Ring Power
Encyclopedia
Ring Power is a privately held corporation headquartered at the World Commerce Center
World Commerce Center
World Commerce Center is an approved Development of Regional Impact under Section 380.06 of the Florida Statutes. It is intended to be the commercial and office development center for St...

 in St. Johns County, Florida
St. Johns County, Florida
St. Johns County is a county located in northeastern Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 190,039. The county seat is St. Augustine. Due to the inclusion of Ponte Vedra Beach, it is one of the highest-income counties in the United States....

, midway between St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

History

The heavy equipment company was founded in 1961 by L.C. "Ring" Ringhaver, who gave up shrimp boat building to become a Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...

 engine dealer in St. Augustine, Florida. The following year, they became a full line dealer and relocated to Jacksonville. In 1973 the company moved to a 38 acres (153,780.7 m²) site on U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...

 (locally known as Philips Highway) and Baymeadows Road on the southside. As the business grew over the next 25 years, the product lines expanded and more divisions were added. The property in Jacksonville eventually became a complex of seven buildings with 250,000 ft² of space. At the end of the century, they ran out of room to expand and the character of Philips Highway had changed from industrial to commercial. The decision was made to find a new home with at least 100 acre (0.404686 km²). The result of the search was the purchase of 100 acre (0.404686 km²) at World Commerce Center
World Commerce Center
World Commerce Center is an approved Development of Regional Impact under Section 380.06 of the Florida Statutes. It is intended to be the commercial and office development center for St...

 along Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...

 in St. Johns County. A $1.6M incentive package was approved by the St. Johns County Commission and construction began in the Fall of 2003 on a 414,000 ft² facility. Most of their old property along Philips Highway was sold for redevelopment and Ring Power moved to their new headquarters in March, 2005. Lowes purchased 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) and built a home improvement store. BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. , commonly referred to simply as BJ's, is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio...

 was constructed on an 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) parcel. Ring Power retained the 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) at the north end of the property for a Ring Power Forklift Operations center.

Locations

The port facilities in Jacksonville and Miami allow the company to export equipment almost anywhere in the world. Ring Power has over 1600 employees at branches in 19 cities throughout Florida and offices in California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas. Customers can purchase, lease or rent new & used Caterpillar industrial equipment. Ring Power also handles machines made by Kalmar, Linde, Clark, Trail King, Manitowoc
Manitowoc Cranes
Manitowoc Cranes is a division of The Manitowoc Company, Inc in the United States. Manitowoc Cranes produces four brands of cranes and has two service brands, Manitowoc Crane Care and Manitowoc Finance.- History :...

, Grove
Manitowoc Cranes
Manitowoc Cranes is a division of The Manitowoc Company, Inc in the United States. Manitowoc Cranes produces four brands of cranes and has two service brands, Manitowoc Crane Care and Manitowoc Finance.- History :...

, Gradall, National Crane
Manitowoc Cranes
Manitowoc Cranes is a division of The Manitowoc Company, Inc in the United States. Manitowoc Cranes produces four brands of cranes and has two service brands, Manitowoc Crane Care and Manitowoc Finance.- History :...

, Rosco, Gomaco, Phoenix Products and others.

Over 300 employees were assigned to the Ring Power office in Riverview, Florida
Riverview, Florida
Riverview, the name of three places in the U.S. state of Florida, may refer to:* Riverview, Duval County, Florida* Riverview, Escambia County, Florida* Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida...

 (near Tampa) in 2006. The operation had outgrown the spartan building constructed in the mid-1980's and needed more space. Instead of razing the structure and building new, they spent nearly $50 million to renovate and created larger offices and common areas, more windows with pleasant views of the landscape, and eliminated scores of the filing cabinets by going paperless
Paperless office
A paperless office is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form. Proponents claim that "going paperless" can save money, boost productivity, save space, make documentation and information...

.

Divisions

  • Heavy Equipment Division
  • Power Systems Division
  • Cat Rental Store
  • Lift Truck Division

  • Ring Power Crane - New and used cranes for large projects from six manufacturers.

  • Entertainment Services - Ring Power can assist with special events such as movie and video filming, corporate events & concerts or parties & shows with an inventory of power equipment including generators, UPS and power distribution; HVAC & lighting; ramps & matting.

  • Phoenix Products - manufactures fuel storage tanks, generator enclosures and fuel storage systems, and offers petroleum-recycling services.

  • Compressed Air Division
  • New Parts Division
  • Used Parts Division
  • Service Division
  • Government Division
  • Financial Services
  • Marine Service Center

Industries

Ring Power supplies equipment used in heavy construction, roadbuilding, logging, agriculture, recycling, waste management and landfill maintenance, governmental, marine power, truck engine power, prime and standby power generation, entertainment venues, industrial power, warehousing, port container handling and material handling.

Current status

The Late-2000s recession caused the construction industry to nearly grind to a halt, which forced the company to reduce their workforce from 2,300 to 1,600. Ring Power was successful in obtaining a government contract to refurbish military vehicles, but business from regular customers was slow.

Philanthrophy

Ringhaver Park in Jacksonville has 6 soccer fields, 4 softball fields, 2 tennis courts and bleachers & benches; 3 picnic shelters with 18 picnic tables; a one mile (1.6 km) paved trail to a dock for canoe/kayak launching. It was named for Lambert C. Ringhaver, whose family donated funds for park development after his death in 1976.

The $11.6 million, 44,000 ft2 Ringhaver Student Center at Flagler College
Flagler College
Flagler College, is a private four-year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida, USA and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.The college has been named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region's best comprehensive liberal arts colleges, and is included on...

opened for the 2007-2008 school year. It was built using funds donated by the Ringhaver family.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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