BMH

What BMH does

BMH (Buffalo Materials Handling) is a privately held, Western New York-based material handling equipment dealer founded in 1955 and headquartered in Depew, NY. The company sells, rents, services, and trains on forklifts, aerial lifts, scissor lifts, industrial floor scrubbers, utility vehicles, and warehouse storage solutions, operating as an authorized dealer for premium OEMs including Crown, UniCarriers, Hyundai, Tennant, SkyJack, Taylor Dunn, and WireCrafters. Its service portfolio includes scheduled maintenance (Planned Maintenance program), comprehensive fixed-cost coverage (Full Maintenance program up to 5 years), parts supply, OSHA-certified operator training for forklifts/aerial/scissor lifts, and resold Crown fleet management platforms (InfoLink and FleetSTATS).

BMH serves warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and construction/industrial customers across all 14 counties of Western New York (including the Buffalo and Rochester/Finger Lakes regions) through two physical locations (Depew and Rochester), a field sales team, inside sales via phone/email, and an online customer portal. Revenue mechanics span one-time equipment sales, usage-based rentals, recurring multi-year maintenance contracts, parts transactions, and professional services training. The company is led by President Peter Tunkey, has won the Crown Platinum Service Award for 10 consecutive years, and has been recognized as a Best Places to Work employer in Buffalo and Rochester from 2022 through 2024.

The business model is characteristic of a regional equipment dealer: a mix of transactional sales, rentals, and high-margin recurring service contracts that deepen customer relationships beyond the initial equipment sale. BMH's only disclosed non-core activity is a February 2026 participation as a venture investor in the €11 million seed round of Oska Health, a German healthtech company, alongside institutional investors Capricorn Partners and SwissHealth Ventures. This venture allocation appears immaterial to core operations and indicates modest optionality on capital deployment rather than a strategic pivot.

Name

BMH

Legal name

BMH

Website

https://buffalomaterialshandling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BMH (Buffalo Materials Handling) is a privately held, Western New York-based authorized dealer founded in 1955 that sells, rents, services, and trains on forklifts, aerial lifts, and warehouse material handling equipment across 14 counties via two locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of new and used forklifts, aerial lifts, industrial floor scrubbers, utility vehicles, and related material handling equipment from brands including Crown, UniCarriers, Hyundai, Tennant, Skyjack, and Taylor-Dunn.
2. Equipment Rentals: Rental of forklifts, scissor lifts, aerial lifts, industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers, and utility vehicles. Provides flexible rental options for short-term and long-term needs.
3. Full Maintenance Program (FM): Comprehensive maintenance solution with all-inclusive repairs, no travel fees, parts included, and scheduled maintenance. Provides predictable cost budgeting for up to 5 years with 50% rental discount during extensive repairs.
4. Planned Maintenance Program (PM): Hourly-rate based maintenance service with scheduled maintenance, detailed reporting, and separate repair billing. Custom maintenance agreements tailored to specific environment and equipment.
5. OSHA Training Programs: OSHA-certified training programs for forklift operators, aerial lift operators, and scissor lift operators. Includes initial certification, recertification, and Train the Trainer programs.
6. Parts Sales: Sale of replacement parts for forklifts and material handling equipment. Stock parts for every forklift brand with immediate delivery available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

BMH (Buffalo Materials Handling) is an authorized dealer that sells, rents, services, and trains on material handling equipment for businesses in Western New York. The portfolio includes new and used forklifts (Crown, UniCarriers, Hyundai), aerial and scissor lifts (SkyJack), industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers (Tennant), and Taylor Dunn utility vehicles, supplemented by planned and full maintenance programs, OSHA-certified operator training, parts, dock service, and warehouse storage solutions.

