CLEVELAND, April 30,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyster-Yale, Inc. (NYSE: HY)
(the "Company") today announced a strategic business realignment of
its Nuvera fuel cell business designed both to increase near term
profits and to create an integrated energy solutions program at
Nuvera's Billerica facility which will be part of its
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling (HYMH) business. That program will
include HYMH's:
- Development, manufacturing, and commercialization of its
lithium-ion battery modules, battery chargers, battery management
systems, and energy management activities. All of these
activities are critical to HYMH's success with the next generation
of batteries expected to be used broadly in electric forklift
trucks. These activities will be carried out in the Billerica
facility and as needed, in HYMH's other facilities around the
world.
- Development, manufacturing and commercialization of a mobile,
modular and scalable hybrid electric charging platform to provide
off grid power solutions. This platform will use both HYMH's
battery solutions and also have a variant called
HydroChargeTM which incorporates Nuvera's patented
fuel cell technology.
- A very significantly downsized and limited fuel cell program
focused on completing final development and testing of its higher
powered 125KW fuel cell for use in HYMH's port equipment and in
larger HydroChargeTM applications. This modest fuel
cell program reflects the Company's conclusion, based on recent
limited and very focused up take of fuel cells as an energy
solution, as well as on a significantly changed political
environment in the U.S. and around the world, that its current fuel
cell business will not reach the Company's profitability objectives
in an acceptable period.
This strategic alignment is expected to achieve, beginning in
the second half of 2025, direct annualized cost reductions of
$15 to $20
million and indirect cost reductions of $10 to $15 million
by absorbing Nuvera resources into open positions focused on
accelerating development of its battery products and services and
mobile charging platform as well as other HYMH immediate needs. The
Company expects to incur employee severance and impairment costs in
the second quarter of 2025 of approximately $15 to $18 million.
Additional charges or expenditures are possible as the program
progresses.
Further, this program, which will take advantage of Nuvera's
current technical skill base in each of the initiatives in
Billerica, lays the groundwork for more rapid maturity, growth and
profitability of its battery and charger programs; development,
manufacturing and commercialization of its charging platforms for
off grid power solutions; and its port equipment electric power
solutions. The overall energy management program has significant
technical and product synergies between fuel cells, lithium-ion
batteries, chargers and the mobile charge platform in areas such as
controls, packaging, cooling and manufacturing. Battery program
sales are expected to accelerate substantially from 2024 levels in
2025 and in following years. Initial sales of its
HydroChargeTM product are expected to begin in the
second half of 2025, and battery and fuel cell electric port
equipment trucks are already in testing in customer applications.
These three product activities are expected to meet not only HYMH's
end user and dealer electric product distribution needs but also
provide additional service revenue opportunities over time.
This strategic realignment is part of Hyster-Yale's broader
strategic change program designed (in a manner consistent with the
Company's vision of Transforming the Way Material Moves from
Port to Home) to transform Hyster-Yale's strong historical
core counterbalanced forklift truck business while building new
business opportunities in the warehouse forklift truck market,
automation, energy management, and attachment activities through
its HYMH and Bolzoni businesses. The Company believes the programs
underway to create modular, scalable products, an optimized
manufacturing footprint, consolidate its supplier structure, and
target a broader customer base with optimized customer solutions
which are transforming its core counterbalanced forklift truck
business, together with its warehousing, automation, energy
management solutions, and attachment growth programs are expected
to support revenue growth for the Company as well as enhanced
operating profitability at all points in the forklift truck market
cycle, and are expected to do that with lower capital intensity and
higher returns on total capital employed than in the past.
Forward-looking Statements Disclaimer
The statements contained in this news release that are not
historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These
forward-looking statements are made subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those presented. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events
or circumstances that arise after the date hereof. Among the
factors that could cause plans, actions and results to differ
materially from current expectations are, without limitation: (1)
delays in delivery and other supply chain disruptions, or increases
in costs as a result of inflation or otherwise, including
materials, critical components and transportation costs and
shortages, the imposition of tariffs on raw materials or sourced
products, and labor, or changes in or unavailability of quality
suppliers or transporters, including the impacts of the foregoing
risks on the Company's liquidity, (2) impacts resulting from
increased trade barriers and restrictions on international trade,
including as a result of previously announced, and potentially new,
changes to U.S. trade policy and tariffs as well as retaliatory
tariffs imposed by other countries where the Company does business,
(3) delays in manufacturing and delivery schedules, (4) reduction
in demand for lift trucks, attachments and related aftermarket
parts and service on a global basis, including any cyclical
reduction in demand in the lift truck industry, (5) customer
acceptance of pricing, (6) customer acceptance of, changes in the
costs of, or delays in the development of new products, (7) the
ability of the Company and its dealers, suppliers and end-users to
access credit, or obtain financing at reasonable rates, or at all,
as a result of interest rate volatility and current economic and
market conditions, including inflation, (8) unfavorable effects of
geopolitical and legislative developments on global operations,
including without limitation the entry into new trade agreements
and the imposition of tariffs and/or economic sanctions, including
the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (the "UFLPA") which
could impact the Company's imports from China, as well as armed conflicts, including
the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the Israel and Gaza conflict and/or the conflict in the Red
Sea, and their regional effects, (9) exchange rate fluctuations,
interest rate volatility and monetary policies and other changes in
the regulatory climate in the countries in which the Company
operates and/or sells products, (10) the effectiveness of the cost
reduction programs implemented globally, including the successful
implementation of procurement and sourcing initiatives and
restructuring programs, (11) the successful commercialization of
products and technology related to the energy solutions program,
(12) political and economic uncertainties in the countries where
the Company does business, as well as the effects of any
withdrawals from such countries, (13) bankruptcy of or loss of
major dealers, retail customers or suppliers, (14) introduction of
new products by, more favorable product pricing offered by or
shorter lead times available through competitors, (15) product
liability or other litigation, warranty claims or returns of
products, (16) changes mandated by federal, state and other
regulation, including tax, health, safety or environmental
legislation, (17) the ability to attract, retain, and replace
workforce and administrative employees, (18) disruptions resulting
from natural disasters, public health crises, political crises or
other catastrophic events, and (19) the ability to protect the
Company's information technology infrastructure against service
interruptions, data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network
breaches.
About Hyster-Yale, Inc.
Hyster-Yale, Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a globally integrated
company offering a full line of lift trucks and solutions,
including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products aimed
at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers.
Hyster-Yale's vision is to transform the way the world moves
materials from Port to Home and deliver on its customer
promises of: (1) thoroughly understanding customer applications and
offering optimal solutions that will improve productivity at the
lowest cost of ownership, and (2) providing exceptional customer
care to create increasing value from initial engagement through the
product lifecycle.
The Company's wholly owned operating subsidiary, Hyster-Yale
Materials Handling, Inc., designs, engineers, manufactures, sells
and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and
aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the
Hyster® and Yale®
brand names. Subsidiaries of Hyster-Yale include Bolzoni S.p.A., a
leading worldwide producer of attachments, forks and lift tables
marketed under the Bolzoni®, Auramo® and
Meyer® brand names and Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, an
alternative-power technology company focused on fuel cell stacks
and engines. Hyster-Yale also has an unconsolidated joint venture
in Japan (Sumitomo NACCO). For
more information about Hyster-Yale and its subsidiaries, visit the
Company's website at www.hyster-yale.com.
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SOURCE Hyster-Yale, Inc.
