Hyster New Zealand is marking 80 years of service to Kiwi industries with the business now part of Adaptalift Group, Australia’s largest privately owned forklift company.
The transition follows the unconditional sale agreement between Sime Motors NZ and Adaptalift, finalised in late February this year. The move brings Hyster NZ under the same banner as Adaptalift’s Australian operations, which have represented the Hyster brand since 2009.
Founded in 1945 as Gough Materials Handling, Hyster NZ has built a strong national footprint, with a team of technical specialists and branches across the country. It rebranded to ‘Hyster NZ’ in 2020 under Sime Darby Transport (NZ) Ltd.
Now, nearly five months on, the transition into the Adaptalift Group marks the beginning of a new era of growth.
“Hyster New Zealand is a strong business with deep customer relationships, great technical expertise, and a nationwide footprint,” Adaptalift Group chief executive Steven Taylor says.
“Our initial focus is on supporting business continuity, working closely with the team and customers to ensure service levels are maintained and optimised.
“We want to develop a deep understanding of where we can best add value to existing customers — through product knowledge, technology solutions, and access to a wide parts inventory.”
Adaptalift says the integration opens new opportunities for customers on both sides of the Tasman. These include expanded product and solution offerings across fleet management, safety, and automation, as well as stronger national parts supply and technical support networks.
Major account customers operating in both Australia and New Zealand will also benefit from more seamless trans-Tasman servicing. Meanwhile, continued access to Hyster products will now be supported by Adaptalift’s infrastructure and systems, the company says.
Customers will continue to work with the same experienced team while gaining access to broader resources and innovation.
Adaptalift New Zealand manager Ryan Hosking says the team is focused on lifting the bar.
“At Adaptalift Group, we’re constantly asking: How can we deliver better outcomes, where can we remove complexity and what else can we do to help our customers win?
“That mindset drives us to innovate, simplify, and improve — not just in our products and service delivery, but in how we support our customers and one another.”
Adaptalift Group is a family-owned operation which employs more than 580 people. It opened its first New Zealand branch in East Tāmaki two years ago.
