Buddy Dieter, Haulotte VP of Sales and Rental Veteran, Dies at 58

Leroy “Buddy” Dieter, vice president of sales for Haulotte North America, died last week at his home at the age of 58.

Nov. 18, 2015

2 min read

Leroy quotBuddyquot Dieter shown at a recent trade show was a popular figure in the AWP and rental industries — Leroy "Buddy" Dieter, shown at a recent trade show, was a popular figure in the AWP and rental industries.

Leroy “Buddy” Dieter, vice president of sales for Haulotte North America, died last week at his home at the age of 58.

A well-known, popular and respected figure in the industry, Dieter was a 37-year veteran of the rental and aerial work platform industries. Dieter joined Haulotte in 2013, playing a major role in the growth of sales during his time with Haulotte, transitioning the Haulotte North America sales and distribution headquarters to Virginia Beach, Va.

Dieter was born in Baltimore and began working at a young age as an automobile mechanic. In the late 1970s he came to the rental industry as a shop technician at Freestate Industries. He grew his responsibilities and took on management positions in service and sales. Dieter moved on to hold key positions at Modern Highlift and Chesapeake Highlift.

Together with a business partner, Dieter started a new AWP rental company called Lift Inc., a successful venture that was eventually acquired by United Rentals in 1998. While at United Rentals, Dieter served as a branch manager, district manager and regional vice president. Dieter was well-respected by customers, co-workers and competitors.

Dieter is survived by his wife Marybeth, children Nick, Joe, Christine, Lucas, Madison and Max, and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Landon. The family will have a memorial service Saturday, Nov. 21, 2 p.m. at Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk, 7110 Sollers Point Road, Dundalk, Md. 21222. Visitation begins at 1 p.m.

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.