Our History
Working As One
With a heritage that dates back to 1951, Equipment Depot has steadily grown to become your single source for the leading brands of forklifts, aerial lifts and related material handling products. What began as five different
companies has now become one Equipment Depot operating more than 40 equipment stores and 26 service depots serving more than 580 counties in parts or all of 14 states.
Equipment Depot is an equipment sales and rental company that sells, services, rents and provide parts and training for the leading brands of forklifts, aerial lifts and construction equipment.
It offers dock and warehouse equipment solutions in all markets as well as farm equipment, rail car movers, scrubbers, sweepers, tuggers and utility vehicles in selected markets.
Equipment Depot employs more than 1,400 employees, including more than 700 factory-trained service technicians. It offers equipment service for lift trucks, aerial lifts and material handling equipment from more than 500 radio-dispatched service vehicles. It has more than 25,000 customer-owned units covered by service contracts. It has more than 800 units of used equipment in inventory as well as more than 8,200 units in its short-term rental fleet.
Equipment Depot is part of Pon North America, a division of Pon Holdings B.V., a Dutch trading company and one of the largest family-run businesses in the Netherlands. We are proud to be a member of a parent company that unites more than 11,000 employees worldwide, embracing the principles of family and the pursuit of excellence.
Here is a brief history of the companies who have become the Equipment Depot we know today.
Texas Roots
The Equipment Depot brand was developed, adopted and trademarked in 1995 when Central Texas Clarklift in Waco and Austin, Texas, changed its name to Equipment Depot to better reflect the company’s expanded product and service capabilities. Founded in 1975, Central Texas Clarklift acquired Bailey Forklift of Dallas, Clarklift of Ft. Worth, PowrLift of Dallas and Sherman, Southline Equipment of Houston, and Equipment Services Inc. in Longview. Equipment Depot of Texas was acquired by Pon North America in August, 2000.Chicago Area Growth
Our Chicago footprint dates to the founding Material Handling Services in 1951. It acquired Chicagoland Material Handling as well as Inland Material Handling before merging with Illinois Material Handling to become Equipment Depot of Illinois in 2006. Pon North America acquired its Chicago locations in 1999.Louisville Regional Growth
The lower Ohio River Valley stores began in 1954 as Levee Lift in Evansville, Indiana. It entered Louisville and other central and western Kentucky markets. Levee Lift was acquired by Pon North America in early 2000. It was renamed as Equipment Depot of Kentucky in 2008. It expanded to Tennessee when it opened a rental store in Nashville in 2008.Cincinnati Regional Growth
Our Cincinnati operations began in 1960 as Portman Equipment Company. Pon North American acquired Portman in 2005. It acquired Walker Machinery in West Virginia before becoming Equipment Depot of Ohio in 2008.Mid-Atlantic Regional Growth
Our stores in the Philadelphia area and eastern Pennsylvania date back to the founding of Forklifts Inc., in 1955. It acquired Ransome Lift and Forklift Associates before its acquisition by Pon North America in 2007. It became Equipment Depot of Pennsylvania in 2008.
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