About Us

Now celebrating over 65 years, clients have trusted Thornel for their material handling needs since September 1955. Founded by Carl Thorkelson and Garth Owen, they wanted a material handling equipment sales agency representing a variety of manufacturers and specializing in industrial material handling containers. In 1983 Garth became the sole owner of Thornel, which he sold to Thomas Wichhart and Thomas Church in 1987. Tom and Tom continued to grow Thornel into the “State of the Art” company it is today. They added product lines such as: Conveyor, Palletizers, Lifts, etc. Tom Wichhart became the sole owner at the retirement of Tom Church in 1998. In 2003, Tony Wichhart became president and leads the company today.

Custom System Design and Fabrication

Custom System Design and Fabrication

From racks to conveyors, we integrate custom solutions for manual and automated operations.

Project Management Process

Project Management
Process

With each step of the process, trust our team to systematically manage the project from start to finish.

Expert Sales Staff

Expert Sales
Staff

With an avg. 26.5 years of experience, our trained sales staff will recommend the optimal system for the project.

  • 3PL
    3PL acronym word speech bubble illustration

    Industries Served

    3PL

    Our equipment is suitable for 3rd party logistics purposes, such as warehousing, conveying, storage, and shipping.

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  • Medical
    Medical Distribution

    Industries Served

    Medical

    Material handling systems are available for a variety of product types, including medical equipment, medical packaging, and other PPE supplies.

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  • Food Distribution
    Food Distribution

    Industries Served

    Food Distribution

    We offer various types of material handling equipment and turnkey conveying solutions that can be used in food distribution applications, such as assembly lines, packaging, and storage.

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Are You looking for a Custom Solution?

We will make a complete effort to satisfy your requirements and complete your project on time.

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