History
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Riekes Equipment Company
Historical Perspective
1984
 Alco Standard decided to depart the MHE industry. An orderly change of ownership was accomplished in April of 1984. Tom Clark and John Houlihan, local investors, purchased Riekes Equipment without any disruption of business or jobs. Bob Schaap remained as president and assisted in the selection of his successor Duncan Murphy, who came on board as a partner in August. The marketplace was heating up and a growth era began for Riekes Equipment. Bob freely shared his wisdom and experience with Duncan, preparing him to assume the job of president in 1986.

1989
 Riekes Equipment had enjoyed outstanding growth, more than doubling in the last five years. A good market, excellent suppliers, and an outstanding team of people helped achieve this success. NACCO, Yale's parent, completed the purchase of Hyster, creating NACCO Materials Handling. This ushered in an era of unprecedented change for Yale.

 
Today, Riekes Equipment is nearly 100 employees strong with 5 sales and service facilities and 4 additional service centers.
 
  The joint strength of Yale and Hyster allowed plant consolidations, economies of scale, engineering strength, and flexibility, and the best product line in the business. Parts distribution was centralized in Danville, IL and Flemington became a marketing and engineering office only. New and better product lines were designed and introduced, using the economics of scale but keeping the two product lines significantly different. Again, Riekes was directly involved with Yale's changes with Duncan as President of Yale's central region and a member of Yale's dealer board. The Riekes team took advantage of this strength, increasing its market share each year to double that of Yale's national share. Riekes Equipment also experienced an ownership change as Tom Clark purchased John Houlihan's shares.
1992
 The growth continued for Riekes Equipment with the creation of a branch in Grand Island, Nebraska and the purchase of Nordstrom Equipment that created a branch in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both facilities started strong, building on its service capabilities. This positioned Riekes with 5 facilities covering all of its key markets and ready for anything. Then Riekes was tested. August 23rd, 1993 was a day none of us will forget. A four-alarm fire (see video) caused by a newly installed defective transformer burned the Riekes facility on Cuming Street to the ground. Tom and Duncan led the Riekes team to recovery even as the fire was still burning. Everybody pitched in above and beyond the call of duty. We were in an interim facility at 1302 Grace Street (not far from our original building) within two days. Every facet of our business was fully operational in two weeks. We received several compliments, thanks to the entire Riekes team; from our customers who were amazed there was no drop in service and response. We had achieved our goal.

1994
 After a yearlong search Riekes found it's new home at 6703 "L" Street. Again everybody pitched in as several hundred thousand dollars of remodeling was completed at the facility. Our carefully designed shop, well laid out parts department, warehouse, showroom, and offices allow the Riekes team to perform their jobs at peak efficiency. It feels so good to have a dry, climate controlled, functional facility close to our customers.

2000
 The new millennium ushered in another era of change for Riekes Equipment Company and the world. Committed to maintaining our role as leader in our field, we embraced the latest technological advances in computers, communication, design, tools, and training. The fear of January 1, 2000 was soon replaced by a resolve to work as partners with our quality suppliers of long standing, to solve any and all materials handling problems faced by our customers.

Manufacturers became leaner too, focusing on our joint customer needs and objectives instead of on themselves. One such example was Yale Fleet Management. Utilizing the strengths of Riekes and Yale, end users are able to outsource the acquisition and maintenance of their fork truck fleets. Right sizing, accurate measurement and reporting of costs, and action taken to provide continuous improvement delivered guaranteed 15 percent cost savings.

Today
 The addition of service centers in Fargo, ND, McCook, NE, Columbus, NE, and Rapid City, SD, insure we can support our products in a broad market area. Training has become deeply ingrained in our company culture, averaging over 100 hours per year, per person. We look forward to the challenges tomorrow will bring. The client relationships we have built and enjoyed for almost seventy years are the reward we earned for delivering the Riekes Equipment Company distinction,

 
"Dedicated to Customer Satisfaction"
 
 
 
 
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© 2005 Riekes Equipment Company