Equipment Depot Ltd aims by 1 October to consolidate payroll functions in unifying its regional US operations, says Edd Fritz, acting chief executive officer.

For the task, the geographically dispersed equipment sales, service, parts and rental firm selected the UltiPro-brand human-capital-management (HCM) software platform from Ultimate Software Group Inc, of Weston, Florida. Terms were not disclosed.

Leora Kirby, vice president of human resources for Waco-based Equipment Depot, says: "We had multiple payroll systems across our various business units. Since we're in the process of combining five companies into one, we wanted one centralised payroll solution that could accommodate our current needs, as well as keep pace with our company as we grow in the future."

In addition to combining six payroll systems, the initiative involves consolidating human resource, compensation management and recruitment functions.

Equipment Depot's superstores, service depots and other materials handling equipment operations employ more than 1,450 people in 13 states and, in various locations, represent a wide range of forklift brands plus lines of aerial lift platforms, telehandlers, railcar movers, skid steers, backhoes and farm tractors.

Equipment Depot representatives began discussions with software vendors last June and committed to the UltiPro program in December. "We were pleased with the value to be received for the price negotiated," Kirby says.

"We looked carefully at Ultimate's ability to accelerate our deployment and its ability to integrate with other internal systems. As the UltiPro team outlined the processes and clearly explained the necessary steps to take, we were completely reassured by their depth of experience, knowledge and readiness to lead us smoothly through the deployment," she says.

The regional businesses were assembled through acquisitions over many years (Forkliftaction.com News #384) and have adopted the Equipment Depot identity. They retained existing software management systems from their days as separate, independent businesses.

Currently, the five Equipment Depot operating companies focus on markets in central Texas, southern Oklahoma, western Louisiana and the Texas-Mexico border region; eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware; southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and southeastern Indiana; southern Indiana, western Kentucky and northern Tennessee; and Illinois and northwestern Indiana.

The Equipment Depot businesses report as the Pon North America (PNA) materials handling group, a division within the equipment and power systems group of privately held trading company Pon Holdings BV, of Nijkerk, the Netherlands.

Greg Swick, chief sales officer for Ultimate Software, says: "We look forward to collaborating with Equipment Depot, sharing our decades of expertise on best practices for HCM technology and helping this growing company achieve its aggressive goals."

Publicly traded Ultimate Software employs more than 1,100 professionals, serves more than 2,100 customers and had profit of USD711,000 on sales of USD167.4 million for the nine months ended 30 September.