In July 1965, Eldon Palmer with the assistance of Doyle Zaring formed the Indiana Dodge Truck Center, Inc. located at 1404 W. Washington St. Indianapolis. With the addition of the Kenworth truck line in 1966 the name was changed to the Indiana Truck Center, Inc.

In 1970, we moved to a new expanded facility at 2929 South Holt Road. The new Indiana Truck Center boasted twenty service bays and 22,500 square feet under one roof. By 1975, a staff of 29 employees enabled the Company to become the largest heavy duty Dodge truck dealer in the United States.

Dodge discontinued building heavy-duty trucks in the spring of 1975. The Dodge inventory was liquidated and our total effort was directed to Kenworth's line of trucks, parts and services. That effort resulted in the name change to Kenworth of Indianapolis, Inc., in March 1978. A body shop with a large paint booth and seven bays was added in 1980. January 1986 saw the addition of 6,600 additional square feet to contain the parts and merchandising operations to better serve the Indianapolis area.

The second branch was added in December 1977 with the purchase of the assets of K.O.I., Inc. located at 11155 Mosteller Road in Cincinnati, Ohio from Mike Kling. Eldon Palmer, Phil Cartone, Don Palmer, Ralph Brewer and Jim Roemer formed Kenworth of Cincinnati, Inc., in January 1978. Phil Cartone as President headed the company until April 1990. PacLease of Cincinnati, a leasing operation, was established in 1982. In 1983 an addition to the building was completed making a total of 23,300 sq. ft. including 6900 sq. ft. of parts area and 12 service bays including a full service body shop.

I.T.C. Acceptance Company was started in March 1978 to better serve our customers by financing their truck purchases within the dealership. Charles Champlin was the first manager of the operation. I.T.C. has presently grown to over 1300 accounts and over $70,000,000 outstanding making it larger than most County Banks.

Continuing an exceptional growth pattern, a leasing operation, PacLease of Indiana, was established in May 1981. In November of 1983 PacLease of Indiana moved to a separate 4,000 sq. ft. service facility and office trailer at 2575 Tobey Drive. The first expansion in 1985 was followed by an additional expansion in 1995 making a total of 13,000 sg. Ft. including offices, parts and service bays. PacLease was renamed Palmer Leasing Group, a PacLease Franchise, in 1999. Branches are located at Indianapolis East, Cincinnati, Terre Haute, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis West and Dayton.

The third branch was added in December of 1981 by purchasing Kenworth assets of Alvey Scott Motors in Evansville. The Evansville Truck Center, moved into a 26,000 square foot facility at 8516 Baumgart Road with 16 service bays including body shop, offers not only the Kenworth line but also Medium Duty GMC products.

The fourth branch was added in Terre Haute in December 1982 by purchasing the White/Volvo assets of the Vigo Truck Center, Inc., 20 W. Margret St Terre Haute. In 1994 a new 17,000 sq. ft. building was opened at 6425 E. State Rd. 42 next to the Terre Haute Airport. An additional 6,000 sq. ft. was added in 1999 making a total of 14 service bays.

The fifth branch was added in April 1988 by purchasing the assets of Summit GMC / Kenworth at 5906 U.S. 30 East Ft. Wayne. This aggressive operation is the local sales and service headquarters for Kenworth and Medium Duty GMC products. In January of 1990 the dealership relocated to a newly constructed facility at 3535 Coliseum Blvd. West with 20,000 sq. ft. with 16 service bays in January 1990.

The sixth branch was added in November of 1993, a new full service dealership was started in Dayton, Ohio. In August of 1994 we purchased property in Huber Heights, Ohio for a proposed new building site. The new 25,000 sq. ft. building consisting of 10 service bays, 5 body shop bays and spacious parts and office area was completed at 7740 Center Point Rd. (I70) and dedicated on July 1, 1996.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the Palmer Group excitingly grew. We have better assisted our customers and satellite shops in Northern Indiana and Ohio. We have also updated our facilities to provide a safe and friendly environment.

In 2001, property adjacent to the Indianapolis location was acquired. This space also allowed the Palmer Group to expand warehouse capabilities and be posed for new growth in the future.

Each addition has added not only space but added valuable services to our company. ITC Acceptance Company established a new office in the expanded area to better assist their customers. This building also allowed for a conference and training room, additional offices, and Mr. Palmer's office. Other structures included were a new Body Shop, Paint Booth and Frame Alignment Facilities. We expanded into the Fabricating industry, and have helped customers in their vocational needs at Palmer Fabrication. Each of the services has state of the art technology in order to meet the demands of our complex product.

With the property acquisition, came a different type opportunity. Community Caring and Sharing is a non-profit organization in Mars Hill. For many years the Palmer Group has supported this small but powerful agent of change in the nearby neighborhood. With the acquisition of the property, A abandoned school building was remodeled and donated to the group. It was converted to a facility for a food pantry and education center.

With this pattern of exciting growth, Palmer Group will continue with a "fast forward" philosophy to serve our customers and employees well into the future.