Jungheinrich Reaches Agreement With New Dealership Network

Released on: February 13, 2009, 6:56 pm
Author: Jungheinrich
Industry: Industrial

RICHMOND, VA - Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. has reached an agreement with Equipment Depot of Ohio to further expand its dealership network in North America. Jungheinrich will complete a sale of assets and the virtual relocation of its factory store in Cincinnati to Equipment Depot of Ohio around March 1, 2009. The restructuring and transition to Equipment Depot of Ohio is a very significant and positive step for Jungheinrich's business growth in this region, as this agreement allows Jungheinrich to extend its reach to many more potential customers, and provides opportunities for further expansion in the Northeast.

Equipment Depot's dealer network in North America has achieved over $400 million in sales and employs 1,750 personnel. The network consists of five regional equipment dealers with 40 locations in 12 states, including the former Portman Equipment Company, recently renamed Equipment Depot of Ohio. The overall network locations span from the Midwest to the Northeast, as well as a South Central region.

Equipment Depot is owned by the Pon family and is one of the world's largest family-owned businesses. Ed Neyer, President and CEO of Equipment Depot, stated "Jungheinrich is truly a premier lift truck brand which now provides our customers with a broad selection of quality order pickers, reach trucks and other lift trucks for their warehousing needs. Their feature-rich line of turret trucks will be an exciting addition to our systems group, and will boost our ability to help customers optimize the flow of material in their warehouses and distribution centers. We welcome Jungheinrich to our successful organization and expect them to be a significant contributor to our continued growth." Neyer also pledged to maintain the 'local intimacy' that has become the hallmark of the Pon family's success as they sell and service Jungheinrich lift truck vehicles for customers.

John Sneddon, President of Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp., also stated "We are very excited about this move because the business opportunities are far greater with Equipment Depot than any other alternative approach we considered - including retaining our Cincinnati factory store. We have a very optimistic and positive outlook for the near future as we effect this transition over the next month or so." Sneddon also indicated that "a number of the key Jungheinrich Cincinnati factory store staff will be transferring to Equipment Depot."

All current customer contracts and agreements with the Jungheinrich factory store, including rental contracts, will be transferred and supported by Equipment Depot.

For more information about this new dealership agreement, contact Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp., 5601 Eastport Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23231. Call: 804-737-7400. Fax: 804-737-7467, or, visit the website at http://www.jungheinrich-us.com.

About Jungheinich
Jungheinrich is the world leader in warehouse logistics technology. Founded over fifty years ago, the company has grown from its beginnings as a European manufacturer of materials handling equipment to an international supplier of industrial trucks, warehousing technology and materials-flow products. Today, it is a major supplier of forklift trucks around the globe, and offers a complete range of materials handling equipment, rack systems and services related to manufacturing logistics.

Jungheinrich's growth has been due in large part to the high value it has always placed on leading-edge design and technological innovation. This is seen, for example, in the company's proprietary 3-phase AC motor and controller technology, and in a host of productivity and ergonomic enhancements. Jungheinrich has more than 120 strategically-located service support centers and store operations in the U.S., and sales and service companies in countries around the industrialized world.

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 dealer network 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 past year the Equipment Depot dealer network 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. Additionally, 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.

For more information about Equipment Depot, visit their web site at: http://www.eqdepot.com