Open-S Alliance builds momentum, adds its first North American members

Momentum has been building for the concept of a common standard for automatic couplers, championed by the Open-S Alliance, which won the 2024 INTERMAT Innovation Award earlier this year. Following the addition of Wacker Neuson this spring, the Alliance now has four new members from around the globe: Construction Equipment Group AS from Norway, Craig Manufacturing from Canada, Daedong Engineering from South Korea, and Pacific JCB from the United States.

Craig Manufacturing and Pacific JCB are the alliances' first North American members. New Associate Member Craig Manufacturing was established in 1946 and has grown into a comprehensive manufacturer of heavy equipment attachments. Craig builds manufactured solutions for construction, forestry, mining, and agricultural industries. 

"At Craig, we are focused on working with our partners to unlock the production potential of their machines. As the demand for increased productivity and improved sustainability grows, we believe the right attachment is key to achieving both goals. The Open-S standard provides manufacturers and users with a shared platform that offers the flexibility needed to maximize both production and sustainability in any application," says Ben Craig, president, Craig Attachments.

Pacific JCB, a Forklift Services of America Company, and a JCB Construction Equipment and Steelwrist dealer in Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR, offers machine sales, rentals, parts, and service. Pacific JCB joins the Open-S Alliance as a Supporting member.

The work to create the Open-S Standard was started in 2019 with the purpose to create a common open, manufacturer-independent, global standard for automatic quick couplers. The Open-S Alliance strives to give machine owners and contractors the freedom to combine couplers, tiltrotators, and work tools from different manufacturers following the Open-S standard. Since Open-S was formally created in October 2020 the number of members has steadily grown and with the four companies now joining there are today 13 members, which include major OEMs and attachments manufacturers.

"We warmly welcome the new members who will further strengthen the work to establish an open industry standard for automatic couplers. We believe that this common foundation will encourage innovation and a healthy competition," says Anders Jonsson, Chairman of the Board of Open-S Alliance.