David Turner

David O Turner envisions the forklift dealership brand Equipment Depot attaining a larger presence in North America. Parent firm Pon Holdings BV is based in Almere, the Netherlands.

"We see solid, if not exponential, growth of the materials handling business globally but, in particular, in the US," he says. "We believe we can further build out our business in the US in the coming years."

Currently, Pon's Equipment Depot business operates through 37 branches and employs 1,500 staff, of whom 750 are technicians.

"We have an incredible footprint from which to service our customers across roughly 1,500 mi. (2,400 km) stretching from New Jersey to the Mexican border," he says. In addition to the coastal perimeter, Equipment Depot has a strong heartland presence in the mid-west and mid-south regions of the US.

He adds, "even with this significant operation, we still only cover 18% of the North American ITA", referring to the statistical compilations of the Washington, DC-based Industrial Truck Association.

In various markets, Equipment Depot represents more than two dozen brands of forklifts and access lifts.

"We see substantial opportunity to grow our business in North America, both organically and through acquisitions," Turner notes.

Turner graduated in 1986 from the Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina with a degree in business administration and accounting.

"As a family, we vacationed in Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), and my parents decided to retire in that area, so I sought a local university to attend," he says. "Coastal was located only 10 mi. (16 km) from Myrtle Beach."

An interest in business led him into the accounting discipline. "If I had a solid understanding of financial statements and accounting, I could always 'learn the rest of it' through on-the-job training and experience," he says. "It would have been impossible to just 'pick up' the financial discipline on the job, so I decided to study it and learn it as deeply as possible."

For several years, he was with First Union National Bank of Charlotte, North Carolina in corporate banking positions, the last being vice president and commercial bank manager.

Beginning in 1991, Turner held various roles with W&O Supply Inc prior to W&O's acquisition by Pon Holdings in 1999. W&O supplies pipe, valves, fittings, engineered products and automated valve and data management systems to the marine and upstream oil and gas industries.

From December 2003 to 2007, he served as president and chief executive officer of W&O, then a subsidiary of Pon North America Inc, and then for two years, Turner was the managing director of subsidiary Pon Power BV in the Netherlands. "I stayed at W&O post-acquisition before joining Pon's Caterpillar engine business in Holland," he recalls.

His entry into the materials handling equipment industry occurred from April 2009 until mid-2010, when he initially served as president and CEO of Pon Material Handling NA Inc, which includes the Equipment Depot business.

In 2009, Pon Holdings decided to consolidate its global materials handling business (previously managed as three separate geographic groups) under one management, which Turner headed. "A year later, I was asked to join the Pon executive board and return to Europe to become the dealer principal for our Caterpillar business" in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, he says. As dealer principal from 2010-2013, he was based in Amsterdam.

Beginning in September 2013, he was named president and CEO of Pon Material Handling NA while continuing to serve as a member of the Pon Holdings executive board. He is also president and CEO of Pon North America.

The business identity's history extends back almost four decades. Brand originator Equipment Depot Texas was founded as Central Texas Clarklift in 1975, changed its name to Equipment Depot in 1995 and became part of Pon Holdings in 2000. Other Pon acquisitions followed.

Equipment Depot Pennsylvania was previously Forklift Inc., Equipment Depot Ohio was Portman Equipment Co, Equipment Depot Kentucky was LeveeLift Inc and Equipment Depot Illinois was Material Handling Services.

Houston-based Equipment Depot completed the challenging process of integrating numerous materials handling equipment operations in mid-2011.

Over two years, Equipment Depot aligned its personnel, products and service operations with its customers and original equipment manufacturing suppliers and streamlined back-office functions such as marketing, human resources, supply chain, information technology and accounting. Utilising Ultimate Software technology, the effort included combining and centralising six payroll systems.

That combination of businesses gives Turner a solid base for Equipment Depot's next steps.

In his journey, "each step within Pon was a promotion leading to increased responsibilities", says Turner, 50. "In 2013, I returned to the US to focus solely on growing our North American business, which includes running our Equipment Depot operation."