Homestead's open day in Ashland

Linde and Baoli dealer Homestead Materials Handling has opened its newest Virginia branch location in Ashland.

Homestead Materials Handling is a division of West Virginia-based Jefferds Corporation, which has been serving customers since 1947. Last July, the company announced plans to open three new full-service facilities over a period of 18 months. The Richmond location is the first of these to open.

Locations in Chesapeake and Winchester are planned to open later this year.

The Ashland location offers the Linde and Baoli product lines as well as service, parts and rentals of materials handling equipment.

"Homestead saw the investment the KION Group was making in North America and, in turn, decided to reciprocate by investing in us by expanding their presence in their market," says Mike Gore, vice president of sales at KION North America Corporation.

The opening was marked by an open day which included a facility tour, equipment demonstrations, a forklift operator certification course and a barbeque lunch.

"The open house was a great success with several qualified leads resulting from it," says Jason Anderson, branch manager of the new Ashland location. "We received very positive feedback on the Linde and Baoli product lines from a wide array of end-users. It was the perfect opportunity to showcase what KION North America and Homestead Materials Handling bring to the Richmond market."

Homestead has locations throughout western Virginia and also serves customers in neighbouring areas of North Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky.