Brothers Jeff and Paul O'Reilly were not originally looking to enter the trailer and truck equipment business.
Brothers Jeff and Paul O’Reilly were not originally looking to enter the trailer and truck equipment business.
They were just two college students in the market for a small trailer to haul hay and found it difficult to find a dealer in Northeast Ohio.
“We saw the need since we probably weren’t the only ones running into this issue,” Paul said.
They began O’Reilly Equipment in 2002, when Jeff was freshly out of college and Paul was working on his business marketing degree from Kent State University.
In 2006, O’Reilly Equipment built its 14555 Ravenna Road location, expanding its inventory and offerings in Newbury Township.
Business continued to grow, adding staff and building customer relationships, and in 2014, a 6,000-square-foot expansion to the facility was completed to accommodate growth in the service department.
Then, in 2020, O’Reilly Equipment purchased the property on the northwest corner of state routes 44 and 87, where their 14,000-square-foot retail store was recently constructed at 12394 Kinsman Road.
They opened at the beginning of July and are about 70% moved in.
“We are so blessed and grateful to our customers and enjoy being a part of this Geauga County community,” Paul said. “Being across the street from our original location, which now houses exclusively our service and truck building operations, we are able to remain a cohesive business and stay connected with both sides of the business.”
This new facility provides equipment sales, as well as a complete parts department.
“If it belongs on a trailer, snowplow, dump truck or any other type of truck equipment, you can find the parts for it at this location to meet your needs,” Paul said.
Trailers are also at the new location and the retail showroom displays parts and accessories customers could not see at their old store.
The brothers said it has been a much-needed expansion and they are still actively setting up the new showroom and warehouse.
In addition, the expanded outdoor display allows equipment to be showcased in an organized and professional manner near the parking lot, they said.
“We sell parts and accessories that the box stores just don’t have,” Paul said.
Customers are surprised at what O’Reilly Equipment has in stock — including brake and suspension parts, lighting, springs, ladder racks, toolboxes, hardware and more.
In addition, they have plenty of snowplow parts, such as valves, wiring harnesses, light housings, cylinders and electrical parts.
If they stock the snowplow, trailer or truck equipment, they have the parts for them, they said.
O’Reilly Equipment also sells personal property and gun safes, and has a dozen on display in their showroom.
“There is a lot of confusion with the opening of the new building right across the street, since customers are used to just our original location encompassing all of our services,” Paul said. “We have put up signage, but we want customers to know — parts and trailer sales are at our new building and service and truck building take place at our original location across the street.”
Also important is their heartfelt mission.
“O’Reilly Equipment’s mission is to run the company with Christian values, aiming to care for our employees and customers, respect everyone, always do the best we can, and focus on the quality of our products and services—not just the quantity,” Paul said.
Most of O’Reilly Equipment’s business is within an hour of Newbury. However, they do sell products to customers hours away, coming from all over the country.
“We recently sent a Moritz equipment trailer to Alaska and a NEO-enclosed trailer to Bermuda,” Paul said.
Among the truck equipment products O’Reilly Equipment sells are Moritz and Hillsboro platform bodies, DuraMag service bodies, Galion dump bodies and Switch-N-Go detachable bodies.
The company handles Ranger van interiors, Thieman liftgates and safety lighting products. Trailers offered include United, Moritz, H & H, Dark Horse, NEO and Sure-Trac.
O’Reilly Equipment also sells and rents refrigerated trailers from Polar King Mobile. The company represents Boss, Snow Wolf, Daniels, Hilltip and Buyers Products snowplows, pusher boxes and salt spreaders, the brothers said, adding even with the demands and growth of O’Reilly Equipment, they still cling to their roots.
Both own and maintain small farms near where they grew up and hope to raise their children in the agricultural community, instilling responsibility and work ethic.
O’Reilly Equipment’s trailer and parts sale is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., and its service and truck building is open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
