The History of ALM Positioners
Founded in 1982, ALM Positioners has become the leader in combining highly effective intelligent positioners with a solution-driven customer experience.
Our early years
While ALM Positioners was founded as an import products company, we quickly became known as a manufacturer of automotive and heavy vehicle lifts used to service automobiles, commercial trucks, buses and military vehicles.
In the 1990s, Caterpillar approached us to design and build a lift to load and unload assembly lines at its facilities. We partnered with the CAT team to deliver a value-added solution and were subsequently approached by Caterpillar again almost a decade later to design a custom headstock/tailstock positioner solution.
Our first reaction was – what’s a positioner? But through research and lots of back and forth with the CAT team, we came up with a design that was a cost-effective production and economic success. Six months later Caterpillar requested five more units.
Rapid growth
ALM Positioners continued to work with various Caterpillar plants, delivering more than 50 units between 2002 and 2008 for Caterpillar’s welding and production assembly lines throughout the country.
In 2008, we participated in our first FABTECH Show and formed relationships with John Deere, Manitowoc Crane and other companies to provide similar solutions for their production requirements.
ALM Positioners began focusing more of its design and engineering talents on positioners. The steady growth led to us outgrowing our manufacturing capacities at our original location (having doubled twice in a 3 year period) and prompted us to look at alternative locations that would allow increased production to meet the ever-growing demands of the marketplace.
The result of this effort was the acquisition of ALM Materials Handling by Hawk Technology, Inc, forming the subsidiary now known as ALM Positioners, Inc. in January of 2015. The ongoing operation of ALM Positioners, Inc. was then relocated to Rock Island, Illinois.
Positioned for continued success
Subsequently, as ALM Positioners continues to grow, we continue to add new and talented employees and add more product offerings and positioning solutions. As growth accelerates, ALM continues to maintain its focus on outstanding customer service.
In March 2017, ALM Positioners, Inc. and Hawk Technology, Inc. divided into 2 companies with separate ownership.
In July of 2022, ALM Positioners, Inc. announced the successful completion of a Management Buyout (MBO). The MBO included investments by McCarthy-Bush Corporation, Konza Valley Capital, Inc., and ALM management, and marks a new chapter for ALM Positioners, Inc.
The entire ALM team understands that productivity always matters. As we grow, we will continue to pursue our unrelenting mission; ALM helps make North American workers globally competitive, by enabling them to work better, faster and safer.