Lift truck manufacturer expands most important export market outside Europe

International growth trajectory: HUBTEX acquires stake in US distributor DSH

Measured by the highest number of vehicles outside Germany, the USA is the most important export market for HUBTEX outside Europe. For more than 30 years, Design Storage & Handling (DSH) has successfully marketed the HUBTEX product portfolio in the North and Central American markets of the USA, Canada and Mexico. As of January 2021, HUBTEX has a stake in this general importer, having acquired a 50 percent holding in the company from the owner and entrepreneur Rob Alling. Now working alongside Alling as Managing Director is Hans-Joachim Finger, Managing Director Sales and Purchasing at HUBTEX. The succession plan intends for DSH to become a wholly owned subsidiary in the next few years.

Future potential in automation
In addition to its head office in Fredericksburg (Virginia), DSH has three further sites in Brookville (Ohio), Charleston (South Carolina) and Seattle (Washington) with a total of around 40 employees. The distributor specializes in offering a complete portfolio of solutions in the long goods handling sector. In addition to vehicles, it also supplies everything required to fit out a warehouse. The special cooperation between DSH and HUBTEX is characterized by the sale and service of products designed for specific markets, especially the aerospace sector. Other key sectors include steel, automotive, plastics, building materials and glass. For the future, HUBTEX sees further potential in the field of automation solutions in particular. The manufacturer is seeking to work with DSH to open up a steadily growing market for fully automated multidirectional lift trucks and special vehicles in diverse industries throughout the USA.