Less than four months after celebrating the grand opening of its 53,000-sq.-ft. Alabaster, Ala., facility, Thompson Tractor Co. hosted another 300 guests at the grand opening and ribbon cutting of its 50,000-sq.-ft. Pensacola, Fla., branch facility.

Thompson’s 10,500-sq.-ft. Pensacola Cat Rental Store had been in operation since 2000, but the need was there to build a new full service branch facility just adjacent to the Cat Rental Store. The new facility contains an 11,000-sq.-ft.; eight bay truck shop; an eight bay, 16,000-sq.-ft. heavy equipment shop, 6,500 sq. ft. of offices/warehouse space, and 16,500 sq. ft. of office and training room space for a total of 50,000 sq. ft. under one roof.

Caterpillar representatives from Peoria, Ill., and the Jacksonville, Fla., district office turned out to show their support for Thompson Tractor and its customers. Mike Thompson, president of Thompson Tractor, said he was happy to be able to commemorate the opening and thanked the contractors and subs who built the facility — especially general contractor Brasfield and Gorrie — and said that everyone “did a magnificent job.” Brasfield and Gorrie also built the Alabaster location. The Pensacola store officially opened five weeks prior to the open house event.

Equipment displays of all the newest Cat construction machines, engines and lift trucks were on display and lots of prizes were awarded.

The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary and on display at the grand opening was a 1958 Chevrolet Apache 3100 truck, which was virtually identical to the parts and service trucks used when the company first opened. The truck is just one of only 1,500 4X4 models and has only 13,850 original miles. The truck’s restoration was completed in February 2007, complete with the original Thompson Tractor company paint color and decal scheme. The restoration crew worked on its own time on nights and weekends on this project since August 2006, and has already been awarded a trophy for its work in a recent car show. Thompson Tractor company employees who worked on the restoration included Tim Madden, Rusty Ousley, Jeff Goode, Jeff Gore, Carl Chonoski and Freddie Buckelew.

The new Pensacola branch facility is located at 2650 W. Nine Mile Road. For more information, call 850/471-6700.

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