Hydraulic Parts Source is among the newest businesses in the select circle of MDNA Premier Vendors, with an experienced executive team that is becoming well-known in the used machinery business.
 
Andrew Pringle is Director of Business Development and Surplus for Hydraulic Parts Source, which is headquartered in Harrison Township, Mich., in north suburban Detroit. He’s relatively new to Hydraulic Parts Source but is a veteran of the surplus machinery trade and sees great potential benefit for both his new employer and the MDNA member businesses the company will serve as a Premier Vendor.
 
“It’s not just that we can help you with your hydraulic components,” he explains of the connection with MDNA members. “We can acquire good surplus stock from anyone who wants to pass it along. We can do repairs. We do drop shipments to protect your customer base and not involve our organization at all. We're really willing to do whatever we need to do to facilitate and keep sales relationships together for your customer base and, obviously, to grow ours in return.”
 
Pringle and his family reside in his hometown of Twinsburg, Ohio, several miles south of Cleveland and his previous employer, HGR Industrial Surplus. He began at HGR in sales and worked his way up through the supervisory ranks to director of sales. At Hydraulic Parts Source, he’s involved in strengthening and expanding the company’s brand as well as procurement, which takes him to customers for on-site assessments and relationship-building.
 
HGR was one of the MDNA members that stepped up on behalf of Hydraulic Parts Source when the Michigan company applied for Premier Vendor status. The MDNA Premier Vendor networking and marketing program designed to broaden relationships between MDNA members and key industry-supporting partners.
 
“I knew HGR was a major player with the MDNA,” Pringle recalls. “I was familiar with the organization and appreciated the benefit of getting involved with the (used machinery) community. So, basically, we found sponsors to vouch for the quality and character of our business, and one of them was HGR.”
 
“I joined Hydraulic Parts Source in the first place because I know that (CEO) Corey Gilbert is a man of character, that the organization operates with Integrity, and that they really value customer service.”

Like many other machine sales businesses, family ties and professional friendships have helped secure the foundation of Walker Machinery LTD. And there’s every reason to believe that, through the Machinery Dealers National Association (MDNA), those same factors will play an important role in the Canadian company’s future.
 
‘Taking part in (MDNA) events and the networking through the years has really helped us do our job better,” says Chris Walker, CEA, president of Walker Machinery. The company specializes sales of new and used metal-cutting and shaping equipment, primarily lathes, saws, drills and horizontal and vertical  boring mills.  Walker also offers appraisal services for used equipment and is a member of the Association of Machinery and Equipment Appraisers (AMEA). The company was founded in 1996 by Chris Walker’s father, Lee, who officially retired just last year. Vice President Ryan Walker now heads the five-person operation with his brother Chris, doing business from a facility in Milton, just 25 miles from Toronto International Airport and not far from the western shore of Lake Ontario.
 
The company is marking its 25th year of MDNA membership in 2024, and Chris Walker says that relationship has been instrumental in making the business what it is today. Most of Walker Machinery’s customer base is in Canada, but it also does considerable business in the U.S., as well as in Eastern Europe and Taiwan. Joining he MDNA, Walker says, “defined a way for us the stretch our legs to the U.S. market,” and was the right move for the company.  Membership not only provided Walker with the kind of professional credibility others value, but Walker came to rely on fellow MDNA members for advice and direction as the company grew. “It has made it easier for us to do business internationally,” he notes.
 
Though Walker Machinery’s initial sales emphasis was on used equipment, the strong relationships that developed with new-equipment suppliers like Heidenhain and several other European-based concerns, shifted the company’s emphasis, and Walker says, “We’re now involved with more new machinery than with used.”
 
As time has seen significant changes at Walker Machinery, one constant in their business focus will be the stability and other advantages that has come with MDNA membership. Walker doesn’t see that changing.
 
“Frankly, as you get a little older you look for ways to make life more convenient,” he reflects. “Through the MDNA and the AMEA, we have found ways to do what we can to make our demanding jobs a little easier.”