History of Terberg KingLifter

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A truck-mounted forklift is similar in use to a forklift but has the added advantage that it can be attached to the rear of a truck giving independence to the driver meaning that they have their own equipment to load and unload cargo. The truck-mounted forklift was developed in the Netherlands, by the inventor Hessel “Kooi” in the 1970’s. The newly designed truck-mounted forklift had telescopic rams to enable it to raise and lower itself from the truck hanging like a "monkey" behind the truck.

At the time Hessel “Kooi” had a holding company for washing bulbs in the Old Frisian Leije, for loading and unloading of bulbs on location he often needed a forklift, but it took too much time to find a forklift on site so Hessel ‘Kooi” developed the first truck mounted forklift for their own use. Colleagues from the “Kooi” area who saw this truck showed much interest, so much so that “Kooi” decided to build a few copies in his barn in Old Leije.

In 1994, “Kooi” decided to sell his business and in subsequent years it changed hands several times being finally held by the Finnish multinational, Cargotec.

In 2002 Terberg also started sales, development and production of truck-mounted forklifts after increased market demand. In the first years, these activities were coordinated from Terberg Machines BV with numbers increasing annually.

The steady growth of these activities and the lack of space in 2009 meant that the products were eventually sited in their own facility, Terberg Kinglifter. The new facility provided a location for all departments to be together and allow them to continuously work to improve the product with a focus on their customers.

Terberg KingLifter is currently the only remaining Dutch producer of truck-mounted forklifts.