BMH
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1955
- HeadquartersDepew, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
BMH firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Where BMH is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Depew
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
BMH business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Parts Sales: Sale of replacement parts for forklifts and material handling equipment. Stock parts for every forklift brand with immediate delivery available.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Equipment Sales - New and Used Forklifts |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Equipment Rentals |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Full Maintenance Program (FM) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Planned Maintenance Program (PM) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | CDL Driver Salary |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Service Technician Salary |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
BMH product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use BMH
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
BMH technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
BMH partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Crown ForkliftscoreBMH 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.
- UniCarrierscoreBMH is an authorized dealer for UniCarriers forklifts, providing sales, rentals, and service for their material handling equipment in Western New York.
- Tennant Cleaning EquipmentcoreBMH represents Tennant industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers, offering sales, rentals, and service for Tennant cleaning equipment.
- Taylor DunncoreBMH is an authorized dealer for Taylor Dunn utility vehicles, providing sales, rentals, and service for industrial and commercial utility vehicles.
- SkyJackcoreBMH is an authorized dealer for SkyJack aerial work platforms, offering sales and rentals of aerial lifts for construction and industrial applications.
- Hyundai ForkliftscoreBMH offers Hyundai forklifts as part of their equipment portfolio, providing customers with additional brand options for their material handling needs.
- WireCraftersminorBMH 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)minorBMH 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
BMH competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
BMH social profiles
Digital presenceBMH financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BMH leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
BMH funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BMH M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about BMH
What does BMH do?
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.
Is BMH a public or private company?
BMH is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was BMH founded?
BMH was founded in 1955. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is BMH based?
BMH is headquartered in Depew, United States, in the North America region.
How does BMH make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are equipment Rentals, full Maintenance Program (FM), planned Maintenance Program (PM), OSHA Training Programs and parts Sales.
Who are BMH's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Jungheinrich, KION Group, Crown Equipment Corporation and Hyster-Yale Materials Handling. Direct peers are Equipment Depot, MH Equipment, Alta Equipment Group, Papé Material Handling, Toyota Material Handling Systems and Yale Materials Handling Corporation.
Does BMH have an API?
No public API is recorded for BMH.