KEN ENSOR
Receives Innovator of the Year Award By Tim Wollesen and Jim Novak
had to be highly reliable. It took several years of building prototype forklifts and testing them in actual field operations for Ken’s machine to meet his goals.
TPI Board Trustee Tim Wollesen (left) and TPI President Linda Bradley present the Innovator of the Year Award to Ken Ensor (center). Photo by Steve Trusty
Te Innovator of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has made a unique and significant achievement that advances turfgrass sod production through research, engineering, training, marketing, public relations or environmental improvement, etc.
Tis is only the fifth time TPI has honored someone with this prestigious award.
TPI Board Trustee Tim Wollesen made the presentation to a true innovator who has been a familiar face at numerous TPI events over the decades, Ken Ensor, the designer and developer of the Donkey truck- carried forklift.
Wollesen said, “I am pleased and honored by being allowed the opportunity to present this well-deserved award to Ken.
I first met Ken in the early to mid-1990s when I was working in the lumber industry with a company that had a nation-wide chain of 200 stores. I was looking at forklifts that would perform for our operations and obtained a Donkey from him for testing. After three months the forklift proved it could do everything we wanted and we ordered 75 of them. At that time I had no idea of how big his company had become or the background on the machine’s development.
Later, I learned the he was an engineer by trade who had been in the sod industry for years. In the early 1980s, Ken resolved to design and develop a better truck-carried fork lift. It needed to be lightweight, yet powerful enough to carry heavy loads. It needed to be tough enough to travel over rough terrain. It needed to be user-friendly and safe to operate, yet require minimal operator training. And it
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Approaching production, Ken was searching for a name for his forklift. One of his friends suggested the Donkey. He pointed out that the forklift was exactly like the donkeys that were used in the mountains ‘back in the day.’ Tey could pack heavy loads through rough terrain and they were reliable. So Donkey it was. In 1987, Ken’s Quality Corporation began to manufacture the Donkey at its factory in Denver, Colorado. As the popularity of this innovative design grew, the name Donkey became synonymous with truck-carried forklifts.
Shortly after I started my company, Sales Midwest, Ken encouraged me to attend my first TPI meeting. It was held in Omaha in 1995 with the Field Day hosted by Todd Valley Farms in Mead, Nebraska. Over the years I found that Ken was a manufacturer who was totally committed to his products and his company and to the needs of his customers. He was straightforward in his operations and would do anything for you. In fact, a couple of his dealers always referred to him as ‘Dad,’ saying, ‘Call Dad, he’ll make that happen.’ I don’t think he ever knew about that.
Tough the Donkey was initially developed for the turfgrass industry, it has become the worldwide leader in forklifts for a wide range of industries that need the load capacity, operational capabilities and reliability it delivers.
While Ken is a bit beyond traditional retirement years, he wouldn’t hand-off his company to just anyone. He was more concerned in finding the right buyer to carry through what he has built and continue to grow it. His first question at the beginning of the discussion with a potential buyer was, ‘Why do you want the Donkey?’ Tat transition has now taken place, with Hol-Mac/Donkey Forklifts the new business owner.
Honoring Ken Ensor with the Innovator of Te Year Award is a great acknowledgement of his contributions to the industry, to his dedication and character and is a fitting addition to TPI’s 50 & Fabulous Celebration.”
Ken Ensor responded by expressing his gratitude to the TPI membership and Board of Trustees for the award and his appreciation for all their support. He shared some of his special memories of his interaction with turfgrass producers over the years.
TPI Turf News May/June 2017
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