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Reissue of our May 2014 eNewsletter | Company Founder John Pruitt

Dear Friends and Associates of  Eastern Lift Truck Co. ,
 

Last year we ran a series of e-newsletters titled "Did You Know?"  Each issue provided some insight about Eastern Lift and its various products and services. One of the most popular and widely praised e-newsletters of this series was about the Founder of Eastern Lift Truck Company, the late Mr. John Pruitt.

 

Since we've grown so much over the past year, and added many new customers to our mailing list, we'd like to share that story again, today.

 

In his book, The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw states "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced." They were "a generation of towering achievement and modest demeanor."

 

Eastern Lift Truck Company's founder, John Pruitt, was a member of the greatest generation and Brokaw's description of towering achievement and modest demeanor is an excellent characterization of John as well.  We'd like to share a bit of John's story with you...

Wold War II

The year is 1940 and a young man, an orphan, is looking for a better life.  John Pruitt enlists in the US Navy. From a humble beginning, John will go on to play an important role in the success of the US Navy submarine fleet in the South Pacific during World War II, and he will be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, Submarine Combat Award with 5 Battle Stars, Bronze Star, and Army and Navy Citations.

 

John is a young man stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack in 1941. Unlike many others, John survives the bombings. Shortly thereafter, President Roosevelt declares the United States is at war, and John's sub is reassigned to Australia, and then, Guam.

 

After several combat missions as a radio operator in the conning tower, John is sent to New London, CT to help develop a new radar system to better detect the Japanese planes which have been attacking low in the horizon and destroying many US subs.

 

By 1943, the new radar is ready, and John is put in charge of installing it on the US attack subs throughout the South Pacific. He is often dropped off by seaplane and asked to perform the installation while the sub is on active mission. After the new radar is installed on the fleet, the US loses very few subs to enemy plane attacks.

 

John is reassigned to combat duty and serves on the USS Barb, Chub, Tang, Pilotfish and Seawolf, as well as several other boats. He is on the first US sub to penetrate Tokyo Bay, Japan, and the last sub in the line that the Enola Gay took on its route to drop the atomic bomb. John witnesses the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima, is on the deck of the Missouri for the Japanese surrender and takes part in nuclear testing in the South Pacific after the war.

 

Like so many others from his generation, John's personal contribution to the war effort was selfless and highly remarkable. His feats were made even more impressive by the fact that he performed them in such a dangerous post. 70% of all submariners who served during the war, were killed.  They did not come home. Thanks in part to John's efforts, this figure was not higher.

Education & Early Professional Career

After the war, John attends the University of California at Berkeley and graduates with an Electrical Engineering degree. His professional career begins with Thomas Edison Co, in the mines of Colorado - Leadville, CO to be exact - selling industrial batteries which are used for all important stand-by power. But John's early career is cut short by war.

Korean War, Return To Work, Time to Head East

In the early 1950s the United States finds itself at war once again. John answers the call to duty and spends most of 1951 back in the US Navy on various destroyers off the Korean coast.

 

Following his duty in Korea, John returns to Colorado to resume his sales career in the mines. In 1953 he is recruited by C & D Batteries and Hobart Motor Generator Co. to sell industrial power on the East coast of the United States. John moves to Baltimore, Maryland and begins to sell lift truck batteries.

 

Not surprisingly, John is successful in his new role and he catches the eye of Clark Equipment. They ask him to manage their Baltimore branch and he accepts. John performs this job for a number of years until Clark decides to sell the facility. At this point, John decides to go to work as a salesman for the local Yale distributor.

An Entrepreneur Makes The Most Of His Opportunity

John is an industrious entrepreneur at heart, and he has always dreamed of managing his own business. When he learns that Allis Chalmers needs someone to take over their struggling distributorship in Philadelphia, he feels up for the challenge.  John accepts the job and quickly turns around the struggling business. The year is 1971 and this is the genesis of Eastern Lift Truck Company.

 

John transitions to the role of owner and in 1974 he formally changes the name of the business to Eastern Lift Truck Company. Some of the Eastern Lift's earliest customers are the farmers of Southern New Jersey - hardworking men and women who come to trust and rely on John and his company to provide good honest service on their equipment.

Growth & Reunion With Yale

Eastern Lift flourishes throughout the 1970s and 1980s and becomes well known for its attention to customer service. The company is one of the earliest champions of the forklift dealer business model which employs a large staff of Customer Service Representatives, who work side by side with Account Managers. John is a proud Dad and both of his sons, Mike and Dan, work for the company and learn the business that he loves.

 

Fast forward to the year 1996. John is reunited with Yale once again as Eastern Lift becomes an authorized Yale distributor.  Now with Mike Pruitt at the helm as President and Dan Pruitt as Vice President, the company really begins to grow and acquire other Yale distributors. The first acquisition is the Yale dealer in Willow Grove, PA.  (The facility has since moved to Warminster, PA.) Then a facility is added in Newark, DE.  Eastern takes over the Yale distributor in Maryland and adds three more facilities:  Baltimore, Hagerstown and Capitol Heights (which has since moved to Upper Marlboro). The company also adds locations in Laurel, DE and Franklinville, NJ.

 

In late 2010, Eastern buys out the Yale distributor in York and Allentown, PA.  In 2011, a facility is added in Bloomsburg, PA (they recently moved into a larger facility in Berwick).  Branches in Reading, PA and Queenstown, MD go online shortly afterwards.

Hyster and Continued Growth

On October 3rd, 2015, Eastern Lift Truck Co. was named the exclusive authorized provider of Hyster lift trucks, parts and service for most of its existing Yale territory as well as brand new territory in Northern New Jersey and seven counties in southeastern New York state.

 

To meet the anticipated needs of lift truck users in the new territory, Eastern Lift has added two more locations in Wilke-Barre, PA (West Wyoming) and Piscataway, NJ as well as dozens of seasoned lift truck parts, service and sales professionals.

 

Eastern Lift plans for more growth in the immediate future. Additional facilities are in the works. If you follow us on social media, you have noticed we are hiring at nearly every location.

 

We hoped you enjoyed reading this e-newsletter. The 700+ employees of Eastern Lift Truck Co. are proud of the man, John Pruitt, and the history of the company he founded, more than forty years ago.

 

We're also proud of our sustained growth and commitment to excellence.

 

Last but not least, we are proud to be a distributor of Yale (and now Hyster) material handling products - the only American-owned and manufactured lift trucks in the marketplace today.

Eastern Lift's Customers Share Praise and Compliments

We recently sent a survey to our customers and asked for feedback about our sales and service.  We received many positive comments. Some were used in this " ELT" graphic.
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Eastern Lift Truck Co., Inc.
Maple Shade, NJ (HQ) 
Toll Free (866) 980-7175