Positech Corporation
Building quality products since 1951…
Quality Certified
Providing Quality Work Since 1951
Positech° Corporation is a Quality System Registered company. ISO 9001:2015/Q9001-2015 Certificate QSR-498. They are classified as SIC-3526 and NAICS-333923. Currently, Positech® is under the National Federation of Independent Business trade association.
Positech® Corporation began with its predecessor, Mefferd Industries, Inc., a company founded by Paul Mefferd, to manufacture hydraulic cylinders in 1951.
For nearly 25 years, the company was a manufacturing facility only — to fabricate and sell its product line of hydraulic cylinders and rotary manifolds to Iowa Industrial Hydraulics and others for resale. Positech® continues to sell rotary manifolds on a direct to customer basis.
In 1975, Mefferd Industries, Inc. was purchased by Tom Mefferd through a merger. The name was changed to Positech® Corporation in 1980.
In 1977, Positech® first designed and sold the Taurus Positioning Arm, a hydraulic manipulator. In 1984, the company secured the licensing rights to a German pneumatic manipulator. For a time, Positech® simply imported and sold the German equipment. Responding to market demands for equipment with greater capacity and higher safety standards, Positech® designed its own line of pneumatic manipulators in early 1986. The relationship with the German company ended in 1989.
In 1989, Columbus McKinnon Corporation of Amherst, New York, a manufacturer of crane, hoists, and links, purchased Positech® Corporation. The transaction resulted in a buyout of the company’s public shareholders and the creation of Positech® as a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus McKinnon Corporation.
In 1996, Columbus McKinnon Corporation purchased Conco®. Conco® was its own division of Columbus McKinnon Corporation until January 1, 1999.
In 1999, Conco® became a part of the Positech® Division.
In 2004, American Handling Systems, Inc., a corporation started by the Positech® management team purchased Positech® from Columbus McKinnon Corporation.
In 2005, American Handling Systems, Inc. purchased Coleman Equipment, Inc.
Positech® combines custom-designed tooling and lifting devices such as manipulators, hoist, and pneumatic balancers to reduce ergonomic-related injuries and improve process handling. The company uses a team problem-solving approach for applications including: Aerospace, Agriculture, Appliances, Automotive, Chemical, Construction, Electronic, Food & Beverage, Furniture, HVAC, Metal Fabrication, Metal Production, Mining, Paper, and Tires.
The company sells through commissioned manufacturer’s representatives in both the United States and abroad. It has been both a government contractor and a sub-contractor.
Positech® Corporation has approximately 60,000 square feet of manufacturing and office facilities in Laurens, Iowa.