Plasterer Equipment Company Inc. recently celebrated its 89th anniversary and its formal acquisition of Worley Equipment Co., with a grand open house at its newest location in Lewisberry, PA.
Hundreds of invited guests visited the full-service facility, located at 640 Lowther Rd., off Route 83 north of York. Old friends, new friends, long-time customers as well as soon-to-be customers mingled with John Deere crawler loaders, backhoes, skid steers, and more as they took in the sights and sounds of the new branch location.
Informational booths and displays were set up throughout the Plasterer Equipment Sales and Service Center. The booths introduced attendees to various company features, including John Deere credit, equipment rentals, Internet parts ordering, service capabilities, as well as various pieces of equipment, including the new 655C and 755C 2- to 3-yard crawler loaders, skid-steers and excavators.
“It is a general open house for our newest sales and service center. We are using it to formally celebrate our 89th anniversary as well as the acquisition of Worley,” said Timothy L. Houser, Plasterer president. “The Lewisberry branch is our first store west of the Susquehanna [River]. We formerly served 11 counties. Now we serve customers in 17 counties.
“We acquired the branch back in October, and we are very pleased that everyone connected with the store remained, including Tom Worley, general manager; Steve
Worley, service manager; and Ken Worley, parts manager,” said Houser.
The Worleys said the retirement of Claire Worley Jr., founder of the store, made the acquisition possible.
“It has been a very smooth transition. It is a very good relationship. All of the staff remained in place,” said Tom Worley. “That says a lot about the Plasterer name and the Houser reputation.”
The open house officially began at 6 p.m., but well wishers and early birds began arriving approximately 30 minutes earlier. They entered through an “arch of iron” formed by two backhoes and were greeted by members of the Worley and Houser families.
They started coming early and kept on coming. Most of the display booths were backed up with people taking advantage of the many offers, including spinning the wheel for prizes or picking up Spike, a plush toy.
Guests had their passes validated at each of the sites and redeemed them for a much-coveted John Deere toy before the night was over.
All the stations were packed with people, but the newest John Deere attraction — the John Deere 655C and 755C crawler-loaders — got a lot of attention. The loaders feature a rear-mounted engine.
Harvey’s Bar-B-Q of Marietta, PA, offered a pig roast, featuring fresh pork sandwiches and all the fixings — baked potatoes, beans, cole slaw, beverages and home-baked cookies. Folks enjoyed the meal at banquet tables in eight service bays at the Lewisberry facility, which was cleaned and decorated for the festive occasion.
Tim Houser took advantage of the opportunity to reacquaint everyone with Plasterer Equipment and John Deere. He brought forward senior members of the Plasterer team, including Jim Landis, vice president-western division; Leon Houser, his father and vice president of product support; Jake Kuchera, vice president-eastern division; and Leonard Leiphart, sales manager.
Houser also introduced the newest sales territory manager, Jim Slyder, who used to operate James H. Slyder Contracting Services in Mt. Holly Springs. Slyder will be assuming the duties of Stan Richards, who is retiring after 19 years with Worley Equipment Co. and 32 years in the construction equipment business.
“Jim Slyder has been a John Deere customer as well as an owner-operator for 30 years. He was in your shoes. He knows the business. We are very excited to have him on board,” Houser told the crowd.
Houser explained that Plasterer Equipment, a family-owned and operated business, started in Lebanon, PA, in 1912. It has since grown to four locations. Lebanon is its largest branch, covering 40,000 sq. ft. All are full-service facilities, he said.
In addition to the Lewisberry store, the other branches are located at 2550 E. Cumberland St., Lebanon, PA; 400 Stoke Park Rd., Bethlehem, PA; and 3215 State Rd., Sellersville, PA. All branches offer John Deere construction equipment and
Tramac hammers. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon. A new toll-free number has been added: 866/787-0001.
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