Gregory Poole Equipment Company has been named Equipment World’s 2023 Big Iron Dealer of the Year.
The Caterpillar dealership was formed in 1951 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has grown to 26 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Along with construction equipment, the 72-year-old company has over the years added an industrial division for material handling equipment, a power systems division, a compressed air systems division, SITECH machine technology and a multitude of other equipment categories.
Formed by James Gregory Poole Sr., the dealership is now in its third generation of family leadership, with the fourth generation gaining experience across different departments, divisions and roles in the company. Along with Cat, it offers equipment from the following manufacturers: Hyster, Yale, Weiler, Astec Industries, Genie, JLG, Multiquip, Toro, BOMAG, Wacker Neuson, Allmand, Blue Bird, Micro Bird, Kobelco, Atlas Copco, Sullivan Palatek, Sullair, Boge, Kaishan, ASCO, Generac, Road Widener and Trimble.
Equipment World will profile Gregory Poole in a coming article, detailing its commitment to customer service, employee development and continuous improvement.
Now in its sixth year, the Big Iron Dealer of the Year award is designed to honor dealers for excellence in meeting customer needs, employing technology and addressing the parts and service requirements of today’s contractors.
Gregory Poole is one of three dealers named finalists in the 2023 Big Iron Dealer of the Year Award. The following two finalists will also be featured in profiles throughout the coming months:
Feenaughty Machinery
Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Feenaughty Machinery Co. has been supporting the construction and forestry industries in the Pacific Northwest for over 120 years. Family-operated since 1901, the company started with sales of street cleaners when founder and Irish immigrant William Orlando Feenaughty moved from New York to Portland.
The company has evolved to include various types of timber and construction equipment. Manufacturers it represents include Develon (formerly Doosan Infracore), Kobelco and Takeuchi.
Maintaining a concept of cautious growth in recent years, the company has additional locations in Eugene, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.
Newman Tractor
Founded in 1976, Newman Tractor served as a rental house and used equipment retailer for most its first 30 years in business. The company started selling new equipment in the mid-2000s, taking on Morooka tracked carriers and eventually Sany.
Newman has doubled in size and locations in the last five years, and the second generation, siblings Justin Newman and Meredith Newman, is preparing to take the helm. The company is headquartered in Verona, Kentucky, and has five locations in Kentucky, Florida and Ohio.
Past Dealer of the Year winners have included Alta Equipment (2018), Carolina Cat (2019), Front Range Kubota (2020), West Side Tractor Sales (2021), and ASCO (2022).
