H&K Equipment, a Pittsburgh-based forklift and material handling equipment distributor, announced that it has become the authorized Taylor Machine Works dealer for Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, and Garrett and Allegany counties in Maryland. H&K Equipment will now provide all sales, service and support for Taylor products in these areas.

H&K Equipment’s affiliate company, Taylor Northeast, already represents Taylor forklifts in geographically congruent territories in Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and portions of Virginia. The move unifies regional distribution of Taylor products under a single company and establishes H&K Equipment and Taylor Northeast as the largest Taylor lift truck provider in the Mid-Atlantic. Taylor was formerly represented in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region by Burns Industrial Equipment, which changed its focus to lift truck models outside of Taylor’s product lines in early 2018.

George Koch, president of H&K Equipment, described the move as a logical step in the evolution of the company. “We have been representing Taylor for over 30 years,” Koch said. “We are thrilled to bring our passion and expertise for this equipment to customers in the expanded territory.”

H&K Equipment, which is headquartered 15 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, is situated in the middle of the new territory it will be managing. The company’s central location, Koch said, puts every former Burns Industrial Equipment customer within easy reach of its sales and support teams. H&K Equipment’s now-combined territory, Koch added, crosses eight states and covers over 100,000 square miles of area.

“With our affiliate Taylor Northeast, we have facilities in Pittsburgh, throughout the eastern half of Pennsylvania, down into Baltimore and up into Syracuse, New York. That gives us the ability to bring a range of expanded rental and service options to these customers. All of our fleet and service capabilities were developed with that goal in mind.”

In 2017, before acquiring the new territory, H&K Equipment’s association of companies was the second-largest Taylor distributor in the United States. In addition to having the largest Taylor sales and rental fleet in the area, Koch said, H&K Equipment has long distinguished itself as an authority in large, difficult-to-source material handling equipment.

“We have a reputation for being the big truck guys,” Koch said. “These are some of the biggest trucks out there. Our service specialists are among the most experienced and knowledgeable in the country. That’s something we’ve cultivated at our companies over a period of decades.”