Equipment Corporation of
America Celebrates
100 Years in Business
The evolution of a global foundation equipment distributor
Equipment Corporation of America (ECA), a
prominent distributor of specialty foundation
construction equipment, celebrated 100 years
as a third-generation family-owned business this past
March. During that time, it has morphed from a small
purveyor of World War I surplus equipment to a large
international dealer for the most advanced foundation
equipment in the world. The ECA story is one
of weathering poor economic conditions, adapting to
changing trends, acquiring the best in foundation
equipment, treating customers with respect and giving
employees the freedom to excel within a flat organizational
structure.
The early days
ECA was formed in 1918, through the consolidation of
three Chicago-based companies that had come together
to remanufacture post-World War I surplus equipment.
They assembled a fleet of construction, material handling
and industrial equipment under the identity of
Equipment Corporation of America.
Len Kern was hired as a secretary in the typing
pool at the Pittsburgh, Pa., location in 1921. As he
climbed through the ranks, the firm increased its focus
on pile driving equipment. By 1959, Kern had strategically
bought out 54 shareholders since being hired and
took control of operations, marking the start of ECA’s
reign as a family-owned business.
ECA specialized in repairing and refurbishing
used equipment and then renting and selling it during
Kern’s tenure. His son, Al, changed course. Al had
studied civil engineering at the University of Pittsburgh
and applied that knowledge to the construction and
maintenance of cellular piers in Florida and Hawaii just
after the Korean War. He came to ECA in 1962, and
took the helm when his father died in 1965. Under Al’s
leadership, ECA built relationships with manufacturers
and began distributing new equipment. Al also focused
on customer service and expanding the firm’s locations.
Al’s son, Roy, would take things to a new level,
transforming ECA into a global distributor. Roy and
his brother Dennis had gotten a taste of the equipment
business working as mechanic’s helpers during high
school. Although Roy asserted his independence by
working as a financial analyst at Chicago’s Container
Corporation of America, he returned to ECA in 1986,
to sell equipment. Armed with an MBA, a Bachelor of
Science in mechanical engineering, hands-on financial
experience and an outgoing personality, he was positioned
to take ECA to new heights as CEO in 2000.
Empowering employees in a flat
organization
While ECA’s success has unfolded under the leadership
of the Kern family, Roy defers the credit to his team.
“I’m more of a consensus builder than a top-down
leader,” he said. “They employees all have skill sets and
talents and it’s important to let that shine, prosper from
it and allow people to do their thing.”
Roy’s father had a similar leadership style. ECA
president, Ben Dutton, experienced this mindset when
Al gave him the reins of the Philadelphia branch as a
“29-year-old kid.” His counterparts in Pittsburgh and
Washington, D.C., Bill Rose and Pete Schell, were
afforded the same level of authority.
“I think that philosophy still exists,” said Dutton.
“People come here and stay because they know they are
respected at all levels, not just at the top management.”
ECA’s branch managers to this day help shape personnel,
organizational and marketing decisions.
A common theme among the ECA team is a recognition
and appreciation that the foundation construction
business allows them to be part of something bigger.
Roy ticks off a seemingly never-ending list of projects
for which ECA supplied foundation equipment:
World Trade Center, Vietnam Memorial, Jefferson
Memorial, Hoover Dam, Washington Metro System,
the Big Dig, the Toronto subway system and nearly
every stadium east of the Mississippi.
“We’ve been all over the place and it’s very gratifying
to look at that finished product and realize that we
provided the equipment,” he said.
ECA goes well beyond the standard safety committee
meeting to keep its people safe, as well.
“Safety has always been really important to us,”
said Roy, “but we doubled our efforts in recent years
By Brian M. Fraley, Fraley Construction Marketing
74 | ISSUE 2 2018