BrandSafway Agrees to Acquire AGF Access Group
BrandSafway has signed an agreement to acquire AGF Access Group Inc., headquartered in L’Assomption, Quebec, Canada, with two manufacturing sites in Canada and 24 branches across North America. Focused on renting, selling and manufacturing vertical access products through its own branches and an independent dealer network, AGF Access Group provides turnkey solutions for both small-scale as well as multibillion-dollar commercial construction and refurbishment projects.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to partner with a leader in motorized access equipment, enabling us to grow our market presence in mast climbing, suspended access solutions, elevators and building maintenance units throughout North America,” said Dave Witsken, president of Energy and Industrial at BrandSafway. “With a dedicated team of engineers, a strong distribution network, world-class manufacturing and experienced leadership, AGF Access Group will bring great value to BrandSafway. As a combined entity, we will be able to provide an even wider range of access solutions.”
AGF Access Group includes four divisions, two world-class product groups – Hydro Mobile and Winsafe – as well as two successful rental units, AGF Access, which includes recent acquisitions IEQ, Jamco Construction and Noxxent, and Hydro Rents.
"We're thrilled to be joining the BrandSafway team,” said Vincent Dequoy, president of AGF Group. “We look forward to working together to leverage our complementary businesses for growth. AGF will be able to expand its mast climbing and suspended access business throughout North America and provide more services and products to existing customers as well. This is an exciting time for AGF, our employees and our customers.”
“Our combined customers in North America will benefit from specialized knowledge in vertical access, a broader range of solutions and greater depth of expertise,” added Witsken. “Together, we can deliver custom and highly efficient access and scaffolding solutions for commercial, infrastructure and industrial projects.”
The closing of this transaction is anticipated in early 2020.
BrandSafway, headquartered in Kennesaw, Ga., is No. 6 on the RER 100.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.