LH Lift has focused on tractors since it was established. The company was originally called Laukaan Hitsaustyö. The first product, a towing hook for the Valmet 502 tractor, was made in a workshop built in a cowshed.
Now, we have an actual factory standing next to the cowshed, our name has changed and our products are delivered all over the world.
Strong Development in the Early 1990s
Development from Laukaan Hitsaustyö to the current LH Lift Oy started in the early 1990s. At that time, we decided to expand our operations by building a subcontracting chain to improve the availability of certain parts at the right time.
This proved worthwhile as the production of three-point linkage parts for Valmet tractors was transferred to LH Lift’s Finnish unit in 1993. For this, we received the Avainteko prize awarded monthly by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Finland for outstanding achievements. A few years later, the President of Finland awarded us the Innofinland prize for the development of three-point linkage parts for tractors.
Time of International Growth 1995–2005
In Finland, we made heavy investments in manufacturing equipment and developed the whole production chain. Quality standards (ISO 9001 certified quality management system and ISO 14001 certified environmental management system) were set for the operations to ensure the consistency of product quality, product durability and customer satisfaction. An OHSAS 18001 certified health and safety management system was implemented in order to take care of our personnel. The basis for our current model of operation had now been built. In 2004, we changed our name to LH Lift Oy.
Pivoting Front Linkage Provides Access to International Markets in 2007
The year 2007 was in many ways significant in the history of the company. We were awarded the esteemed Agritechnica Silver Medal in 2007 for the development of the turning LHLink front linkage.
In the same year, LH Lift established the Chinese subsidiary LH Lift Ningbo Oy for managing parts production under the control of LH Lift. The idea from the very beginning was that the Chinese subsidiary would follow the same work processes to the same standard as our Finnish plant.
The prize gave us exposure and our Chinese plant helped us to ensure the availability of high-quality parts at reasonable prices. After this, we have entered into several significant partnerships for example in Europe, China and India.
Expanding customer base
LH Lift’s customer base continued to expand in the 2010s. In addition to Valtra tractors, our products are now factory-fitted to Massey Ferguson, John Deere and Foton Lovol tractors, and they are also retrofitted to many other tractor brands, including New Holland, Fendt, Branson, Belarus and Case IH. In addition, we deliver components to spare parts retailers. Alongside our couplings and rear hitches for tractors, LH Lift supplies other components to engineering workshops serving different industries and acts as a contract manufacturer for various companies. Our products are also sold directly to consumers in Finland through our own online store.
Geographically, our operations have expanded from Finland and China to the rest of Europe and Asia plus South America.
With the acquisition of new customers and our international growth, we have also developed our operations to meet the needs of the most demanding players in the industry. We also strive to exceed customer expectations through innovative product development. For example, in 2019 LH Lift received the AGCO Supplier Award. In the same year, we unveiled our revolutionary hemispheric ball coupling, which is considerably more durable, easier to use and less expensive than traditional couplings between tractors and implements. LH Lift’s hemispheric ball coupling was a finalist in the “Systems and Components Trophy – Engineers’ Choice” competition at Agritechnica.