Coming upon Equipment Depot it's easy to see what this Williamsport-based business is all about.
Cranes and booms and all matter of heavy equipment surround and all but swallow up the warehouse type building at 2893 S. Reach Road.
"We work on all brands of lift trucks," said service manager Dale Parke. "We work on all aerial equipment. We have a large client base."
Formerly Forklifts Inc., the company was purchased in 2007 by Equipment Depot.
The company, an authorized dealer for more than 50 manufacturers, sells, services, rents and provides parts and training for forklifts, aerial lifts and construction equipment.
Parke is among a number of employees whose time with the company pre-dates Equipment Depot.
He recalled Forklifts Inc. moving from its Center Street location to the present site in 1979.
"From my perspective, it's very family oriented," said Jim Strouse, operations manager "We have employees who have been here 30 to 40 years."
More than 40 employees work out of the site, including technicians who repair and keep serviced the equipment.
The company, he said, has benefitted from the Marcellus Shale gas drilling industry.
"It's been really good for us," he said. "We hired three more technicians because we've needed so much more equipment."
Parke said the public may have a misconception about Equipment Depot.
"We are probably more full service than people think," he said. "We are not just a rental company."
Parke said there is reason for optimism from a business standpoint, despite what some people may think.
"They say the gas industry is pulling out," he said. "It may be slowing down. But you don't move here, build businesses then move out."
By all aspects, business is good.
Around the site, workers can be seen moving or working on equipment.
In the main office office manager Diane Jackson busies herself with phone calls and other work.
Of late, Equipment Depot has been busy renting equipment to gas companies and servicing some of their heavy equipment vehicles.
Strouse noted that the business operates over a 14-county area, including State College and the Northern Tier.
With headquarters in Houston, Texas, Equipment Depot has 41 locations nationwide.
