First Financial Corporate Services (FFCSI), a provider of medical, material handling and IT equipment leasing solutions, announced its expansion into Canada and the formation of FF Canadian Leasing, Inc. (FFCLI).

As a subsidiary of First Financial, FFCLI is a vendor-independent lessor of material handling equipment and forklifts. The company works directly with manufacturers that have warehousing and distribution needs to provide customized leasing options for integration of new and refurbished equipment.

“Our extension into Canada opens huge doors of opportunity for us to help companies acquire the equipment needed to grow their businesses while keeping their costs in check,” said Richard Stebbins, co-founder and CEO. “We look forward to cultivating new relationships and helping our customers manage their financial and equipment needs.”

Leading First Financial into this new endeavor is capital equipment industry veteran Bill Heston. In his expanded role as country manager for Material Handling Equipment, Heston will be responsible for FFCLI’s sales, as well as client, vendor and manufacturer relationships. With close to 30 years of diverse experience in the material handling industry, he spent 17 years at CitiCapital – most recently as vice president. Heston holds a BS in Business Management/Economics from Widener University.

“As one of the few major players in the material handling industry, we are extremely excited to extend our services into Canada,” said Heston, Country Manager, MHE. “While we are seeing strong and steady growth in the material handling equipment industry across both borders, access to financing has remained a challenge for some Canadian companies wanting to lease. With our expanded presence in Canada, these companies now have the opportunity to work with us for all of their equipment needs.”