In 1969, Canadian Walter Sellick and his sons Howard and David converted a Ford 4500 industrial tractor into a forklift for outdoor use. Their reconfigured machine could lift 6,000 pounds.

That simple idea turned into a family business, Sellick Equipment Ltd., in Harrow, ON, that manufactures rough-terrain forklifts and truck-mounted forklifts. Today, more than 11,000 Sellick-built machines are in use worldwide, and the company has more than 200 dealers throughout North America. And, the company is still being run by a Sellick, Walter’s grandson, Colin.