Waco, Texas — Equipment Depot founder Don Moes named Kelly Kunka president and CEO of the Waco, Texas-based regional forklift, aerial, tractor and materials-handling sales and rental company. Kunka joined Equipment Depot in 1995 and helped establish the company's San Antonio branch. Kunka has worked in rental sales, service sales, equipment sales and branch management, and has served as chief operating officer since 1999.
Moes will continue as chairman of Equipment Depot. Moes will also be involved in the development of four other material handling companies also owned by Equipment Depot's parent company, Pon North America.
PNA is a division of Pon Holdings, a Dutch trading company and the largest privately held company in the Netherlands. PNA operates five forklift dealerships in the eastern and southwest United States with annual revenues of almost $450 million and nearly $115 million in rental revenue. The other companies are Equipment Depot in Illinois; Portman Equipment in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia; Forklifts Inc. in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware; and Levee Lift in Indiana and Kentucky. Pon North America is No. 21 on the RER 100.
Moes also will devote time to local projects. “After more than 40 years in the equipment industry I felt I was ready to devote more time to civic projects in Waco,” Moes said. “This community has been very good to my company and my family and I want to contribute what I can in return. In addition, I believe that when the next generation of leadership is trained and ready to take control you need to step aside and let them take the reins.”
Moes founded Equipment Depot as Central Texas Clarklift in 1975, with two stores and seven employees. It changed its name to Equipment Depot in 1995. The company now has 12 stores, is close to $200 million in total annual revenue, and has more than 600 employees.
“Equipment Depot is now one of the largest material handling companies in Texas,” Kunka said. “We have positioned the company to meet the challenges of competition and consolidation in our industry, and we are prepared to continue to grow in each of our business segments.”
Equipment Depot is a major Texas rental player as well, representing more than 30 industry-leading manufacturers and operating throughout Texas, southern Oklahoma and southwestern Louisiana.
It operates 12 forklift and material-handling equipment superstores that sell, service and rent forklifts and other equipment from the Red River to the Rio Grande in Texas.
