The Hyster H series is the H-prefix family of Hyster lift trucks. The video below shows an H40 H that will not move forward or backward because of stuck brakes. Hyster was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1929 and is today part of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling; no Wikipedia article covers the H series itself.
Hyster H series at a glance
| Maker | Hyster Company, Portland, Oregon |
|---|---|
| Family | H series, H-prefix lift trucks |
| Example in the video | Hyster H40 H |
| Fault in the video | will not go forward or backward, stuck brakes |
| Company founded | 1929, as the Willamette-Ersted Company |
| Owner from 1989 | NACCO Industries |
| Owner from 2012 | Hyster-Yale Materials Handling |
| Name origin | from the loggers’ call ‘hoist ’er’ |
| Plants | Illinois, the Netherlands, China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Northern Ireland, South Africa |
| Engineering department | Irvine, Scotland |
No Wikipedia article covers the Hyster H series: the facts here come from the English Wikipedia article on Hyster Company, a single source, together with the video title.
History of the Hyster H series
H40 H: the truck in the video
The video below is a workshop diagnosis of a Hyster H40 H: the truck will not go forward or backward, and the brakes are stuck. The clip names both the series prefix and an individual model number, which is how the H-prefix trucks are designated. Nothing else about the H40 H is recorded in the sources used here.
1929: Portland and the logging name
Hyster was founded in 1929 as the Willamette-Ersted Company in Portland, Oregon. The name is said to derive from a term used by logging workers in the Pacific Northwest at the end of the nineteenth century; when a load of lumber was ready to be transported a logger would yell ‘hoist ’er’, and according to the Hyster Company web page the phrase became synonymous with Hyster trucks. The company specialised in forklifts and other materials-handling equipment, and its home office stayed in Portland.
Owners, plants and the 2012 spin-off
NACCO Industries bought Hyster in 1989 and made it part of NACCO Materials Handling Group; in 2012 the materials-handling business was spun off as Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., which continues to market products under the Hyster brand. Manufacturing has been spread across Illinois, the Netherlands, China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and South Africa, with a specialist engineering department in Irvine, Scotland. Distribution and support are organised around North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Design and features
- H prefix: the family name that identifies these lift trucks in the Hyster range.
- Named model: the video below features an H40 H.
- Workshop film: the clip records a common diagnosis — no forward or reverse movement with stuck brakes.
- Global support: distribution arranged around five world regions.
- Industrial pedigree: Hyster also built compaction machinery, road-rollers and logging winches.
Hyster H series versions
- Hyster H series: the H-prefix family covered on this page.
- Hyster H40 H: the truck shown in the video below.
- S series: the S-prefix lift trucks.
- Fortis: the Fortis lift-truck line.
The S-prefix trucks are covered by the Hyster S series page, and the Fortis is the other named line in the collection. All Hyster trucks are in the Hyster collection.
Video: Hyster H40 H Forklift Will Not Go Forward Or Backward Stuck Brakes
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Hyster Company, English Wikipedia: company history, ownership, plants, name origin
