Caterpillar Tractor Company believed the concentrated efforts of two dealers would better serve a territory the size of the old North State and sought to improve sales and service in eastern North Carolina, leading to the establishment of a second dealer headquartered in Raleigh. Caterpillar management chose James Gregory Poole Sr. and his uncle William Lewis Gregory to form the new eastern NC dealership.
On April 1, 1951, Gregory-Poole Equipment Company began operations at 3623 Hillsborough Street in the state’s capital city and at a branch in New Bern, North Carolina. The company soon became widely respected in the heavy construction and materials handling industries for its sales and service.
In July, a heavy equipment sales and service branch opened in Wilmington, NC. Later that year in December, the company’s headquarters moved to its current Raleigh location at 4807 Beryl Road.
By means of a trade of stock in Florida-based Seminole Rock Products, Poole and his family obtained W.L. Gregory’s shares in Gregory Poole Equipment Company and became the sole owners.
J. Gregory Poole, Jr., was elected President of GPEC.
Gregory Poole Equipment Company established the Industrial Division to sell and service material handling equipment, with initial operations located at 3705 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh.
The Industrial Division expands by adding a branch operation in Wilmington, NC.
To replace the outdated New Bern facility with a modern shop located in the center of the booming eastern market, a new heavy equipment branch opened at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and Spring Road in Washington, NC.
A new heavy equipment branch opened on Highway 17-S in Wilmington, NC. In November, the Wilmington Industrial Division relocated to this state-of-the-art shop in Brunswick County after several years at another address.
In October, a new Fayetteville facility opened on U.S. Highway 301 South at Interstate 95 to serve both Construction and Industrial Division customers.
In November, the Industrial Division expanded into South Carolina, with facilities in Charleston and Florence.
The Power Systems Division launched at a new Blue Ridge Road facility in Raleigh, providing sales and service for engines in power generation, marine, and truck applications.
On April 1, 1996, the company’s 45th anniversary, J. Gregory Poole III became President and Chief Operating Officer of GPEC.
J. Gregory Poole, III purchased the company from J. Gregory Poole, Jr. and became the Chairman, CEO and third generation Poole owner.
Gregory Poole Equipment Company celebrated it’s 50th year of providing Cat® products, service and support to eastern North Carolina.
Gregory Poole Lift Systems expanded to Virginia, opening branches in Chesapeake and Richmond.
To better serve our On-Highway Engine customers, the Raleigh truck engine service operations moved in July to the new On-Highway Engine Truck Center in Garner, NC.
Gregory Poole and six other southeast Cat dealers acquired Pioneer Machinery in December of that year. Today, GPEC offers forestry equipment at its Wilmington, Washington, and Fayetteville locations.
A new facility opened in February in Mebane, NC. This facility houses a 12,800 square foot parts warehouse and a 30,000 square foot service center to support Gregory Poole’s Construction, Truck, and Rental Store customers. This facility now serves Bus, Compact Construction Equipment, Compressed Air, Electric Power Generation, and RV/Truck service.
Gregory Poole began a partnership with Blue Bird Buses across the entire state of North Carolina to provide the sales, parts, and service of school, activity, commercial, assisted living, and church buses.
The company’s Lift Systems Division expanded through the acquisition of the Virginia-based LiftOne territory, a division of Carolina Tractor & Equipment. Through 13 Gregory Poole Lift Systems locations, the division now serves eastern North Carolina, eastern South Carolina, and Virginia.
In June, the company launched a Compressed Air Systems division for the sale and support of air compressors and accessories.
Gregory Poole reached an agreement to acquire Cincinnati, Ohio based Advanced Handling Systems, Incorporated (AHS), a full service provider of integrated fulfillment and distribution solutions within the material handling supply chain industry. Under this agreement AHS will operate as an affiliate of Gregory Poole Equipment Company and work in conjunction with the Gregory Poole Lift Systems Division.
Acting on our commitment to providing you the best service in each aspect of your business with us, we launched our new operating system that we have named GPAX. This new system will impact every facet of our business together, adding speed, efficiency, better service, and growth capacity. We’ve invested a great deal of time and money to create this new system so that it will truly meet the needs of customers like you for generations to come.
Driven by the company’s desire and directive to grow and by its strategic goal to be the recognized leader in the products it offers, Gregory Poole acquired the operations and assets of Dougherty Equipment Company, Inc. and VBS Inc. Material Handling Equipment and certain assets of Briggs Equipment, Inc. The company was also appointed as an authorized dealer of Hyster® and Yale® lift trucks across four states and one of the region’s largest overall material handling dealers. It is now the Yale® dealer in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, and the Hyster® dealer in most of Virginia and in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Gregory Poole Equipment Company celebrated 65 years in business.
In 2021, SITECH joined the Gregory Poole family, offering machine monitoring options for customers. Gregory Poole hit another milestone in 2021, celebrating 70 years of serving eastern North Carolina.
Equipment World named GPEC as the 2023 Big Iron Dealer of the Year to recognize the company for its excellence in customer service, technology application, and community involvement.
Gregory Poole Equipment Company employs over 1,440 employees at 27 locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.