Earthmoving manufacturer K-Tec Earthmovers Inc. has merged with Ashland Industries, the companies announced. The newly merged organizations will be headquartered in Rosenort, Manitoba, Canada and led by Mikhail (Mike) Palitsky, president of K-Tec. The combined business will have manufacturing and service locations in both Rosenort and Ashland, Wis.
K-Tec and Ashland are manufacturers of earthmoving scrapers and accessory products serving the construction, mining, and agriculture markets. The merger of the companies will allow them to offer the broadest product line of earthmoving scrapers in the industry with a large geographic footprint of dealers in the United States to provide service coverage. The combination will provide shorter lead times for customers and accelerated product design and introduction. There will be no management changes at either company as a result of the merger.
“In the weeks leading up to the announcement, the K-Tec and Ashland teams met several times and it was apparent that all of us could not be happier with the ‘fit’ of the two companies,” said Palitsky. “We share a similar vision for the earthmoving industry and are very proud to unite our families of earthmovers under one umbrella. I want to reassure our dealers and customers that we will not be making any changes to the 2020 sales programs and product offerings. We look forward to meeting with our dealership network to gain their feedback on their needs for the future, and how we can help them each succeed.”
Ashland spokesman Randy Rust said, “Everyone at Ashland is very excited to be joining forces with K-Tec. The merger of our two companies will provide our dealers and customers a market leader with the broadest range of land transforming equipment available today. With the merger of our companies and continued support from our strong strategic OEM partnerships, we expect to provide industry-leading solutions and support to our customers.” K-Tec is majority owned by an affiliate of private investment firm Owner Resource Group LLC, based in Austin, Texas.
“We are excited about our partnership with K-Tec and Ashland and believe in the long-term growth potential of the companies,” said Jonathan Gormin, ORG managing director. “We believe this transaction supports the vision of both management teams to be a global leader in the earthmoving industry. The combination will allow the business to expand its product offerings, enhance innovation and provide outstanding support to our dealers. We look forward to supporting the management team’s efforts to realize the full potential of the combined organization.” For more information please visit www.ktec.com and www.ashlandind.com
