Craig Paylor Joins Ahern Executive Management Team as COO
Don Ahern, president and CEO of Ahern Rentals, has named Craig Paylor chief operating officer as he creates a global senior executive management team of the Ahern family of companies. Paylor, currently CEO of National Truck Body Solutions and best known as past president of JLG Industries, will be a member of the newly formed team, helping to shape the future of all companies within the Ahern Group.
Led by Ahern and his son Evan Ahern, the global senior executive team will develop and implement strategies to steer the Ahern family of companies during a period of growth and increasing diversification of its customer offering.
“We are very pleased to welcome Craig, who is a long-time friend and industry leader, to join our team at Ahern,” said Ahern. “His key role in the development of many industry firsts at JLG will prove invaluable as we tap into his experience in domestic and international distribution, financial modeling, manufacturing and customer support, as well as rental here in the U.S.A. I have known Craig for over 30 years and in many ways our careers have been parallel to each other. He loves the construction equipment industry and has the ability to see the future developments and emerging trends that will be necessary to our success.”
“Don and Evan have built a strong team of dedicated employees who have helped the company become a global player in manufacturing, distribution and engineering, and a leading rental business in the U.S.,” said Paylor. “My hope is that I can use my past experience to contribute to this great team.”
Paylor will join Ahern this month and will work directly with Don Ahern and other members of the senior executive team. Paylor will be based at the corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, and will also travel throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe. He will spend time visiting other regions to help establish and develop a presence for the Ahern organization.
The executive team will work with all companies within the Ahern Group, including Ahern Rentals, Xtreme Manufacturing, Snorkel Manufacturing, Ahern IT, Ahern Australia, Ahern Japan, Ahern Deutschland, Ahern Canada, Snorkel China, Diamond A Equipment, Xtreme Financial Services, Equipment Parts Plus, DFA Properties, AX Transportation, Supergrip West tires and Rhino Turf Equipment.
“The dynamic growth in our product development and our global distribution means that it is now imperative that I form a core team of industry experts to oversee our rapidly growing business, which includes manufacturing, distribution, sales, rentals and global customer support,” said Ahern about the new senior management team. “The team that I am appointing brings a wealth of industry knowledge and strong business strategy experience to the table, and they will be instrumental in driving our future success.”
Don Ahern owns Xtreme Manufacturing, which produces 16 models of rough terrain telehandlers, ranging from 5,900 pounds capacity to the industry’s largest, lifting up to 70,000 pounds. In October 2013, Xtreme acquired the majority share in Snorkel, a global manufacturer of aerial work platforms. These product lines, along with Ahern Rentals and other related products and services have enabled the Ahern family of companies to become one of the fastest growing businesses within the construction industry.
Ahern Rentals is No. 8 on the RER 100.
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.