Richard Donnelly wants others to benefit from his efforts on behalf of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA).

As MHEDA president-elect and 2011 convention chairman, Donnelly has worked with staff members to assemble the program for the association's major annual gathering taking place from 30 April to 4 May in Phoenix, Arizona. Here are some of his goals for the convention:

First, get attendees to network "with other people who have survived the worst downturn since the depression".

Second, encourage activity for the showcase of exhibitors' products including software package systems and allied lines.

Third, "make the agenda relevant to the economic times" and explore matters such as business relationships, customer service and company branding. Panels of consumers and dealers/manufacturers will address current issues and industry expectations.

"I hope everyone attending will benefit," says Donnelly, who becomes president of Vernon Hills, Illinois-based MHEDA in January 2012.



Gregory Poole Equipment Co

In his day job, Donnelly is executive vice president of Raleigh-based Gregory Poole Equipment Co. The business begins observing its 60th anniversary with a kick-off celebration for employees on 31 March and has a colourful history.

In 1951, the management of equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc chose James Gregory Poole Sr and his uncle, William Lewis Gregory, to to form a new eastern North Carolina dealership in Raleigh with a branch in New Bern.

The dealership has a strong commitment to the Cat brand across a wide range of products and, in various markets, also markets the Crown, Mitsubishi, Linde and Jungheinrich forklift lines.

"We want to be diversified and leverage our core competency and technologies," Donnelly says.

Overall, Gregory Poole Equipment had 2010 sales exceeding USD300 million with the forklift portion constituting an unspecified "significant part of the business," he says. For all operations, the firm employs 775 staff and has 21 locations in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina.



One man's journey

Donnelly, 63, was born and lived for a while in Roanoke, Virginia, spent eight years in Charlotte, North Carolina and then moved with his parents to Oregon.

At Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, he received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering technology with an emphasis on construction management in 1970 and a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing in 1971.

He attended US Army officer candidate school at Ft Sill, Oklahoma and graduated as a second lieutenant field artillery officer. He was assigned to Ft Dix, New Jersey and held positions as basic training officer and motor pool officer. Boosting his leadership experience, he managed 150 persons and the operation of 600 military vehicles. He held the rank of lieutenant upon discharge.

Donnelly joined equipment manufacturer International Harvester Co in Chicago, went through management programs and forest products equipment training and was named marketing manager for forestry. "It was a great opportunity," he notes. "I went to Russia twice and gave presentations on forestry systems."

In 1978, he joined Gregory Poole Equipment as a forest products consultant and then became marketing manager. "Cat was encouraging its dealers to get people onboard with forestry experience," he recalls.

In 1983, he was assigned to the industrial division as manager and then vice president. In the midst of challenging times, he added responsibility as vice president for the construction division "covering both divisions for a while", he says.

In a senior management transition in 1999, Donnelly was appointed executive vice president for all three of the firm's divisions-power systems, industrial and construction.

He reports to J. Gregory Poole III, chairman, chief executive officer and third-generation Poole family owner.

In his spare time, Donnelly enjoys playing golf-at one time with a 12 handicap but now 19-and snow skiing.

He and his wife, Linda, own a condominium at the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort in a portion of the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia.

One of their two sons is married, and soon Donnelly and his wife expect to have an opportunity to be grandparents.



Outlook

"We see the economy continuing to improve, but we are not banking on it jumping up," Donnelly observes. "We are cautiously optimistic and clearly see some positive signs."

For the forklift industry, he expects the dealer consolidation trend of 2009 and 2010 to continue. "Some companies are still hanging on," he says. "I think companies will get rid of product lines that are not profitable."