Textron Sells Jacobsen Commercial Product Lines

Aug. 28, 2006
Textron Inc. last week announced that the Jacobsen business unit has sold its commercial grounds care product lines to Commercial Grounds Care, an affiliate of Schiller-Pfeiffer, located in Southampton, Pa. The sale includes the Jacobsen Johnson Creek, Wis., manufacturing facility, a leased service parts facility in Dalton, Ohio and products branded Bob-Cat, Bunton, Ryan, Steiner and Brouwer. Terms of the transaction, which closed Aug. 18, were not disclosed.

Textron Inc. last week announced that the Jacobsen business unit has sold its commercial grounds care product lines to Commercial Grounds Care, an affiliate of Schiller-Pfeiffer, located in Southampton, Pa. The sale includes the Jacobsen Johnson Creek, Wis., manufacturing facility, a leased service parts facility in Dalton, Ohio and products branded Bob-Cat, Bunton, Ryan, Steiner and Brouwer. Terms of the transaction, which closed Aug. 18, were not disclosed. The sale of the commercial grounds care product lines allows Jacobsen to heighten the focus on its golf and professional turf-related markets with equipment manufactured in Charlotte, N.C., and Ipswich, England. It also advances Textron's portfolio strategy, which has included significant divestitures of non-core manufacturing businesses representing more than $4.4 billion in annual revenues and the elimination of $1.4 billion in non-core finance receivables from its Textron Financial unit over the past five years. "Jacobsen has made a strategic decision to focus on its professional turf business which includes golf course, sports turf and municipal grounds equipment," said Dan Wilkinson, president, Jacobsen. "Although the commercial grounds care division offers strong brand names and an excellent facility in Johnson Creek, it is not consistent with Jacobsen's long-term growth strategy." Jacobsen's Commercial Grounds Care product lines are developed and manufactured by 160 employees and are sold through an independent distribution network of outdoor power equipment distributors and dealers. Commercial Grounds Care is an affiliate of Schiller-Pfeiffer, manufacturer of the Little Wonder, Mantis and Classen brands of landscaping and gardening products. Providence, R.I.-based Jacobsen manufactures a full range of turf maintenance equipment and vehicles for golf courses, sports fields and municipal grounds applications.