Hyster is an American company producing material-handling machinery, in particular, forklifts. Initially, the venture was established in 1929 under the name of Willamette-Ersted Company as a result of the merger of two companies, developing machinery for the logging industry, Electric Steel Foundy and Willamette Iron & Steel Works. The new company was seated in Portland, Oregon. By 1934, the venture was renamed Williamette Hyster Company and started manufacturing innovative heavy-duty lift vehicles. In 1944, the firm received its new name Hyster Company and added an export department to its structure to cope with the new scope of operations. In 1989 the company was purchased by NACCO Industries and in 2012 was merged with Yale Materials Handling Corporation to form the Hyster-Yale Materials Handling firm.
