company history

 

 

Established in 1965 by John A. Ball of Ball Brothers Limited to complement the family’s growing construction business, ADVANCE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT LIMITED has continued to adapt in an ever changing industry.  Its commitment then, as now, remains the same - provide your customer with excellent service and support and they will in turn remain a loyal customer. 

 

ADVANCE had its first significant ownership change in October 1971 when Sydney W. Brown became a shareholder and general manager of operations.  Syd quickly established Advance as a competitive dealership for Allis Chalmers for whom he was the Canadian sales manager.  As a dealership also representing Japan Steel Works (J S W) excavators, Martin Trailers and Thomas Equipment, ADVANCE had the foundation that it would need to compete in a geographical area which would see many competitive dealerships come and go.   In September 1984, ADVANCE formed a new dealership agreement with JCB Inc. to market its backhoe loaders.  At a later date ADVANCE would expand its agreement to market front end loaders, material handling loadall range and JCB’s rough terrain fixed mast forklifts.  ADVANCE experienced the closing of the Allis Chalmers Company and the exit of Japan Steel Works from the North American excavator market.  ADVANCE forged a new alliance with Kobe Steel Company, the excavator brand we have come to know as Kobelco.  For countless years, ADVANCE supported these manufacturers with their new products and new model changes.  We have also supported our customers and their changing needs.  Having benefited from a diverse customer base, we believe each customer is unique and requires individual attention and respect.  Because of this policy, some of our first customers are still with us today

 

A BRIGHT FUTURE WITH NEW OWNERS

On a sad day in 2003, after 32 years successfully leading the Company, Syd Brown unexpectedly passed away.

Syd had been working with three long-time employees to eventually take over the company. Although this time came sooner than anyone would have wanted, it made for a smooth transition at this difficult time. Ron Teske, Ric Thompson and John Gleeson continued to build the business on a great past. A branch office and shop was opened in Harriston Ontario in 2007. Under the management of Jeff Haveman, the branch has had a great deal of success servicing old and new customers in that area. Subsequently, Ron left the company for personal reasons.

 

ON THE MOVE

In 2011 the building we had operated from for 47 years was put up for sale. On May 1, 2012, ADVANCE moved to their new head office at 607 Colby Drive in Waterloo. In August, just as we were finally getting organized, a fire broke out in the shop after hours and the Service offices and shop were badly damaged by smoke and soot. With the help of some dedicated employees, we were able to continue to give our customers the service they have come to expect from ADVANCE. After a challenging 7 months, the Service department was able to move back into their “new” shop and offices.

 

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Today, as always we continue to plan for the on-going and future success of ADVANCE. We are proud to announce partnership additions with our long term staff members, Jeff Haveman - Sales, Steve Katz - Accounting and Luke Wheal - Service.

The commitment of ADVANCE remains the same - service to our customers.  With our primary line of JCB equipment at both locations and Ventrac in Harriston, we will continue to support our vast range of customers.