We are sure you have seen our green trucks – on the streets and highways and in the driveways of some of the area’s most prestigious firms and residences. Those green trucks have been our roving trademarks for more than thirty-five years, one of Central Indiana’s most recognized corporate images. When someone asked how many there were, our Chairman,Ed Engledow, said “Only two, but we keep them moving around pretty fast”. In fact, there are currently about a hundred, but we do, in fact, try to keep them moving around pretty fast.
The color originally came from a brain-storming session in the late 1970’s about new truck colors with our then advertising agency The Design Group. We were tossing mental coins between two proposed alternatives: a mellow, conservative mid-green that just looked like a landscaping truck and a bright, edgy, almost bilious green that didn’t look like any landscape truck (or any other truck, for that matter) that we had ever seen. After some debate, Barry Doss, the Design Group president said: “Aw, come on, let’s go for it”. And, we did.
One of the reasons we have been around for over eighty years is that we have often been willing to go for it. Since B. T. Engledow founded us, knocking on doors from a used $50 truck in the midst of the Great Depression, it has been in our DNA to go for it. We have always been willing to try new ideas and embrace creative solutions.
The vivid green was a bold statement, so we tip-toed out at first with one truck. It was painted on the south side of Indianapolis and the chore of driving it back to our north side office fell to a long time employee and well-established character named Mac. Mac found the color a bit much for his taste and he drove home using as many back streets as he could find, so as not to be seen piloting this garish billboard. When he arrived at the office, he had some choice, mostly unprintable commentary about the trip and the cursed color. Mac, alas, never grew fond of our new green, but it didn’t take long for the rest of us at Engledow to recognize its value. It was bright and eye-catching, it was original and creative and it was green. Green is what we do. So we adopted it enthusiastically and it has been our signpost and bellwether ever since.
In the years since, this “odd” color has been embraced by a growing number of firms – banks, service companies, insurance firms, and even some of our competitors. We think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But we also think our green has come to symbolize who and what we are. When you see our green trucks on a property you know that the client has opted for quality, stability, versatility and creativity and that he is being served by the best people in the business. That makes us proud. We speak Green!
If you have any questions about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (317) 575-1100, or fill out the form below.
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