Trends Analysis
Private Equity Group Acquires Essex Crane Rental
Hyde Park Acquisition Corp. recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Essex Crane Rental Corp., which owns the largest specialized fleet of lattice-boom crawler cranes and attachments in North America....
Headline News
Volvo Rents’ First-Half Rental Volume Up 16 Percent
Volvo Rents last week said revenue for its North American franchise network grew 16 percent year over year to $143.5 million, compared with the first six months of 2007....
Austin Ventures Buys Delta Rigging & Tools
Austin Ventures, an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm, has acquired Delta Rigging & Tools. Delta, based in Lake Jackson, Texas, is North America’s largest one-stop provider of lifting products and services in the lifting equipment and rigging industry. Delta has a national footprint of customers and end markets, but is particularly strong throughout the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana....
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International News
Cramo Posts Strong First Half and Second Quarter
Helsinki, Finland-based multi-national rental company Cramo last week reported higher-than-expected second-quarter revenue and operating profit. Cramo’s second-quarter operating profit jumped to €28.7 million (about U.S. $42.5 million) an increase of 32.3 percent compared with last year’s second quarter....
U.K.’s Selwood Group Acquires Welsh Rental Company Proplant
The Selwood Group, a United Kingdom equipment rental company particularly strong in pump rentals, has acquired Proplant, a Welsh rental company. For Selwood, the deal is its second acquisition in two months, having recently acquired Glo Hire and Sales, based in England....
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Wall Street Beat
Deere Reports Higher 3Q Earnings on Strong Global Ag Equipment Sales
Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. last week announced worldwide net income of $575.2 million, or $1.32 per share, for the third quarter ended July 31, compared with $537.2 million, or $1.18 per share, for the same period last year. For the first nine months, net income was $1.7 billion, or $3.89 per share, compared with $1.4 billion, or $3.06 per share, last year....
Wacker Posts Strong First Half Revenue Jump
Wacker Construction Equipment AG grew sales 38.3 percent during the first six months of 2008, with sales of €472.4 million (about U.S. $699.4 million), compared with €341.7 million during the first six months of 2007. The dramatic increase was fueled by the merger of Wacker with Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen, which was finalized in October 2007. EBITDA increased for the first half from €55.3 million in the first half of 2007 to €63.2 million (about U.S. $93.6 million)....
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Supply Side
Terex to Acquire Fantuzzi Industries’ Port Equipment Businesses
Terex Corp. last week announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the port equipment businesses of Fantuzzi Industries S.a.r.l. for total consideration of approximately €215 million (about U.S. $320.7 million)....
Doosan Infracore Portable Power Officially Launches New Facility
Doosan Infracore Portable Power has moved all manufacturing and administrative operations to its new Statesville, N.C., facility....
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RER & The Environment
Bandit Industries to Host Dealer Seminars Highlighting Biomass and Wood Energy
Bandit Industries will host four sales and service seminars for its worldwide dealer network, Aug. 19-22. The focus of the summit, held at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and Bandit’s corporate headquarters in Remus, will be the emerging markets in biomass and wood energy....
Caterpillar Powers Northern Ireland Facilities with “Green” Electricity
In support of strategic initiatives to use alternative or renewable sources to meet 20 percent of its energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing facilities by 25 percent by 2020, Caterpillar Inc. recently transitioned the power for its Northern Ireland facilities to “green” electricity....
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Bricks & Clicks
IronPlanet Announces New Sales Service for John Deere Dealers
IronPlanet, a leading online auction company for used construction and agricultural equipment, last week announced a new service to assist John Deere dealers in remarketing and selling used equipment inventory. The agreement provides John Deere dealers the capability to sell inventory from their private dealer-to-dealer website (UsedExpress.com), and their public used equipment website (machinefinder.com) through IronPlanet’s online marketplace....
ClickSafety Passes Two Million Courses Milestone
Alamo, Calif.-based ClickSafety.com, the market leader in online construction safety training solutions, surpassed the two-million-courses-delivered mark on Aug. 1. The company announced the sale of its one millionth course in March 2007....
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