The company said in a release that the expansion "allows Crown to serve its global customers more effectively and increases its presence in the worldwide marketplace."
Crown leaders as well as representatives of the Suzhou and United States governments were on hand for a grand opening.
Crown's ongoing commitment to its customers was a key factor in the decision to build in China, said Crown President Jim Dicke III. "Many of our global customers are already located in China or making plans to open operations. Providing service support for these existing customers in China is very important to our company," he said.
Mr. Dicke added that Crown chose the Suzhou New District, a high-tech industrial park, based on the area's economic climate. "Suzhou will provide us an opportunity to develop talent so that we can build equipment and develop our service teams to meet the requirements of our global customers," he said. "We have been extremely impressed with the talent of the employees hired in China and the quality of suppliers supporting Crown."
Crown has been manufacturing several of its smaller product models in the 150,000 square foot facility since April, 2006. Additionally, Crown has global operations in the United States, Australia, England, Germany and Mexico.

About Crown Equipment Corporation
Crown is the number one brand of electric lift trucks in the United States and the sixth largest lift truck manufacturer in the world. Crown's award-winning line of lift trucks has earned a reputation for exceptional product design, engineering and manufacturing. From the smallest hand pallet truck to the highest lifting turret truck, Crown seeks to provide users with safe, efficient and ergonomic lift trucks that lower total cost of ownership and maximize uptime. Headquartered in New Bremen, Ohio, Crown lift trucks are manufactured and sold throughout the world.