From Rags to Riches: How a Local Businessman Is Now Riding High

The moment you walk into the offices of . on Union Landing Road in Cinnaminson, it’s a bit of a surprise.

Right inside the foyer, there’s the homage to the United States—American flags, pictures from 9/11, and a case filled with military medals—bestowed on family relative, Joe Reilly.

“My brother was only 19 when he died in Vietnam,” said Tom Reilly Jr., owner of the firm. “He was a paratrooper, who landed in a jungle. They tried to take a hill, but he never made it out of there.”

And Reilly is a self-proclaimed “sports nut,” who has dedicated the top floor of his office building to his immense collection of baseball cards, autographed trophies and football jerseys. He also has posters of Roy Halladay and Joe Paterno, and an enormous oil painting of the late Knute Rockne.

“My wife won’t let me bring any of it home,” he said.

Then, on long shelves beyond the receptionist, there are the toy trucks—buckets, diggers, excavators and flat beds—mini-versions of the vehicles Reilly rents and sells to companies around the country, as well as the Caribbean, Europe and South America.

“I like to collect things,” Reilly said with a twinkle in his eye. “And I’m still not finished.”

Reilly is one of those guys who's at ease around people, makes you feel comfortable, and likes to digress, telling stories about the old neighborhood.

A proud native of Philadelphia near Second Street, Reilly grew up poor.

“I was one of 12 kids living in a two-bedroom house, with no bathroom. We had to use an outhouse,” he said.

Reilly, 77, now lives in Delran with his wife Bernice.

He began his career as an electrician and worked at U.S. Pipe & Foundry in Burlington City and Nucero Electrical Corp. in Pennsauken.

He took classes at the now-closed Spring Garden College beginning in 1960 and studied electrical engineering. He then started his own business. 

“I worked on playground lighting and streetlights around the city,” said Reilly. 

His son, Tom Reilly III, 53, became his business partner, and the two expanded the company and bought a couple of bucket trucks.

“One day, another electrician called me and asked if he could lease one of my trucks for the day. I said ‘Sure, why not,’” Reilly said.  

The younger Reilly chimed in, “We didn’t even know what to charge him.”

A couple of weeks later, someone else called about renting one of their trucks. By this time, word was spreading throughout the trade unions. 

For the electricians, utility workers and carpenters, renting from the Reillys was cheaper than from a large consortium. For the father and son team, it was proving to be some extra cash.

“I said ‘Dad, I think we might be onto something. I think this might be a good business,’” recalled Reilly III, who is now president of the company.

The Reillys invested in more trucks and expanded the rentals. They kept working as electricians and moonlighted in the leasing business.

By 1989, business was booming, and the Reillys officially started TNT Equipment in a small warehouse, about a mile down the road from their present location. As they outgrew the space, they built the current facility, complete with a mechanic station and state-of-the-art garage for their trucks, and moved in about a year ago. 

Needless to say, life has turned out to be a far cry from Reilly’s early roots in Philly.

By the same token, the Reillys believe in giving back to the community.

These days, the younger Reilly says they don’t officially work in the electrical field. But they will from time to time take one of the company's bucket trucks and volunteer electrical services for area youth sporting groups.

They’ve donated their time to set and wire scoreboards for Holy Cross High School and the Marlton Memorial Sports Complex, commonly known as the Blue Barn.

They’ve helped out with electrical installations at hockey centers in Burlington and Camden Counties.

And on Thursday, March 15, the Reillys will be honored during the Inaugural Adam Taliaferro Foundation Recognition Dinner at the Coastline Restaurant in Cherry Hill for their charitable contributions to the organization, which offers financial and educational help to student-athletes suffering from head or spinal injuries.

Taliaferro, a native of Voorhees, was a Penn State football player who gained national attention after recovering from a paralyzing spinal cord injury in 2001. He eventually finished college, earned a law degree and now practices in Cherry Hill. He serves as a freeholder in Gloucester County.

“I’m happy to give,” the elder Reilly said, “I know what it’s like to have nothing.”