GALLERY: Wacker Neuson Grows Into a Big Player in Earthmoving Machinery
Wacker Neuson recently unveiled its new line of earthmoving equipment at its Menomonee Falls, Wis., United States headquarters. For decades the Munich-based manufacturer was known as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of light and compact equipment such as compaction and concrete-working machines, pumps, light towers and generators, with more than 250 product groups to its name. Now Wacker Neuson is showing it can play with the big boys when it comes to the heavy side and presented an impressive arsenal at a recent event.
Not only has Wacker Neuson tripled in size in the last decade, leaping from €411 million in revenue in 2004 to €1,284 million in 2014, but the company’s products have burgeoned as well, although it maintains its strong light equipment portfolio. The company, founded by Johann Christian Wacker producing rammers in 1848, now sports an array of telewheel loaders, all-wheel steer and articulated wheel loaders, excavators up to 14 tons, wheeled excavators, dumpers and more. It also has a ground-engaging telehandler designed to meet the digging demands of a wheel loader, the versatility of a skid-steer loader and the lifting performance of a telehandler, with universal attachment plates.
Then known as Wacker Corp., the company began manufacturing in the United States in 1957 in Hartford, Wis. Wacker Neuson now operates a 539,000-square-foot facility dedicated to manufacturing, sales, finance, marketing, training and support.
At a recent visit to the company’s U.S. headquarters, RER had a chance to check out some of the recently introduced machines.
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.