40 Years of Keeping Fleets Working
UTE plans to keep doing what it has done since 1986: build bucket trucks that hold up, fix them fast when they need it, and answer the phone when a fleet calls.
Utility Truck Equipment opened its doors in 1986. Forty years later, UTE does the same work it started with: building, selling, and servicing aerial equipment for the fleets that keep power and communications running.
How it started
UTE started in Columbus and moved to Circleville in 2000, where it operates today.
UTE became a Versalift dealer in the late 1990s and has been one ever since. The focus has never drifted. "It's always been aerial equipment," said Rod Hill, UTE's president.
What's changed
The industry's needs haven't changed much in 40 years. The trucks have.
"It used to be that you could build a truck pretty fast," Rod said. "Now it can take much longer." Today's builds carry more customization and more complex hydraulics. They take more skill to build and more skill to keep running.
UTE has grown to match. The Circleville operation includes the main office and production building on US-23 and a 20,000-square-foot service shop on Logan Street, with five overhead cranes running the length of the building. Inside it is a 2,500-square-foot hydraulic cylinder shop.
That cylinder shop came out of necessity. For years UTE sent cylinders out for repair. When that option went away, UTE bought the equipment from a Columbus cylinder company that was closing, moved it to Circleville, and brought in experienced people to run it. A leaking cylinder that used to mean three days of downtime can often be repaired the same day. Fleets use it. So do local farmers.
UTE also runs two fully equipped mobile service trucks across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, handling field repairs and annual ANSI and DOT inspections on site. A UTE ANSI inspection takes about four hours and comes with a detailed written report. "We don't just look a truck over and give you your sticker," Rod said.
What hasn't changed
Ask Rod about UTE's reputation and he starts with quality work and customization. Then he gets to the part customers care about most.
"It's taking care of them after the sale," he said. "This is hydraulic equipment. It's going to break down. Downtime is the biggest thing for anybody in any industry."
That is why UTE's sales staff deliver most new trucks themselves and walk the crew through an in-service on every one: how to run the truck, the safety features, and how to get an injured worker out of the bucket. It is why UTE keeps high-turnover parts like hose bundles and cat track on the shelf. And it is why new customers usually call after another vendor couldn't meet a lead time or wouldn't make a simple change to a build.
The people
Forty years in, Rod is clear about what makes it work. "It's always people."
- Production manager Brad Boch has been with UTE more than 22 years.
- Service manager Rick Kanoski is close to 30.
- Salesmen Bill Cesar and Mick Wilson have each put in more than 25.
- Rick Ellensworth handled inside sales for 35 years before handing the job to Jake Hill.
Like a lot of shops, UTE is in a transition as longtime employees retire and new people come up. The job is to carry forward what those people built.
What's next
UTE plans to keep doing what it has done since 1986: build bucket trucks that hold up, fix them fast when they need it, and answer the phone when a fleet calls.
Growth is coming in tracked aerials for backyard right-of-way work, cranes, and the custom builds UTE has always been known for.
To every customer, employee, and partner who has been part of the last 40 years: thank you.
Need a truck, a part, or a repair? Call UTE at 740-474-5151 or contact us.
UTE keeps your fleet working.