Groff Tractor & Equipment Acquires Trico Equipment Services
Groff Tractor & Equipment has acquired Trico Equipment Service LLC, a Case Construction dealer with three locations in New Jersey. Groff, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., with the addition of Trico’s Vineland, Totowa and Freehold, N.J., facilities now has 11 branches in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company rents, sells and services equipment from Atlas Copco, Liebherr, Takeuchi, Terex, Wacker Neuson and others.
“Both companies were started in the 1950s and have grown significantly by providing reliable equipment, backed by excellent service,” said Mike Savastio, president and CEO of Groff Tractor. “And both companies can attribute their success to dedicated employees, loyal customers and support from our manufacturers. We look forward to merging the two companies successfully to assure continued growth.”
Trico Equipment was founded by Joe Pustizzi Sr. in 1952, and was later owned by Joe Pustizzi Jr., whose brother Ken Pustizzi founded Trico Lift, which was sold to BlueLine Rentals earlier year. Trico Equipment Services began operating in 1952 from a two-bay garage in Vineland, N.J. All of Trico’s employees are now Groff Tractor employees
Groff Tractor & Equipment has been serving the construction equipment market since 1958 when its first dealership opened in Highspire, Pa., which later moved to Mechanicsburg. With the addition of the Trico branches, Groff Tractor has six locations throughout central and western Pennsylvania, one in Frederick, Md., three in New Jersey, and a rental and service branch in Newcomerstown, Ohio.
All of the Groff Tractor locations, except Ohio, will feature the full Case Construction Equipment inventory including backhoe loaders, compact track loaders, compaction equipment, crawler dozers, excavators, forklifts, motor graders, skid-steer loaders, tractor loaders and wheel loaders. Service departments feature up-to-date diagnostic and repair equipment, onsite service capabilities and multi-million dollar parts inventories.
Trico Equipment Services LLC will operate as a division of Groff Tractor New Jersey during a transition period.
Additional equipment available at the New Jersey branches includes Sakai compaction equipment; chippers, flails, grinders, blower trucks, Peterson screens and conveyors, Multiquip generators; SolarTech portable traffic control equipment; BTI hydraulic breakers; MMD Equipment air compressors, Towmaster trailers; and Farrow System cleaning equipment.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.