Nacco Industries has announced plans to spin off its fork lift truck and materials handling group from the rest of its diverse product divisions.

Nacco's material handling group - which is headed up by the Yale and Hyster brands under the Hyster-Yale Materials Handling branding - is by far the largest part of Nacco, making up 78% of sales (Q1/12). Its other divisions include the Kitchen Collection series of retail stores, Hamilton Beach small appliances and the its core coal businesses, all of which are expected to remain under the Nacco corporate structure after the spin-off.

"Separating Hyster-Yale Materials Handling from NACCO's other subsidiaries enables investors to participate more directly in the future prospects of the North American Coal, Hamilton Beach and Kitchen Collection businesses," Nacco chairman, president and chief executive Alfred Rankin Jr. said in a letter to shareholders.

Rankin added that separating the material handling group will let the new company's managers focus more on that business and open more opportunities to focus on strategic partnerships and expansions.