Our History

James M. Bailey founded The Bailey Company, Inc. in 1949. That year, the company sold its first Towmotor forklift truck, a machine that was a true innovation of its time, making work that once was laborious and time-consuming easier and more efficient. When James Bailey passed away in 1979, his wife Lu Bailey was named Chair of the company and appointed Gordon Morrow President. Mrs. Bailey’s son, Bert Bailey, served as CFO until 1996 and CEO until 2001, when he became President. His sister, Laura Bailey Busby, was named CFO & Controller in 1996 and, upon Mrs. Lu Bailey’s death, was elevated to Chair and head of the company, with Bert reporting to her. Third generation Baileys, Ryan and Justin Bailey, serve as Vice President of Operations & Finance and Vice President of Sales & Marketing, respectively.

Since its founding, Bailey has expanded to encompass 12 locations, with territory extending throughout middle and eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, southwest Virginia, and southeastern Kentucky. Twelve stores are located so that customers are rarely further than an hour from a store, and less from a resident service tech. The company has expanded its focus to provide end-to-end material handling solutions, including fleet management, forklift sales, rental, and service, racking, and other warehouse products. In 2022, the company shortened its name to Bailey, with branding assets using Bailey Equipment & Intralogistics, as part of a rebrand reflecting the expanded scope of solutions. The corporate entity remains The Bailey Company, Inc.

Bailey has received numerous industry awards for outstanding service and has always prided itself on its service-centric approach. Company officers make decisions based on Guiding Values, which includes values focused on diversity, sustainability, ethics, and teamwork. It is the first TRUE certified zero waste forklift dealership in the nation and first TRUE certified zero waste business in Tennessee. Bailey is and always has been family-owned and operated, and it is a woman-owned business.

Bailey’s Today

The company has received numerous industry awards for outstanding service and has always prided itself on its service-centric approach. Therefore, The Bailey Company maintains an employee ratio of close to 225 product support people to 20 salespeople.

The company is the largest of its kind in Middle Tennessee and one of the top 10 dealers of material handling equipment in the United states.