What Might Have Been

May 19, 2004 - It's official. JLG has completed the acquisition of the Manitowoc 's Toucan line. On the surface, the engineering tradition of the Toucan and its substantial French presence may well be the most notable aspects of this deal. Much attention has been given to what the Toucan can do for JLG, but for those of us who have been around awhile this acquisition is in some ways bittersweet because it means the end of Manlift.

In addition to purchasing the Toucan and Liftlux product lines, JLG has also bought the rights to and engineering drawings for all Manlift products. Rumor has it that these were thrown into the deal as a little something extra.

Although Grove Manlift was building some very popular boom lifts when its plug was pulled, JLG certainly didn't acquire it for its engineering agenda. Rather, this is a strategic move to prevent the product line from falling into the hands of any current or potential competitor. One would assume that JLG will tuck the Manlift drawings away, never to again see the light of day, and forever laying the Manlift label to rest.

Manlift got its start in the 1960s in Selma , Calif. The late Carl Ruge with the help of John Parker got things cranked up. It was then sold to the Chamberlain Group of Elmhurst , Ill. , (Yes, the garage-door-opener people), before falling into the hands of Grove Crane. There Manlift played the part as the neglected stepchild to the crane division for more than 20 years.

In early 2000, when the market for lift equipment was starting to tank, Grove and Skyjack announced a strategic alliance to share their respective boom and scissor lift technologies with each other. I always thought this arrangement was much like two young people living together but not sure they really wanted to get married. As it turned out, that alliance didn't last as long as the average Hollywood marriage.

When Manitowoc bought Grove Worldwide there was a ray of hope-maybe Manlift might finally get a chance to leverage its still highly regarded label without having to deal with the lack of commitment Grove's upper management had failed to make to the product. Unfortunately the rational thinking at Manitowoc 's headquarters was more critical than anyone expected. After nearly four decades of brand building, Manlift ceased production late last year.

Even then, many believed someone would scoop up this marquee product, just as Snorkel had been salvaged from the Omniquip trash bin. Some wondered whether Skyjack's parent company Linamar Corp., Guelph , Ontario , which had been perceived as the perfect suitor for Snorkel, would make a play for this fairly painless entry back into the boom lift market.

But, unlike Snorkel with its new lease on life, it seems Manlift will join the likes of Marklift, Simon, Condor, and others...consolidated and archived into mere memories. So long, Manlift.