Gehl Re-elects Directors
Gehl Co., West Bend, Wis., announced that shareholders at the company's annual meeting re-elected Fred Butler, William Gehl and John Splude as directors to hold office until the company's annual meeting of shareholders in 2004.
Butler has served as a director of Gehl since 1995 and currently serves as the chairman of the compensation and benefits committee. Gehl has served as a director of the company since 1987. He is currently chairman, president and CEO. Splude has served as a director since 1995. He currently serves as the chairman of the audit committee and as a member of the compensation and benefits committee.
Volvo Construction Equipment Partners With Bilia
As part of its strategy to have fewer, larger, independent distributors able to provide complete sales and service support centers, Volvo Construction Equipment announced that Bilia will now take over the distribution of Volvo CE in Poland from Volvo's own sales company, Volvo Poland Sp. Z.O.O.
The transfer to Bilia will be concluded by the end of the first quarter 2002 and at the same time the new organization will become part of the Volvo CE European Region's responsibility.
Bilia is already a distributor for Volvo Trucks in Poland and is the distributor for Volvo CE in several other countries in Europe.
MQ Power Earns ISO Certification
MQ Power's Engine & Equipment Division in Rancho Dominguez, Calif., received Quality Management System ISO 9001 certification. The certification recognizes companies for implementing an effective quality management system that meets stringent international standards in design, development, production, installation and servicing.
The division manufacturers prime power and standby gensets up to 2,000 kilowatts for the military, government, telecommunications and entertainment industries.
W.A. Kraft Changes Name
Woburn, Mass.-based W.A. Kraft Corp. changed its name to Kraft Power Corp. The new name was chosen to more clearly identify the company with its products and services for power generation, transmission and control.
Formed in 1965, Kraft Power has distribution and service agreements with manufacturers including Kohler Co., Waukesha Engine, Dresser, Perkins Engines, Lister-Petter, Mitsubishi Engine North America, Kawasaki Motor Corp. and others.
Finning Lands $63 Million Truck Deal
Heavy equipment supplier, Finning International, Vancouver, announced a $63 million deal to sell Caterpillar trucks to Albian Sands Energy.
The 23 Caterpillar 797-model trucks will be supplied to the construction company working on Alberta's oil sands region over an 18-month period, and will lead to a further expansion of Finning's service facility in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Finning said.
Albian Sands is a consortium led by Shell Canada that is constructing the Muskeg River Mine near Fort McMurray.
Finning, the Caterpillar for Western Canada, is No. 14 on the RER 100. Finning also operates Caterpillar dealerships in the United Kingdom and Chile.
Billy Goat Welcomes New Distributors
Lee's Summit, Mo.-based Billy Goat Industries appointed two new distributors: Lawn Equipment Parts Co., Landisville, Pa., and Texas Outdoor Power Equipment, Georgetown, Texas.
LEPCO will serve central and eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and northern Virginia. TOPE will serve Texas and Oklahoma.
RCH Distributors, Memphis, Tenn., earned the additional territory of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. In addition, Power Equipment Distributors, Richmond, Mich., has been appointed western Pennsylvania to go along with its existing territory of Michigan and Ohio.
Elliott Equipment Adds Dealers
Omaha, Neb.-based Elliott Equipment Co., a manufacturer of aerial work platforms, cranes and concrete pumping equipment, recently appointed five new dealers.
The new dealers are Art's Rentals, Newport, Ky.; Crane Sales & Service, Omaha, Neb.; Cropac Equipment, Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental, Milwaukee; and Kirby Smith Equipment, Oklahoma City.
Caterpillar Sells Tractor Line to Agco
Agricultural equipment maker and distributor AGCO Corp. will acquire the design, assembly and marketing for a new line of high-tech farm tractors from construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar Inc.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, AGCO will begin assembly of the MT700 series of Caterpillar's Challenger tractors. It will also acquire the MT Series product design and continue marketing the tractors through its own and Caterpillar dealers worldwide.
Peoria, Ill.-based, Caterpillar will be a supplier of parts and provide technical support to AGCO. It also said it will take a pre-tax charge of about $80 million related to the transaction.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2002.
IMT Acquires Stedt Hydraulic Crane
Garner, Iowa-based Iowa Mold Tooling Co., purchased the assets of Stedt Hydraulic Crane Corp., Westborough, Mass.
Stetco is a 50-year-old firm that has developed a unique line of catch basin cleaning products marketed under the Stetco registered trade name.
“The Stetco product line is well-regarded and ruggedly built. It brings a quality, niche product into the IMT organization,” said Richard Long, IMT president and CEO.
Stetco products will continue to be manufactured under the Stetco brand, and the company's management will remain in place with David Stedt as general manager.
Rand Completes Reorganization As a Bermuda Company
Ingersoll-Rand Co. completed its reincorporation to Bermuda Dec. 31, 2001, and has become Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd.
In conjunction with the reincorporation, and in compliance with a Bermuda law requirement that two directors of the company also be senior officers of Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., the company announced that Patricia Nachtigal, senior vice president and general counsel of IR, has been elected to the company's board of directors.
Eagle-Picher Sells Construction Equipment Division
Eagle-Picher Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eagle-Picher Holdings completed the sale of certain assets of its Construction Equipment Division to Construction Equipment Direct, on terms previously announced.
The price was $6.1 million in cash plus assumption of approximately $6.4 million of current liabilities. The company retained the land and option to buy the facility for $2.5 million, increasing $100,000 per year over the term. The company also retained approximately $2.3 million book value of CED lift truck raw materials inventory, which the buyer agreed to purchase at book value within one year, and approximately $0.9 million of CED accounts receivable.
Link-Belt Appoints New Southeastern Distributors
Link-Belt appointed new distributors to replace Con-Equip and Owsley, sister companies that are being liquidated.
North and South Carolina will be covered by Pinnacle Cranes, a division of Carolina Tractor & Equipment, a long established Caterpillar excavator dealer.
Link-Belt also appointed a new distributor for central Texas. Four Seasons Equipment is covering the Houston, Austin and San Antonio markets.
