Tucked away in an industrial area near Midway International Airport, high-end, heavy-duty forklifts are assembled one at a time at Hoist Liftruck.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the company prides itself on “building American products, made by Americans, using American suppliers,” according to Hoist Liftruck director of business development Randy Jahn.

Marty Flaska started the company nearly 20 years ago.

“Our average price of a forklift probably ranges from $150,000 to $550,000,” he said.

Flaska employs about 150 people.

“The interesting thing about these forklifts I make is that labor is only about 9 percent of the content of that truck,” Flaska said. “It’s all material.”

The parts that are not manufactured at the plant came from within 200 miles.

“So the drive axle came from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the transmission from Statesville,” Flaska said.

The recession was not kind to the company, one of only two such manufacturers in the U.S.

“We dropped by 90 percent,” Flaska said.

But the company is on the rebound. To learn more about Hoist Liftruck, click here.