October 1, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pon North America Rebrands Three Material Handling Companies as Equipment Depot

One of the largest and fastest growing equipment dealer groups in the United States has begun to rebrand all of its operating companies using one common brand name.  

“Operating as Equipment Depot we now offer our customers access to more people, products and services under one brand name at more than 40 locations in 12 states,” says Don Moes, president of the Pon North America material handling group. “We believe this new name better reflects the breadth of products and services we offer throughout our markets.”

The Equipment Depot dealer group is comprised of five regional dealerships. Those dealerships sell, service, rent and provide parts and training for more than 50 leading brands of forklifts, aerial lifts and construction equipment. They offer factory, distribution center and warehouse equipment solutions in all markets as well as farm equipment, rail car movers, scrubbers, sweepers, tuggers and utility vehicles in selected markets.

“Going to market using a common name better reflects our ability to offer customers more choices of new and used equipment, expanded services in more places, and better access to national fleet services, rental equipment, parts inventories and training expertise,” Moes says.

The dealerships that are rebranding are Forklifts Inc., which was founded in 1955 and is based in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Levee Lift, which was founded in 1954 and is based in Evansville, Indiana; and Portman Equipment Company, which was founded in 1960 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They join the original Equipment Depot, which was founded as Central Texas Clarklift in 1975 and is based in Waco, Texas, and Equipment Depot of Illinois, which was founded as Material Handling Services in 1951 and is based in Chicago.                

“Retiring these strong brands required careful consideration,” Moes says. “However, as each of these regional companies has begun to expand its products and services it made sense to take advantage of the Equipment Depot brand. It reflects our commitment to become more than a material handling equipment company.”

 “Each of the five regional companies contributes to Equipment Depot a rich heritage of providing outstanding customer service and product support in its respective market for more than 35 years each,” Moes says. “Each of these family-owned companies became a leader in its markets. Each company takes pride in the honesty, integrity and reliability it brings to its customers. These are familiar and trusted names in our industry.”

“In many cases our multi-state customers have been working with more than one of our operating companies but didn’t know they were all owned by one company,” says Moes. “As we expand our rental operations throughout our dealerships it will make it easier for our customers to rent the products they need from people they already know.” 

“Our rental customers will also expect to rent equipment that is ready to work when and wherever they work,” Moes says.  “Our industrial customers know they can count on superior service for their fleet in markets throughout the country.”

Each operating company offers a different product mix and a unique approach to its market. All of the companies were acquired over the past ten years by Pon North America, a division of the Dutch trading company Pon Holdings B.V. With more than 10,000 employees in 11 different countries, Pon Holdings is one of the largest family-run businesses in the Netherlands. 

“We know that a business’s name is only a small part of what makes up its overall image. We believe that the quality and responsiveness of our people, products and services complete that picture,” Moes says. “By operating under one brand we will offer more innovations, more solutions and more value than our competitors – but we will not sacrifice the local touch which is the key to our customer relationships.”

“While each company still makes local decisions, they all draw on the financial resources, experience and innovations from all of the operating companies in the group,” Moes says. “They can select from a short-term rental fleet of more than 7,500 forklifts, scissor lifts, boom lifts, telehandlers, skid steers and backhoes. With more than 1,750 employees, including more than 900 qualified and trained service technicians, Equipment Depot is uniquely positioned to take care of the more than 26,500 customer-owned units under service contract.”

About Equipment Depot

Equipment Depot was founded in 1975 as Central Texas Clarklift in Waco and Austin, Texas. It changed its name to Equipment Depot in 1995 to better reflect the company’s expanded product and service capabilities. In August 2000 it was acquired by Pon North America. Today, the five regional companies that make up the Equipment Depot dealership group represent more than 50 industry leading manufacturers - providing sales and service coverage in about 25% of the country with more than 40 locations in 12 states. Service vans with colorful racing decals are a familiar sight throughout its sales, rental and service areas.

In the most recent year the Equipment Depot dealership group exceeded $420 million in sales. It employs more than 1,750 employees, including more than 900 factory-trained service technicians. It offers 24/7 equipment service from more than 600 radio-dispatched service vehicles. It has more than 26,500 customer-owned units covered by service contracts. It has more than 800 units of used equipment in inventory as well as more than 7,500 units in its short-term rental fleet.