The trademark Yale goes back to Linus Yale jr.

• 1868 – he invents the cylinder lock and founds a factory in Stamford/Connecticut with Henry R. Towne for series production.
• 1875 – The production of hand hoists starts, the patent rights of the Weston differential pulley are secured.
• 1877 – Yale produces the first spur gear pulley with load pressure brake. The design principle of this brake is now used worldwide for almost all manual hoists.
• 1883 – Yale & Towne Manufacturing is founded.
• 1904 – Yale establishes its first sales offices in Germany, England and France.
• 1920 – Yale acquires C.L. Hunt & Co., a well-known manufacturer of electric platform trucks, and presents the market with the first electric forklift trucks with production facilities in Germany and England.
• 1927 – Concentration of production and sales in Velbert.
  Takeover of the company Boge & Kasten, Solingen.
• 1936 – Hoist production in Velbert begins with the production of the world-famous ZUG LIFT. The robust and reliable device was marketed under the BKS brand until 1974. More than 1 million devices of this type are manufactured at the Velbert plant alone.
• 1952 – Start of forklift truck production in Velbert.
• 1963 – Eaton Corporation merges with Yale & Towne Manufacturing.
• 1971 – Foundation of Eaton GmbH, Velbert.
• 1983 – Yale Industrial Products, Inc. is founded in the USA through the spin-off of the hoist division.
• 1985 – Yale Industrial Products Ltd. is founded in Telford, Great Britain, and Yale Industrial Products GmbH, Velbert, is founded in Germany.
• 1987 – Start in France by Manutention Connection S.A.R.L., Vierzon.
• 1989 – Yale Industrial Products merges with Duff-Norton Company, Inc.
• 1992 – Establishment of the first production facility in China, Hangzhou LILA Lifting and Lashing Co. Ltd., Hangzhou.
• 1993 – Legal integration of the Manutention Connection.
  Foundation of Yale Industrial Products GmbH, Pfaffstätten, Austria.
• 1995 – Establishment of the second production facility in China, Yale Industrial Products Ltd., Hangzhou.
• 1996 – Foundation of Yale Industrial Products (Pty) Ltd., Durban, South Africa.
  Yale is acquired by Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst.
• 1997 – Expansion of presence in South Africa, Yale Lifting and Mining Product (Pty) Ltd., M Magaliesburg, S.A.
  Establishment of Yale Industrial Products Asia Ltd., Hat Yai, Thailand. Yale Industrial Products Ltd., U.K. acquires Steerman Engineering Ltd., U.K.
• 1999 – Yale acquires Camlok Lifting Clamps Ltd., U.K.
  Expansion of presence in South Africa, Engineering Products Division, Johannisburg, South Africa.
• 2000 – Foundation of Yale Industrial Products B.V., Hendrik Ido Ambacht, Netherlands.
  Yale Industrial Products Ltd., U.K. establishes a subsidiary in Belfast, Ireland.
• 2001 – Foundation of Yale Elévacion Ibérica S.L. with bases in Seville and A Coruña, Spain.
• 2002 – Manutention Connection S.A.R.L. is renamed Yale Levage S.A.R.L., Vierzon.
• 2003 – Foundation of Yale Industrial Products Kft., Szekésfehérvár, Hungary.
• 2006 – Merger of Yale Industrial Products Ltd., U.K. and Camlok Lifting Clamps Ltd., U.K., renamed Columbus McKinnon Corporation Ltd., U.K.
• 2007 – Foundation of Columbus McKinnon Italia S.r.l. in Legnano, Italy.
• 2008 – Yale Levage S.A.R.L., Vierzon is renamed Columbus McKinnon France S.A.R.L., Vierzon. Acquisition of Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH, Kissing.
  Presentation of the new electric chain hoist model CPV – the connection between modern design and technical innovation.
  Pfaff-silberblau Winden und Hebezeuge AG, a subsidiary of Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH in Bavaria, is renamed Columbus McKinnon Switzerland AG.
• 2009 – Yale Industrial Products Kft., Szekésfehérvár is renamed Columbus McKinnon Hungary Kft.
• 2010 – Foundation of Columbus McKinnon Russia LLC, St. Petersburg, Russia.
• 2011 – Yale Industrial Products GmbH is renamed Columbus McKinnon Industrial Products GmbH.
• 2012 – Foundation of Columbus McKinnon Kaldırma Ekipmanları Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, Istanbul, Turkey and Columbus McKinnon Industrial Products ME FZE, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• 2013 – New headquarters for Columbus McKinnon Industrial Products GmbH in Wuppertal.
• 2014 – Presentation of the new Mtrac continuous winch with load capacities of 100 and 300 kg, presentation of the CPV 2-8 electric chain hoist at the CeMat trade fair in Hanover.
• 2016 – Introduction of SAP as a new ERP system in France
• 2017 – Acquisition of STAHL CraneSystems GmbH
• 2019 – Launch of the new Yale.de website
• 2020 – Acquisition of Dorner Manufacturing Corporation
• 2021 – Launch of the global website columbusmckinnon.com