About Us
CONTINUOUS SERVICE FOR 75 YEARS...
Equipment Sales & Service Limited was founded in 1946, ranking it with Canada's oldest and most established equipment companies. Now in our third generation as a private family-owned business, ESS retains the flexibility to respond to customer needs quickly and to keep pace with our rapidly changing global economy. ESS takes pride in delivering a personal standard of service to customers based on our traditional values of hard work, integrity, and shared responsibility. In addition to our sales of heavy equipment, ESS is one of Canada's largest national service providers, supporting all makes of machinery with factory-trained service technicians and the nation's largest inventory of OEM, wear parts, and aftermarket parts. Our commitment to customer service is matched by our commitment to ESS employees. Our safety policy and staff training programs are designed to keep ESS personnel healthy, productive, and at the top of the equipment service professions.
In Western Canada, we proudly represent equipment and parts lines from a full range of original equipment manufacturers including Link-Belt Cranes, and Link-Belt Excavators to serve the construction, mining, and forestry industries.
In Central Canada, ESS is the full-line distributor for Komatsu equipment, Link-Belt Cranes, Soilmec Foundation drill rigs, Sandvik, and Geax serving construction, infrastructure, and demolition contractors throughout Ontario. We also meet our customers' needs with complete lines of parts suited to any application and any make or model.
In Quebec, our ESStrac facilities provides the best in aftermarket parts & services to customers in the Montreal & Quebec City region.
Equipment Sales & Service Limited has been keeping Canada's heavy equipment up & running for more than 75 years. Every day, we prove our commitment to maximizing uptime and productivity for customers at work in construction, demolition, road building, mining, aggregates, forestry, and more. In addition to being the authorized dealer for many of today's most respected equipment brands in the equipment industry, ESS is renowned as Canada's largest supplier of aftermarket equipment parts and as an experienced specialist in undercarriage service. We have won Canada's Best Managed Companies award for 12 consecutive years (2011-2023).
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1946
- Founded by Bill Willis
- Started on Queen Street
- Became Lima Distributor
1947
- Bill Fox Started
1948
- Moved to Lawrence Avenue
1950
- Recession
1951
- WM Deuel hired
- Became Link-Belt Distributor
1953
- Became Let. Westinghouse
- Distributor for scrapers
1960
- Dan Wood hired
1961
- Orv Elliot hired
1962
- Moved to 1030 Martin Grove Road
1963
- Michael Willis hired
- Became Eaton Yale & Towne Distributor
- Trojan Loaders
1966
- Became Wabco Distributor
- Off-Highway Trucks
1968
- 32 Truck Order at INCO
1969
- Peter Willis hired
- Vic Boyd hired
1970
- New Company Logo
- Became Dynahoe Distributor
- Opened Sudbury branch
1971
- Became Adams Grader Distributor
1972
- Rene Noel hired
- Jim Ellsmere hired
- Became AGL Distributor
1973
- Bill Willis dies
- Wm. Deuel President
1974
- Jim Walsh hired
1977
- New Computer system started
- Peter Willis Parts/Service VP
- Opened Ottawa Branch
1978
- Purchase of W.E. Bolts assets (Alberta)
- Opened branch in Calgary & Edmonton
- Became ESCO (Alberta & BC) distributor
1980
- New addition to 1030 Martin Grove Road
- Recession West National Energy Policy
- Purchase of W.J. Knox Assets (Esco)
- Workshare Program
1981
- Became a Barber Greene distributor
1982
- Became International Harvester distributor
- Open House & auction at Martin Grove Rd. Large truck orders. Tunisia/Sira Lanka
- Purchases assets of Fedquip
- Branches Timmins Sudbury SSM
1984
- New Edmonton Branch built
- Rene Noel Hired
- Mike Smith Hired
- Large Link-Belt order Pakistan
1985
- Policy changes from rental business to outright sales
1986
- Opened Tumbler Ridge branch
1987
- Edmonton Tornado
1989
- Bryan Hardman Hired
1990
- Acquired assets of Dow Equipment (Buffalo)
- Opened Branches: Buffalo, Rochester & Olean
- 1990 Recession
1991
- Built Rochester building
1994
- Roger Short Hired
1995
- Acquired assets of ITT Ltd (Stoney Creek)
- Open Service Branch in Stoney Creek, ON
- Became Kawasaki Distributor
1996
- Acquired assets of Trakmaster Ltd. (Vancouver)
- Open branch in Surrey BC
- 50th Anniversary Party
- Michael Willis became President
1998
- 50 partnership in Carwil LLC Nevada
1999
- Jodie Willis Hired
2001
- Became Komatsu distributor. Branches: Toronto, Ottawa, London, & Sudbury
2003
- Mark Finkelstein Hired - CFO
2004
- Meghan (Willis) Paton hired
2007
- Acquired 1032 Martin Grove Rd
- Hired Mike Kashty - CFO
2010
- Hired Drew Paton
2011
- Hired Simon Willis
- Winner of Canada's 50 Best Co. Award
2012
- Hired Paul Dingley
- Hired Morgan Cronin - President
- Winner of Canada's 50 Best Co. Award
2013
- Became MAEDA Cranes distributor
- Winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Company Award
2014
- Winner of Canada's Best Managed Co. Award
2015
- Winner of Canada's Best Managed Co. Award - Gold Standard
- Acquired Adjacent Property for Edmonton Branch
- Became Terex Truck Distributor - Alberta, NWT
- Became Morbark Distributor: Alberta
2016
- Winner of Canada's Best Managed Co. Award - Gold Standard
- Became distributor: TEI rock drill
- Became Soilmec distributor at multiple locations
- ESS Appointed Berco Distributor for Alberta & BC
2017
- Platinum Club winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies
- Expands drilling and foundation business with Selix acquisition
- ESS adds Link-Belt Cranes distribution to British Columbia
- Edmonton branch expansion
- Appointed National distribution rights for ITM Undercarriage Mining & Construction products
2018
- Winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation
- Ottawa branch expansion
- Appointed distribution rights for Link-Belt Excavators in Southern Alberta
2019
- Best Managed Companies - Platinum Member
2020
- Best Managed Companies - Platinum Member
2021
- Best Managed Companies - Platinum Member
- ESS celebrates 75th Anniversary, serving Canada’s construction, mining, and forestry industries since 1946
- ESS acquires Belcher Machinery Parts in Quebec