Gorbel is a privately-owned company that manufactures overhead material handling equipment and rigid rail fall arrest anchorage systems. It was founded in 1977 by Dave Reh. At that time, Dave had over a decade of experience selling material handling equipment in the Rochester, NY area. Growth was important to him, and he realized that growth in the Rochester market was limited, so he set out to start a new business that could serve markets beyond that area, and provide opportunities for other people to succeed. He named the company after his parents, Gordon and Isabel.

At its inception, Gorbel focused on making manually rotated jib cranes but soon grew to include work station bridge cranes, enclosed track jib cranes, and portable gantry cranes. We expanded our business into ergonomic lifting with the introduction of our G-Force and Easy Arm Intelligent Lifting Devices. In 2002, Gorbel purchased the Cleveland Tramrail company, increasing the capacity of our product line up to 40 tons. We further expanded our reach with the introduction of Tether Track Rigid Rail Fall Arrest Anchorage Devices in 2011. Our latest area of growth has been into the medical arena with our SafeGait Balance and Mobility Trainer, where we apply our G-Force technology to rehab devices to facilitate safer gait and balance training in people recovering from strokes and traumatic injuries that have limited their mobility.

As our product line has grown and changed, so has our company. Dave Reh is now the Chairman of Gorbel, and his son, Brian, has taken over as President. We’re still headquartered outside Rochester, but we’ve grown from one building to four. We added another manufacturing plant in Pell City, AL, a sales office in Troy, MI, and a manufacturing plant in China to service our many customers who have expanded to the Asian market.

So much of our story can be told just by walking through our buildings and looking at what’s hanging on our walls. Plaques hanging in our lobby celebrate all the years we’ve made the list of Rochester Top 100 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies. Signs with the words Integrity, Positive People in a Positive Environment, and Extraordinary Customer Experience adorn the walls of all our conference rooms, reminding us of the core values that drive our company. But most striking is our wall of fame, where rows of pictures hang, pictures of employees who have been with Gorbel over 10 years. That commitment from our employees to Gorbel and to our core values says so much about who we are as a company. 

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