Cornerstone Equipment - A Story of Blue Collar Professionals

Cornerstone Equipment was started as Cornerstone Industrial Services, LLC. in 2009 as an industrial equipment service company by Bryan and Kathy Ponder. After much prayer and consideration, Bryan and Kathy trusted in God and took a leap of faith by starting their own business. Bryan had a "non-compete" at the time, preventing him from selling/servicing competitive equipment for 1 year. So he bought a used service truck, broke out the tech. uniforms again (after 10 years in sales), and starting working on any equipment he could (including tractors!). Kathy fired up her accounting part of her brain again and converted Bryan's old office at home into her office. A couple years later, Bryan and Kathy built a 60'x40' service shop behind their house in Crittenden, KY, and starting working on material handling/construction equipment and reconditioning used forklifts and scissor lifts. 

6 years later, the business had grown to 15 employees, with staff covering sales, parts, shop service, field service, and warehouse equipment projects. The business had outgrown the pole barn behind the house, so the Ponders sought out and purchased 16 acres in Dry Ridge, KY to build a new service shop at. During this time, Cornerstone secured a deal with CLARK forklift to become the exclusive CLARK dealer for all of Northern and Central Kentucky.

In August 2018, upon opening the new facility in Dry Ridge, Cornerstone started doing business as "Cornerstone Equipment". This change was to best reflect the broad range of equipment we would sell and service out of this new dealership outside of just industrial equipment. We became a dealer for tractors, Loaders, mowers and more. 

In 2022, we expanded our business into Franklin Furnace, OH by building a new dealership there. 

In 2024, we expanded our business again, by adding a 3rd dealership location in Frankfort, KY. 

You won't find Bryan and Kathy at the dealership as much as they used to be as they take on new roles as grandparents, having 11 new grandchildren in the last 5 years! Bryan and Kathy both retain the titles of "Founder", while Bryan assumes the position of Chairman at Cornerstone, setting the bar for company culture. Devin Ponder(Bryan and Kathy's son), took over as President in 2021 and is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of all 3 Cornerstone locations, while leading Cornerstone into the future.

We are a team of Blue Collar Professionals who aim to give other Blue Collar Pros HOPE by equipping them as they pursue their American Dream. 

We welcome you to our family of dealerships, where you can test drive and demo any of the equipment we sell on our well-maintained properties in Dry Ridge, KY, Franklin Furnace, OH and now Frankfort, KY. As a leading New Holland Construction retailer in North America, we keep a large inventory of machines and attachments. Come check out our state-of-the-art service facilities, where we hold a number of certifications and the designation of Blue Star Service Excellence by New Holland, indicating our commitment to service, people, processes, facilities, tooling and training.  Or, give us a call or send us an email and one of our Blue Collar Pros will be happy to assist you, as they are part of the team that has helped us be a top 20 Best Place to Work in Kentucky in 2024 (#18) and 2025 (#11)!

More than anything, thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. All Glory to God.

-The Ponders