History

While Cannon Equipment was officially formed in 1981, the companies that were acquired to create Cannon Equipment have much longer histories dating back to 1941. Cannon Equipment was officially formed when the Distribution Equipment Division (DED) of IMI Cornelius merged its manufacturing operations in Coon Rapids, Minnesota into Point-of-Sales, a beverage display manufacturer based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. A new company emerged, named Cannon Equipment, and became part of the IMI family.

Through the acquisition of a number of US based companies: Point-of-Sales (1981); Bonus Built (1986); The Cumberland Corporation (1988); Doran (1989); Conveyor Specialties (1990) and Melrose Displays (1999), Cannon Equipment has grown into the successful business, achieving many industry “firsts”.

1968 – The first Bossy Cart Loader was designed and produced by Cannon Equipment.

1987 – The first 3 shelf elevator (high speed) Bossy Cart Loader was designed and produced by Cannon Equipment.

1992 – The Cleveland Plain Dealer installed the first Newspaper Cart Loader designed and produced by Cannon Equipment (named the NCL Series 1). The 11 original machines are still in service today.

1995/96 – The next generation Newspaper Cart loader, the NCL Series II, was designed and developed by Cannon Equipment. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel installed the first NCL Series II Cart Loaders, which are also still in service today.

2005 – The first 80/120 Bossy Loader (Dairy Systems Automation) is designed and developed. This system utilized the same servo driven counter balanced lift arrangement as NCL Series II (Newspaper Automation).

Today, Cannon Equipment continues to be a leader in the material handling carts, automated equipment, Front-end Merchandising, and Point of Purchase industries. Continued product innovations and first to market solutions separate Cannon Equipment from other manufacturers in this space.