Moritz flat bed trailers, Big Tex dump trailers, red Boss and yellow Snow Wolf plows and Salt Dogg spreaders crowd the northwest corner of Kinsman and Ravenna roads in Newbury Township.
Moritz flat bed trailers, Big Tex dump trailers, red Boss and yellow Snow Wolf plows and Salt Dogg spreaders crowd the northwest corner of Kinsman and Ravenna roads in Newbury Township.
O’Reilly Equipment has filled nearly every square foot of 3 acres, leaving just enough space to tow out the ones that have been sold.
Another 4 acres to the west of the parking lot are in various stages of excavation to expand, again, the business owned by brothers Paul and Jeff O’Reilly.
“We have plans and permitting and the blessing of zoning,” said Paul in a recent interview. “But if the economy takes a tank…”
The plans include an existing retail building at the intersection that has housed a variety of businesses before the brothers bought the corner parcel in 2019, he said. A huge addition to that building will turn the facility into a showroom and sales operation.
Operating under the name O’Reilly Land Co. LTD, their equipment sales started 15 years ago across Ravenna Road, where their offices and service center are also surrounded by plows and trailers.
For over a decade, the brothers built up their customer base and their lines of equipment, shipping trailers and other items across the country, depending on the season.
“We have a plow going to Wyoming next week and two to New Jersey,” Paul said.
When the pandemic hit and retail businesses were scrambling for everything from toilet paper to cars, the brothers found new customers lining up.
“Demand went through the roof,” Paul said, adding their core businesses and area contractors became very busy during 2020 and 2021.
They sold out and had to wait to be resupplied, but they have filled every space with shiny equipment and are starting phase one of the expansion plan for the 7-acre lot.
That includes moving the small pond at the bottom of the hill and enlarging it to about a quarter acre to retain run-off water from the lot, as required by the Geauga County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Two acres are being graded and drained to accommodate 87,000-square-feet of gravel parking according to the civil engineer’s plan, which has been approved, Paul said.
Phase two, expected to begin in the spring of 2023, includes construction of the addition to the building on the northwest corner of the intersection to provide much-needed space for personnel and a showroom for parts.
“It will be like an AutoZone for trailers,” O’Reilly said.
“This shop is completely full,” he added, gesturing to the three sales desks and a counter where two employees talked on phones and consulted computers amidst new trailer accessories. “We’ll move parts and sales into the new building. This facility will be all for service and tech.”
Buyers of plows, hitches and dump beds often want them installed on their vehicles, Paul said.
The shop can make repairs, as well, and the entire operation has 18 full-time and two part-time employees, he added.
If the economy cooperates, he said they hope to have the parking lot done this year and phase two under roof by next fall.
“We’re very blessed,” Paul said.
