Dayton Hi-Lite

The Dayton Branch was first opened in 1945 under the name of the Bode Finn Company. They were located on First Street in Dayton.  The branch then moved toWebster Street for a few years and then in 1973, moved to our current location onProduction Court.

The Bode Finn Company was purchased by Hyster Company in 2000 and became Hyster Mideast. In 2003 John Wieland purchased the company that is now MH Equipment.

MH Dayton currently has 32 employees from the following departments: parts, service, rental, sales, training and telemarketing.  Combined, the Dayton Branch employees have over 500 years of service working for Bode Finn/Hyster Mid East and MH Equipment.

Some fun facts about the Dayton employees:

Howard Waker, our road service, technician has the nickname “Howard the Duck”.  Howard first acquired the name while he was working on an AWP unit at a local GM facility that was undergoing modifications. Howard heard a pipe clinking its way down from above him and quickly “ducked” under the AWP unit just in time to avoid the pipe. Howard found the pipe sticking in the floor right where he was standing.  Later that week at the same location, while standing by a candy machine, once again he “ducked” just in time to keep from getting hit from a stray piece of metal falling from above.  Years later he still has the nickname “Howard the Duck”.

John Lovins, our trainer, and his daughter both have Dodge Dakota pickup trucks that they enjoy working on together and taking to various drag strips across the country.  John has won several national and regional events. He has been seen on ESPN winning national events. John has been a record holder for several years in various classes of drag racing.  He is currently updating his daughter’s truck in search of better performance.

Some local attractions around the Dayton Branch are, Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball, Dayton Gems Hockey and the Dayton Art Institute.Dayton also hosts the Dayton Vectren Air Show each year which brings in world renowned acts like the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds.  A few attractions with free admission and parking are the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, Allwood Gardens and the Cox Arboretum.

After a day of sightseeing or sports you can refuel at Marion’s Piazza, a Dayton tradition for over 45 years and ranked 2^nd in the nation. Marion’s Piazza has several locations through out theDayton area.