Premier Truck Rental plans to invest about $4.9 million in an expansion of its current headquarters near Fort Wayne International Airport. Company leaders also anticipate adding up to 65 new jobs by the end of 2025, they said in an announcement this week.
Founded in 2014, PTR is a family-owned-and-operated provider of commercial vehicles and equipment rentals. Rob Troxel is the company’s CEO and daughter Arienne Horn serves as president.
“Our family has been in the northeast Indiana area and the rental business for over 30 years. We love the community here and are excited to continue to plant more roots and grow our footprint here locally,” said Horn. “We’ve been fortunate to continue to experience a lot of growth, and this expansion will only leave more room to grow.”
PTR’s offerings range from customizable, job-specific work trucks to utility trailers designed for installing underground and overhead powerlines and fiber. PTR serves a wide variety of clients across the United States, including construction companies, investor-owned utilities, utility contractors, and wind and solar contractors.
Troxel and Horn, both Bluffton natives, plan to expand PTR’s existing headquarters at 9138 Bluffton Road to accommodate the company’s growing customer base. Expansion plans include about 18,000 square feet of new warehouse space, 6,000 square feet of new office space, additional infrastructure to support the company’s growing fleet of vehicles, some of which will be electric, and more. Work is estimated to be completed by June 2023.
PTR currently employs just over 110 team members in Fort Wayne.
“We want our customers and employees to have a great experience,” Troxel said in a news release. “With this focus over the last eight years, we’ve been able to build a solid team and grow our business.”
Based on the company’s job creation plans, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation committed an investment in PTR of up to $500,000 in the form of incentive-based tax credits and up to $200,000 in conditional training grants. These incentives are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired and trained. Northeast Indiana Works will provide the company with additional hiring and training assistance.
