European Distributor SMT Enters U.S. Market with Acquisition Of Texas-Based ROMCO Equipment
SMT, a distributor and after-sales partner for the equipment and transport industry based in Brussels, is expanding its network into the United States with the acquisition of ROMCO Equipment Co. and its operations throughout Texas. The sale closed March 9 and represents the transfer of ownership at ROMCO's 12 offices in Austin, Carmine, Fort Worth, Longview, San Antonio, Buffalo, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Midland, Rio Grande Valley, and Stephenville, Texas. This family-owned company operating under the Mullins family since 1961 is the exclusive Volvo Construction Equipment distributor in most of Texas.
Like ROMCO, SMT is also a family-owned business representing more than 75 years of experience in the construction equipment industry, currently operating in 30 countries in Europe, Africa, and now the U.S. The company, considered a high-performing dealer by Volvo, provides advanced solutions to the industry.
"We are thrilled to expand our network into the U.S. by acquiring ROMCO's successful operations in Texas" said Jerome Barioz, CEO of SMT group. "We believe ROMCO will benefit from SMT's know-how and global investments in systems and solutions in order to be number one in uptime, productivity, and overall customer satisfaction in this expanding market."
Investing in rental
SMT looks forward to benefitting from ROMCO's 60-plus years of experience in the Texas market and plans to invest further in rental activities, technical upgrades, and employee development programs.
"The end has come for involvement of the Mullins family in ROMCO, but it's a bright new beginning under SMT's ownership," said Robert Mullins, owner and CEO of ROMCO Inc. "The construction and mining industries have been in my life ever since I was a young boy tagging along with my father, ROMCO founder Robert O. Mullins. SMT will provide the leadership and resources needed to meet the industry's future. I will truly miss all the great employees and customers I have had the privilege to be associated with these 50-plus years."
Charlie Clarkson, president of ROMCO added, "We are looking forward to writing the next chapter with SMT. With their global reach, we will be able to raise the level of offerings and support to customers.”
“We welcome SMT as a seasoned partner that brings a wealth of global experience with the Volvo CE brand,” said Stephen Roy, president of Volvo Construction Equipment Region Americas. “I am confident their innovative mindset and advanced approach to customer service will benefit ROMCO and Volvo customers in the territory. We appreciate the legacy for customer support by the Mullins family and wish Robert the best in his future endeavors."
ROMCO Inc. is a family-owned company based in Dallas since 1961 with 290 employees. It is the parent company of ROMCO Equipment Co., ROMCO Paving Equipment, ROMCO Power Systems, and Material Processing Systems. ROMCO's wholly-owned subsidiary, Material Producers Construction Services provides installation and maintenance services in support of the products ROMCO sells in the construction materials industry. In addition to Volvo Construction Equipment, ROMCO carries other product lines: GOMACO; CemenTech; Sandvik; Hitachi; ASV; Atlas Copco; Yanmar; Finn; Kafka; McLanahan; Superior; Telestack; K-Tec; Terramac; Atlas; Mantsinen; LeeBoy; Bearcat; Phoenix; Kent FRD, and Genesis. For more information, go to www.romco.com.
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.