts with higher performance and a new range of empty container handlers with 4-6 high single stacking and 8 tons capacity. Factory and offices expands for an increased annual production capacity. |
| 2007 | Production facility is opened in Lingang (Shanghai), China. |
| 2011 | Major investment in facilities in Markaryd, Sweden to meet growing demands. |
| 2013 | Introduction of the world’s first hybrid reach stacker, the SMV 4531 TB5 HLT for container handling, with a lifting capacity of 45 tons. Konecranes and Linde Material Handling signs agreement in container handling lift truck business. |
| 2014 | Acquisition of Linde Container Handling |
| 2014 | Launch of the new Generation C Lift Truck |
| 2017 | Konecranes acquire Terex MHPS, extending it's port cranes and lift truck offering. Terex MHPS included the legacy of PPM and Fantuzzi lift trucks |
| 2018 | New distribution channel in China |
| 2019 | Launch of new Liftace reach stackers |
| 2020 | Introduction of E-VER, electric forklift with Li-ion battery |
| 2021 | The 10 000th lift truck is produced. Battery-as-a-service for electric forklifts is launched |