Taylor-Dunn celebrates 70 years

Posted on Sep 12, 2019 in Shifting Gears

Taylor-Dunn, part of Polaris Inc., is celebrating its 70th anniversary, harking back to the garage of RD Taylor who designed and built his first electric-powered cart to help him drive new efficiencies across his small poultry supply business in 1949.

What started as a backyard creation 70 years ago turned out to be a new class of vehicles that would revolutionise material movement and transportation across industries. Today, the company has one of the largest portfolios of commercial and industrial vehicles, customers and retailers across the globe.

Scott W. Wine

“Both Taylor-Dunn and Polaris were founded by men who saw a need, had the ingenuity and determination to build something to meet that need, and went on to establish an industry around their invention,” says Polaris chairman and CEO Scott Wine. “So, we share a history – and a culture – of innovation, and while our respective founders could not have foreseen where that drive to create would take us, I am confident they would have seen Polaris and Taylor-Dunn as kindred spirits. Along with the rest of Polaris, I commend Taylor-Dunn for their rich history of success, and look forward to what we will accomplish together over the next seven decades.”

Taylor-Dunn was officially incorporated in 1951, when Taylor’s son-in-law, Fred Dunn, signed on as partner of the company, and they began selling carts to ranchers and nurseries across the area.

In 1955, the company sped up a round of golf and simplified neighbourhood shopping trips with its three-wheeled, 24 v electric golf cart. Eventually, Taylor-Dunn moved away from the golf cart industry to focus purely on its commercial and industrial lines.

Over the years, the company has streamlined closed-campus goods movement with the Bigfoot utility vehicle line-up, and added additional flexibility and manoeuvrability to its line of commercial warehouse vehicles with the TT-316 tow tractor.

In 2016, Polaris acquired Taylor-Dunn to increase its comprehensive line-up of commercial and industrial vehicles, as well as to continue developing Taylor-Dunn vehicles. This has included leveraging Polaris’ engineering expertise to co-develop the G-100 in 2017, Taylor-Dunn’s first off-road utility vehicle.

“At Taylor-Dunn, we’re never happy with the status quo and constantly working to create the best of the best across industries. And as I look back on the past 70 years, I couldn’t be prouder of how far this company has come,” says Polaris commercial and government vice president and general manager Keith Simon. “Our success can be attributed to the mindset and work ethic of our employees, great retailers and industry partners, and our loyal customers that are constantly inspiring us to do more.”