Our History

Joyce/Dayton Corp. is the leading manufacturer of Jacks, Actuators and lifting systems in North America. Joyce/Dayton has been building lifting equipment and systems for over 150 years. We are known in the industry by the high standard we set on product quality, customer service, and skillful customization of products to meet unique requirements. 

The Joyce Cridland Company was established in 1873 by Thomas Cridland and Jacob Joyce. They manufactured Jacks and lifting equipment for the Railroad Industry. By the early 1900’s Joyce Cridland had expanded to provide heavy-duty equipment for mining, logging, stone quarries as well as railroads. 

During WWII Joyce railroad jacks were indispensable in clearing tracks after bombing attacks in European cities. Joyce Airplane lift stands were valuable tools and used in maintaining the US fleet of aircraft, even in remote areas in the South Pacific. A commendation from a grateful nation was received from the US government for Joyce’s wartime efforts. 

By the 1950’s most service stations featured a “Joyce” to lift automobiles for service. Larger capacity lifts were also developed for the Transit Industry. These lifts were indispensable equipment for the maintenance of busses and trolleys. 

Worm gear screw jacks were first manufactured by Joyce in the 1950’s and quickly became the mainstay. By the 1970’s the company had grown and moved manufacturing operations to a new facility in Portland, Indiana. The company name was changed to Joyce/Dayton Corp. Today, we serve customers in numerous Industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Material Handling, Medical, Metalworking, Solar, and many others. 

Joyce has continued to expand their product offerings by introducing a line of bevel gear jacks and later adding ball screw jacks, linear actuators, and electric actuators. Joyce equipment is capable of moving loads ranging from 250 pounds to 250 tons. Joyce manufactures these products in Portland Indiana, USA to ISO 9001:2015 standards. 

All products under the Joyce brand are supported by a qualified team of Application Engineers and Customer Service Representatives. In addition, Joyce offers JAX®, easy-to-use software that enables users to specify complete systems along with technical project files engineers need to specify systems. 

Joyce continues to grow and provide relevant industrial equipment into an ever-changing marketplace.