In 1945, two brothers, Carl H. Dicke and Allen A. Dicke, founded Crown in a one-room operation in rural Ohio with a vision that would eventually reshape the material handling industry. What began as a small local venture grew from its roots in New Bremen to become one of the world's largest lift truck manufacturers, driven by an unwavering commitment to design excellence and engineering innovation. Today, the fourth generation of the Dicke family continues to lead Crown, maintaining the founding principles of quality, reliability, and customer focus that have defined the company for nearly eight decades.
Crown Equipment has earned more than 100 global design awards by reimagining what material handling equipment can be. The company designs and manufactures up to 85 percent of its lift truck components-including motors, drive units, and electronic modules-ensuring that when it says Crown on the outside, it's a Crown on the inside. This vertical integration allows Crown to maintain exceptional quality control and continuously innovate across electric and internal combustion product lines. From hand pallet trucks to high-lifting turret trucks, Crown's human-centered designs prioritize operator productivity, comfort, and safety, while technologies like InfoLink fleet management and QuickPick Remote are revolutionizing warehouse efficiency. With 24 manufacturing facilities worldwide and more than 500 retail locations in 84 countries, Crown delivers on a simple but powerful promise: when every minute matters, customers can count on Crown to keep their businesses moving.