Lift makers extend deal to Canada

(Stertil-Koni USA Inc. photo)
Stertil-Koni's Diamond Lift is a telescopic piston lift for heavy-duty bus and truck maintenance, the company said.

STEVENSVILLE, Md. (May 28, 2015) — Vehicle lift makers Stertil-Koni USA Inc. and Vehicle Service Group L.L.C.(VSG) have extended their two-year-old cross-licensing agreement to Canada.

The agreement, in effect in the U.S. since March 26, 2013, coincides with Stertil B.V., Stertil-Koni's parent company, being awarded a Canadian patent on its ultra-shallow, full-rise, in-ground scissor-lifting system, marketed under the Ecolift brand name.

The 2013 agreement between VSG and Stertil-Koni resolved patent infringement lawsuits the companies had filed against each other in 2012.

In that agreement, VSG acknowledged Stertil-Koni's U.S. patent on technology covering the Ecolift line of heavy-duty inground scissor lifts and agreed to pay an undisclosed licensing fee for the use of this patented technology on its Rotary Lift EFX series of heavy-duty inground scissor lifts.

Stertil's Canadian patent, No. 2,567,386, gives Stertil the exclusive rights to the manufacture, use and sale of the claimed lifts in Canada until May 17, 2025, according to Stevensville-based Stertil-Koni, which holds two U.S. patents as well.

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Earlier, Stertil-Koni announced its U.S. production facility, Stertil ALM in Streator, Ill., had purchased a 4.5-acre parcel adjacent to its plant which it intends to use to expand production of lifts.

“The increased acreage and production space allows the company to keep all the operations under one roof,” Allan Pavlick, vice president of Stertil ALM, said. “The expansion will allow Stertil ALM to increase efficiency and productivity.

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In addition to the growth in the North American market, Stertil ALM is exporting in-ground lift products worldwide.

Stertil-Koni did not comment on the value or scale of the expansion. Four years ago the company added 14,000 square feet of production space, including a training center.

The additional manufacturing space will be dedicated to the fabrication and assembly of the firm's Diamond Lift, a full rise telescopic piston lift, and Skylift, an “open floor” concept, true vertical-rise platform lift with no crossbeams, overhang or base frame.

Stertil-Koni's portfolio includes mobile column lifts, two-post, four-post, in-ground piston lifts, parallelogram lifts, half-scissors and its innovative axle-engaging, in-ground and scissor-lift configurations.

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