Michael Marcotte

Integrated materials handling equipment dealership GN Johnston Equipment Co Ltd, trading as Johnston Equipment, is marking its 60th anniversary.

Gordon Nelson Johnston founded the business in 1954 in his backyard in Pointe Claire, Quebec, an on-island suburb of Montreal. The head office was relocated to the Toronto vicinity in 1975.

Raymond Corp acquired the business in 2000, when Johnston Equipment began occupying its current principal facility on Avebury Road in Mississauga. Additional adjacent space was leased in 2010.

In 2010, Michael Marcotte was named to succeed the retiring Jim Locker as president of Johnston Equipment. In 2011, Marcotte added the duties of chief executive officer.

In conjunction with the anniversary observation, Johnston Equipment donated more than CAD60,000 to child and youth mentoring charity Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto.

The firm held celebratory events such as a monthly luncheon for all its associates "so everyone gets to celebrate this milestone", Marcotte notes. Johnston Equipment employs a staff of 845.

A 60th anniversary logo was designed, and Johnston Equipment continues to focus on its customer care culture and show appreciation to customers for their support.

Apart from the head office and central region facility in Mississauga, Johnston Equipment has eastern region branch offices in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Dieppe, New Brunswick, in the Moncton market; St Laurent, Quebec, in the Montreal market; Ste Foy, Quebec, near Quebec City; and Ottawa, Ontario; and western region branch offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan; and Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 2012, Johnston Equipment rolled out a distance-education program for training forklift operators.

Johnston Equipment represents Raymond and BT forklift trucks and offers fleet management services, automated systems and storage solutions.