The 60/80 Hoist I have, and all of the FR series, are pretty much an exact copy of the Versa-lift. Versa-lift had a great design, and was the premiere extendable-counterweight forklift on the market for a number of years, but they made one mistake, they didn't patent anything. Versa-lifts are great machines, but it's a small company and has slow build times. They mainly hire out all the component builds, and just assemble them.
When we bought our 60/80, Versa-lift was right at a year and a half wait on a new machine. Hoist told me 6 weeks, but they built it in a month. Between the quick build times, and not being able to secure the rights to their original design, is bound to have hurt Versa-lift.
It has also greatly changed the machinery moving forklift market. There were places like National Lift Truck and A1-heavy Lift that had a business model of buying new Versa-lifts, rent them for a couple of years, and still sell them for more than they paid. See, due to the long wait times on a new Versa-lift, low hour used lifts actually would sell for more than a new one, because it could be delivered immediately. These forklift dealers kept a standing order on new lifts, so they still had a steady supply, even if they were taking delivery of forklifts that were ordered the year before. Hoist 6-week lead time really changed that market. Now, the price of used lifts has really went down.
