Company History

    In 1966, John J. Vilven started a company called Factory Forklift Sales.  He was a factory representative for three different forklift manufacturers and sold to various forklift dealerships in the Western United States.

    With many years of past experiences dealing with farm equipment companies like John Deere and Massey-Ferguson, Mr. Vilven was able to design and build the first Liftmaster Bin Dumper in 1968.  The proceeds resulting from forklift sales enabled Mr. Vilven to build a small factory in 1973.  This is where he began manufacturing forklift attachments and hydrostatic drive forklifts. 

    Ten years later, the manufacturing and wholesale of forklift attachment lines spun off in 1983 under the corporate company name Malavac, Incorporated.  The Liftmaster Bin Dumper, in particular, had established an excellent reputation for design and durability among many of the major produce packing plants in California.  It became the primary goal of Malavac, Incorporated sales to expand the marketing of Liftmaster both nationally and internationally.

    By 1988, Malavac, Incorporated became the leading manufacturer of forklift attached hydraulic bin dumpers that dumps fruit and vegetable bins forward.  Today, Liftmaster is the most sold bin dumper of its type.