Gregory Poole Equipment Co., Raleigh, N.C., closed on its acquisition of the operations and assets of Dougherty Equipment Co., Inc., VBS Inc. Material Handling Equipment and certain assets of Briggs Equipment, Inc. The acquisition process uncovered significant economies of scale and synergies, and is expected to nearly double the division’s annual revenue.

Following this acquisition, Gregory Poole was appointed as an authorized dealer of Hyster and Yale lift trucks across four states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. While Gregory Poole will no longer represent other competitive supplier relationships, it will continue to support its current customers through existing service agreements.

“Since our founding in 1951, we have built our organization on the core values of integrity and excellence in all that we do,” says Hal Ingram, lift systems division vice president, Gregory Poole Equipment. “We have pulled from the best of several well-respected and high-performing organizations to create a top-notch team, and we can now provide customers with more reduced costs and lower total cost of ownership than ever before, along with a full range of Hyster and Yale forklift trucks from Class I to Class V.”

The acquisitions were driven by the company’s desire and directive to grow. NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG), Cleveland, Ohio, helped to facilitate these transactions to address succession issues in several high-performing dealerships and to ensure continuity for customers, dealers and associates. The addition of Gregory Poole as a dealer allows NMHG to expand its U.S. dual-brand distribution of its Hyster and Yale product lines.

“We have enjoyed working with all parties over the last 24 months to ultimately come to a resolution that is mutually beneficial without losing sight of the customer and associate,” says Bob Sattler, NMHG vice president of dealer business development. “Expert technicians, industry-leading equipment and experienced consulting solutions made Gregory Poole one of the most respected dealers in the business. We are confident that this restructuring will bring greater support and product access to our customers, while providing valuable additions to our strong network of authorized Hyster and Yale dealers.”

Effective immediately, customers can expect the following:

• Enhanced service and support. The new Gregory Poole will have more technicians, deeper expertise, enhanced technician training and enhanced mixed fleet support.
• Larger capital investment results in more tooling, enhanced parts inventory, larger rental fleets, allied lines, demo equipment, service vans, etc.
• More advanced technology systems to offer greater connectivity and more substantial fleet management programs.