Watts Equipment Co. is celebrating their 50th Anniversary Anniversary, which commemorates 50 challenging at times, scary at times, innovative at times, but overall it been great years in business. This is a huge milestone for the Manteca California-based Toyota Forklift and Crown Forklift business, which has provided Toyota Forklift and Crown Forklift Sales for small to large businesses since 1967.
Watts Equipment Co. got its start in 1967 when founder Virgil Watts left the Marines in 1948 with vision and a plan to start a business. Several years later he was ready. One of the earliest challenges Watts Equipment Co. faced was having no customers and five employees making cash tight. Stories recall it as a week to week adventure.
While every business, of course, faces challenges, some, like Watts Equipment Co. are fortunate enough to enjoy real successes, wins, and victories too. One such victory came when Virgil made one of his first big deals. California Cooler had confidence in the product and Virgil. This gave the company the confidence to serve other large customers. Having great people made this first big step possible.
Shirley Perreira, President/CEO at Watts Equipment Co. spoke about a more recent big win that speaks volumes to the core values Virgil held as he grew the company over the years. “One of the high points of Watts Equipment Co.'s history recently was something that would have made Virgil proud. A local 20-year account was instructed by their corporate office that they would now have to start using a national account and not their local one. It was hard to watch happen. Even though they could no longer purchase from us or have us service their equipment, we could not abandon them. They were family. Then two years later, we were awarded their national account. Now we take care of them throughout North America and our relationship has continued to grow even stronger. We will be going on close to 30 years now.”
Watts Equipment Co.'s Founder, Virgil Watts passed away on November 23, 2010. He is remembered for still coming into the office in his late 80's and into his 90's. It was mentioned that he still had that twinkle in his eye when hearing stories about happenings in the company. He would often say, "look how far this industry has come." Yet everyone believes much of their success comes from Virgil being a forward thinker.
When asked what success they think Virgil would have attributed to them reaching their 50 year anniversary. Shirley said, “I believe the secret to getting this far in business today is staying true to Virgil's values when he created the company. We will continue to treat customers like family and remember that success will be reached when your customers are successful.”
Watts Equipment Co. currently consists of 60+ employees and has big plans for adopting this new age of business as the third generation is getting ready to take over. One of their core objectives is helping businesses work smarter and not harder. They will continue to help businesses grow by providing their expertise in warehouse management and material handling solutions. Implementing technology to make sure customers can achieve their goals easier.
Blake Burnham, the new VP of Operations and third generation, stressed that this all has to be done without losing our personal touch. "Helping to streamline new processes and helping to train on new equipment often relies on computers, cloud-based systems, and new training. No matter how much technology comes into play, it will not replace what made us who we are." At any time, if needed, they will get in a car and drive to a customer to make sure they are taken care of. He stated, "Nothing will ever replace face to face relationships."
Watts Equipment Co. would also like to thank friends, more than 1200 loyal customers, their employees for helping make Watts Equipment what it is today. They are extremely thankful for all the well wishes they have received on this happy occasion.
More information on the business can be found at http://www.wattsequipment.com.
Watts Equipment Co
17547 Comconex Rd
Manteca, CA 95336
Watts Equipment is your local provider of the best lift trucks and equipment on the market. California’s Central Valley has no fear of losing quality or service because we have been here for 50 years and have no plans of changing anything.
17547 Comconex Rd
Manteca, CA 95336
