Wolter, Inc. celebrates Sixty Years of business and growth

Posted on Oct 12, 2022 in Shifting Gears

Wolter, Inc. celebrates sixty years of business and tremendous growth. Wolter continues to grow through the expansion of product offerings, superior customer service, acquisitions, and an extensive suite of operational productivity solutions Wolter has built over the decades.

Becoming Wolter 

The Wolter, Inc. story began in 1962, when Otto Wolter, CEO, founded LPM Parts & Service, later named Wisconsin Lift Truck, out of a two-car garage in Milwaukee, WI. Starting as an aftermarket parts supplier, Wolter quickly expanded into service and used material handling equipment sales. From there, the company took on new lift truck lines and began to grow the business organically. In 1995, Otto Wolter began looking to accelerate growth through acquisition:

• 1995: Fiorenza Material Handling, Illinois
• 1998: AmGen, Wisconsin
• 2001: Equipment Sales & Service, Wisconsin
• 2006: Material Handling Services, Wisconsin
• 2010: WITCO Systems, Wisconsin
• 2012: Scott Lift Truck, Illinois; YDR, Wisconsin
• 2014: Chicago Lift Truck, Illinois
• 2015: Service Max and Fleet Lift Truck Service, Illinois
• 2016: Ellis Systems, Illinois
• 2017: Stephan Forklift Repair, Wisconsin
• 2019: Kensar Equipment Company, Indiana; Bohnert Equipment Company, Kentucky
• 2020: Integrity Industrial Equipment, Ohio; A D Lift Truck, Missouri; K&L Equipment, Illinois
• 2021: Power Products Plus, WI; Advantage Materials Handling, IN
• 2022: Valley Industrial Crane, OH

On January 1^st, 2022, these collective brands united to rebrand as Wolter, Inc.

And now, at 60 years of business, Wolter is comprised of a diverse suite of productivity solutions including material handling equipment, automation, and robotics, cranes and hoists, engineered systems, storage and handling, railcar movers, power systems, workplace storage; offering sales, service, parts rentals, and training.

The People Behind the Name 

The company employs a team of over 550 product and solution specialists that can address each customer’s operational challenges under the mission of creating serious competitive advantages for its customers by leveraging its products, services, and people’s unique expertise to reimagine their productivity opportunities.

Jerry Weidmann

“Wolter began as and continues to be a family business – a family business that does not just speak to the family members of the founder, but to a set of values that the business is based around,” explains, Jerry Weidmann, Wolter President. “Our values determine the way we care for one another, the way we work together, and the way we take care of our customers.”

“Our future has a strong foundation and a strong team. We can all be proud of what has been, and all look forward to the future that is yet to be.”