Product overview

BMH (Buffalo Materials Handling) is a material handling equipment company offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services centered on forklifts and warehouse operations. The core offering includes new and used forklift sales and rentals from premium brands (Crown, UniCarriers, Hyundai, Tennant, SkyJack, Taylor Dunn), complemented by value-added service programs such as Planned Maintenance (PM) and Full Maintenance (FM) programs for fleet optimization. The company provides OSHA-certified operator training for forklifts, aerial lifts, and scissor lifts, along with ancillary equipment including industrial floor scrubbers, aerial work platforms, utility vehicles, and WireCrafters wire partition systems for warehouse safety. Fleet management tools like InfoLink and FleetSTATS are available as add-on solutions for customers seeking data-driven fleet oversight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forklift Sales (New and Used) Sale of new and used forklifts from premium brands including Crown, UniCarriers, and Hyundai for material handling operations of warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Platinum Service Award won 10 years in a row
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crown ForkliftscoreOthersBMH is an authorized dealer for Crown Forklifts, representing one of the leading forklift manufacturers. They sell, rent, and service Crown equipment and offer Crown's fleet management solutions (InfoLink and FleetSTATS) to their customers.
• UniCarrierscoreOthersBMH is an authorized dealer for UniCarriers forklifts, providing sales, rentals, and service for their material handling equipment in Western New York.
• Tennant Cleaning EquipmentcoreOthersBMH represents Tennant industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers, offering sales, rentals, and service for Tennant cleaning equipment.
• Taylor DunncoreOthersBMH is an authorized dealer for Taylor Dunn utility vehicles, providing sales, rentals, and service for industrial and commercial utility vehicles.
• SkyJackcoreOthersBMH is an authorized dealer for SkyJack aerial work platforms, offering sales and rentals of aerial lifts for construction and industrial applications.
• Hyundai ForkliftscoreOthersBMH offers Hyundai forklifts as part of their equipment portfolio, providing customers with additional brand options for their material handling needs.
• WireCraftersminorOthersBMH offers WireCrafters wire partition systems, providing custom wire mesh enclosures for tool cribs, driver's cages, machine guarding, secure storage areas, and pallet rack enclosures.
• Northland Workforce Training Center (NWTC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMH is a sponsor of the Northland Workforce Training Center, a transformative initiative aimed at revitalizing Buffalo's East Side and bridging the skills gap in advanced manufacturing and clean energy sectors. This reflects BMH's commitment to community engagement and workforce development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Jungheinrich: European-anchored intralogistics company providing forklifts, racking, and automated warehouse solutions. Comparable in core product (forklifts/material handling) and increasingly in automation-adjacent offerings.
• KION Group: Owner of Linde Material Handling and STILL; combines direct sales with dealer networks across industrial trucks and intralogistics. Adjacent in product and customer segments but operates at global scale.
• Crown Equipment Corporation: Major lift truck OEM and direct competitor in the supply chain BMH serves. Comparable at the brand and product level; competes with BMH's own brand-portfolio customers for large accounts.
• Hyster-Yale Materials Handling: Global lift truck manufacturer (Hyster, Yale) with both direct sales and independent dealer channels. Overlaps with BMH as a key supplier and competitor for end customers.

Direct peers

• Equipment Depot: Largest privately held material handling and aerial lift dealer in the U.S., with sales, rental, service, and operator training. Closely mirrors BMH's dealership-plus-services model at national scale.
• MH Equipment: Large multi-state material handling equipment dealer offering forklifts, aerial lifts, fleet management, and operator training. Closely comparable business model and customer base to BMH.
• Alta Equipment Group: Public dealer of material handling, construction, and environmental equipment with full service, rental, and parts operations. Comparable in scope and dealer economics, though materially larger and more diversified geographically.
• Papé Material Handling: Authorized dealer for Hyster-Yale lift trucks with full sales, rental, service, and parts coverage across the western U.S. Directly comparable as a multi-brand material handling dealership with similar service-driven model.
• Toyota Material Handling Systems: U.S. sales arm of Toyota Industries, distributing forklifts and material handling equipment through an authorized dealer network that mirrors BMH's business model and customer base.
• Yale Materials Handling Corporation: Lift truck manufacturer whose North American dealer network (Hyster-Yale) operates the same sales-rent-service-training model BMH runs. Directly comparable go-to-market via independent authorized dealers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BuffaloMaterial
• Facebookfacebook.com/BuffaloMaterial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/buffalo-materials-handling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BMH