Kentucky ag machinery company employs 1,300 workers
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 24, 2013) — Whayne Supply, a 100-year-old Louisville-based dealer in commercial and agricultural machinery, celebrated its 100th anniversary this past week at its Lexington branch.
Owner Monty Boyd celebrated the milestone with David Hovekamp, vice president and Lexington branch manager of Whayne Supply, along with representatives from the offices of Mayor Jim Gray, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Congressman Andy Barr, and Whayne Supply employees. The company employs more than 1,300 people.
Whayne Supply Co. dates to 1913, when founder Roy Whayne Sr. began selling light engines, pumps, wheelbarrows and bicycles in a small downtown Louisville shop. The modest start-up firm took a major step forward in 1920, when it signed on to represent the Holt Manufacturing Co. Five years later, Holt merged with the Best Co. to form Caterpillar Tractor Co., and Whayne began its long-term association with Caterpillar.
That pattern of growth began under the guidance of the company’s founder and continued to strengthen after Roy Whayne Jr. became president in 1966 and chairman in 1974.
As the product lines expanded, so did the customer base, until Whayne in 2000 formed an Agri-Business Division to more effectively focus on its agricultural clients and their mechanical needs. In the past 12 years, that division has mushroomed from three employees to nearly 50, offering product brands Lexion, Challenger, RoGator, Demco and Topcon, as well as a full line of Caterpillar loaders, dozers and handlers.
In 2008, Boyd purchased Whayne Supply from the third generation of the Whayne family. He and the overall management team continue to build on the firm’s century of growth and success.
Add Comment