History of Ground Force
Ron Nilson has been providing CAT dealers worldwide with solutions for over 25 years. His knowledge and experience in the truck manufacturing industry is unparalleled. The relationship Ron has built with the CAT dealers has been a mutually beneficial one and has continued to offer more product solutions for Caterpillar dealers than any other OEM in the industry today – these solutions continue to exceed their expectations. Genuine Caterpillar loyalty and dedication to high quality and performance has solidified this strong relationship over the years.
Nilson has worked in the manufacturing industry since 1971, starting as an entry level laborer, working his way up through the ranks to later become president of the company. Ron has successful managed and owned several companies over the years, selling products through the Caterpillar dealer organization. In 1997, Ron sold Tiger Engineering, a manufacturing and engineering company for mining-industry products, to Caterpillar.
In late 1997, he was introduced to Aresco, a 15 year old thriving manufacturing company in Post Falls Idaho that was building and selling high volumes of mine support equipment across the world. It was a perfect fit – Ron purchased Aresco and changed the name to Ground Force Manufacturing. Ron’s goal with Ground Force was to increase the product line and take the company global. Today, Ground Force builds the world’s largest fuel & lube trucks, the world’s largest water trucks and the most diverse line of mine support equipment in the industry. We have 4 factories in North America, Europe and South America* with our largest North American factory of 85,000 sq. ft. to open in spring 2012. With recent growth, Ground Force now employs 175+ people. Our business is now 25% domestic and 75% international and has become a complete solution for CAT dealers servicing the mining industry worldwide.
(*scheduled for completion in 2012)
