2025 marks a major milestone for family-owned Skylift – 25 years of empowering utility crews working in challenging jobsites. Since day one, Skylift has committed itself to building durable, dependable equipment for the electric utilities.
Looking back on the journey, Skylift is proud to reflect on its accomplishments to become a trusted name across the utility industry. This anniversary is a chance to honor the employees and partners that shaped our story in manufacturing innovative equipment.
Skylift was founded in October, 2000. Although it operated out of a modest 2,500 sq. ft. facility in Lorain, Ohio, the mission was grand – to build smart, specialized equipment for backyard easement applications.
From the beginning, the focus was on listening to linemen and solving their daily problems: tight backyard access, downtime, and equipment reliability.
Through this process, Skylift identified the need for its first standardized machine: the MA 39.
Designed specifically for arborists, the MA 39 became the lightest and smallest model of its kind on the market. Its size made it perfect for emergency work and backyard preventative maintenance, easily fitting through standard gates and navigating around tight corners in compact spaces. These features would become staples of nearly all Skylift equipment.
The MA39 provided linemen a solution – this user-focused ingenuity remains core to all engineering.
By 2008, Skylift had expanded into a 10,000-square-foot facility and introduced what would become the flagship product – the MD 6000 digger derrick. This versatile machine revolutionized how line crews worked, giving them the ability to safely and efficiently install heavier poles and reach greater heights, even in hard-to-reach locations.
The MD 6000 remains our best seller, known for its ease of maintenance, power, and durability.
2011 marked a significant milestone: the production of Skylift’s 1,000th unit. This is not only a number – it indicated Skylift had become a trusted manufacturer for linemen and fleet managers. This achievement kicked off a pivotal era of growth and product expansion, as Skylift introduced several innovative solutions for utility crews:
As product offerings expanded, so did Skylift’s operations. Skylift focused on streamlining production, and strengthening parts and technical support – all to help crews stay efficient, productive and operational.
In 2020, Skylift developed an industry first. The patented MD 6000 E-Series is the first battery-powered backyard easement machine. Skylift engineers responded to the growing demand for more electric powered equipment. This innovative model offers quieter operations and zero job-site emissions.
Innovation is Skylift’s heritage and innovation will lead Skylift for the next 25 years.
In 2024, Skylift introduced a F550 Utility Bucket Truck. It features a Skylift engineered articulating boom with a 51.4-ft working height and 1,000-lb. material handling capability. This insulated bucket truck will become the new standard for linemen, municipalities and contractors.
Skylift’s new line of bucket trucks is another response to the industry’s demand for a smart, turn-key trucks that linemen can depend on.
This anniversary celebrates everyone who helped build Skylift over the past 25 years. It is for the customers who place their trust in Skylift equipment, and for the dealer and supplier partners whose visions and demands for quality align with Skylift. The biggest thanks goes to the Skylift team, whose grit and innovation drive the mission – it could not be accomplished without the dedication of every Skylift team member.
Skylift is looking forward to another 25 years of challenging the status quo, innovating for line crews and shaping the future of the backyard and on-the-road utility equipment industry.