Alta Acquires Howell Tractor and Equipment, Expanding Presence in Midwest Construction Market
Alta Equipment Group Inc. this week added to its growing acquisition empire by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Howell Tractor and Equipment LLC., a privately held heavy equipment dealer serving Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Howell Tractor has an expansive range of heavy construction, mining, material handling, and crane equipment available for sale or rent to its premium customer base. As an equipment industry leader in the area since opening in 1943, Howell Tractor provides around the clock professional service, with an experienced and knowledgeable staff operating out of two fully equipped facilities in Gary, Ind., and Peru, Ill. Howell Tractor generated approximately $33.1 million in revenue and had adjusted EBITDA of approximately $5.0 million in the trailing 12 months through July 2020.
Ryan Greenawalt, CEO of Alta, said, “We are excited to welcome Howell Tractor to the Alta family. As we continue to expand our presence in the Illinois and Northwest Indiana markets, adding an industry leader like Howell Tractor bolsters our best-in-class service offerings and product portfolio. We intend to build on the strength of Howell Tractor’s reputation as a premier service provider and the partnerships it has established with leading manufacturers to enhance our overall customer experience.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2020, subject to customary conditions.
This year Alta Equipment became a publicly traded company and has acquired Florida’s Flagler Equipment, Martin Implement Sales in the Chicago area, Hilo Equipment in New York, and PeakLogix, a national material handling systems integrator that specializes in the design and installation of warehouse automation and storage systems.
Alta owns and operates one of the largest integrated equipment dealership platforms in the U.S. Through its branch network, the company sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for several categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and aerial work platforms, cranes, earthmoving equipment and other industrial and construction equipment. Alta has operated as an equipment dealership for 35 years and has developed a branch network that includes 51 locations across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, New England, New York, Virginia and Florida. Alta offers its customers a one-stop-shop for most of their equipment needs by providing sales, parts, service, and rental functions under one roof. More information can be found at www.altaequipment.com.
Alta Equipment, Livonia, Mich., is No. 39 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.