Clark forklifts Archives

Clark Announces American Homecoming

Posted on 25 June, 202425 July, 2025 by Keith McKinley

Clark Material Handling is pleased to announce the establishment of its Global Headquarters in the United States. This move returns a premier American brand, the creator of the modern forklift, from Korea back to the US and lays the foundation for a global growth strategy that begins with a homecoming.

Clark’s Global Headquarters will merge with Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), in Lexington, Kentucky, North American operations, leveraging the strengths of both companies and positioning Clark for further global growth in the coming decades. The integrated organization will be effective July 1, 2024, and will be located in Dallas, Texas, upon the official opening of the new Headquarters planned for January 1, 2025.

Mr. Chuck Moratz, Clark’s current Global President, will lead the integrated organization and serve as CEO at CMHC. Moratz has over 30 years of extensive forklift experience and an unwavering commitment to the Clark company. He has held various pivotal positions at CMHC, including Engineering Director, Vice President of Truck Operations, and COO. His global roles have included Vice President of Global Engineering and President of Global HQ. In addition, he has overseen the introduction of numerous IC and electric new products, including the bullet-proof S-Series product line. Moratz holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from West Point and has served in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea.

“Clark remains steadfast in its promise to deliver the highest-quality products and services worldwide. By relocating and combining our operations, we will accelerate new product development and the integration of new technologies to meet the changing needs of our customers while providing the best service and lowest cost of ownership in the industry”, says Moratz. “We appreciate the continued support of our employees, dealers, customers, and the market as we embark on this exciting new chapter. Together, we will build on our legacy of over 100 years of excellence and drive Clark to new heights.”

Since the forklift was invented by Eugene Clark in Buchanan, Michigan (USA) in 1917, CLARK has been one of the worldwide market leaders in the material handling equipment business. With more than 100 years of experience in the sector, and over 1.4 million forklifts sold worldwide, the CLARK brand, which is proud of its roots in the United States of America, is associated with modern and robust product design, progressive, sophisticated technology, and excellent customer service. Since 2003, CLARK has offered a complete product portfolio consisting of forklift trucks with electric or combustion engines and load capacities from 1.5 to 8 tons, reach trucks, warehouse trucks, tow tractors and a comprehensive range of services.

New Sales & Marketing Director

New Clark Sales Partner for Austria

Posted on 23 April, 202425 July, 2025 by Keith McKinley

With Schauer Gabelstapler GmbH, Clark Europe has brought a new sales partner for Austria on board. The company, based in Gabersdorf in Steiermark, will be responsible for Clark Europe’s sales activities in Steiermark, in Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Wien and Burgenland.

Schauer Gabelstapler GmbH was founded in 2013 by Karlheinz Schauer as a sole proprietorship. After a very short time, the company was already very successful in the areas of service, repair, hire and sale of forklift trucks, so that his brother, Martin Schauer, joined the company in 2016. The company’s range of services was expanded to include the repair and servicing of combustion engines, electric drives and control systems, special conversions, repairs to hydraulic systems and battery regeneration. The team around the “Schauer brothers” also grew continuously.

In 2020, Schauer Gabelstapler founded a limited company, and the portfolio was expanded again with the sale and hire of work platforms. In order to continue to be equipped for the future, the brothers started planning a new company location in 2020. In 2021, the company moved to Gabersdorf to the new large and ultra-modern forklift workshop. The 5000 m2 site houses 1000 m2 of building space with offices, sales and storage rooms, a modern workshop with a hydraulic station for the production of a wide range of hoses and lines, a training room for up to 25 people that can also be booked externally, a showroom for new and used vehicles and a large spare parts warehouse.

The company, which has long since made a name for itself in the industry, now has 13 employees – eight of whom are service technicians. Today, the service portfolio includes the sale of new and used equipment, the servicing and repair of forklift trucks from all manufacturers, annual safety inspections, the hire of work platforms and forklift trucks, the planning of warehouse concepts and the repair and sale of batteries.

Schauer offers the complete range of Clark services for Clark Europe in Austria. In addition to the sale of all Clark forklift truck classes and warehouse trucks, this includes the supply of Clark spare parts and accessories, a comprehensive range of services including rental and financing as well as a comprehensive service for new and used Clark industrial trucks.

“With Schauer Gabelstapler, we welcome an industrial truck specialist with many years of expertise to our team, who can provide our customers in Austria with competent support for our range of services,” says Rolf Eiten, President & CEO at Clark Europe. “We are looking forward to working together.”

“We are also very pleased that we have been able to conclude a cooperation agreement with Clark Europe, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of industrial trucks,” explain Karlheinz and Martin Schauer, Managing Directors of Schauer Gabelstapler GmbH. “This partnership enables us to offer our customers high-quality industrial trucks for their internal logistics from a single source. The extensive Clark product range includes vehicles that can be used safely and efficiently in a wide variety of industries and applications. We are convinced that together we can further increase awareness of the CLARK brand on the Austrian market.”

Clark Europe Introduces New Management

Clark Europe Introduces New Management

Posted on 13 February, 202431 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Clark Europe GmbH, based in Duisburg, has expanded its management team. With this step, the industrial truck manufacturer wants to set the course for the upcoming generational change in good time.

In addition to his role as Director of Sales and Marketing, Stefan Budweit will assume responsibility for operations management as COO (Chief Operating Officer) with immediate effect. Budweit has been with Clark Europe since 2012 and can look back on more than 30 years of national and international experience in the field of material handling. Before joining Clark Europe, he worked as a key account manager for Toyota and Jungheinrich, among others. Budweit started his career at Clark Europe as Business Development Manager. Here he was responsible for the strategic orientation and further development of Clark Europe. As Regional Sales Manager in Scandinavia and parts of Germany, he was also instrumental in expanding the sales activities of the forklift specialist.

Thomas Bach has also joined the management team as Director of R&D and Purchasing with immediate effect. Bach started his career at Clark Europe as a development engineer in 2015 after completing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Here he demonstrated his skills in the design and development of industrial trucks and warehouse technology. In 2020, he took over as team leader of the design and development department, where he coordinates development and design projects, among other things. He also manages the collaboration with international suppliers and develops the product strategy and planning in coordination with Clark’s global plants in the USA, Korea, Vietnam and China.

“With the new strategic positioning of our management team, we have optimally equipped ourselves for the future so that we can meet future challenges and the increasing demands of our customers even better,” explains Rolf Eiten, President & CEO of Clark Europe, to whom the Sales and Finance divisions continue to report directly.

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