Perkins to Acquire IAT’s Ownership Share of 400 Series Joint Venture
After a 23-year relationship between IHI Agri-Tech Corp. and Perkins Engines Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, Perkins and its affiliates have agreed to purchase IAT’s remaining share of the joint venture.
The joint venture has delivered a powerful range of engines in the 0.5- to 2.2-litre space. Manufactured in the United Kingdom, United States, China and Japan, there are currently more than 1 million Perkins 400 Series engines at work around the world, powering a wide range of off-highway equipment.
The acquisition of IAT’s remaining share of the joint venture – the engines business of IAT – will include the transfer of some machining operations owned by IAT’s subsidiary based in Jiangsu Province, China, and intellectual property for the 0.5- to 2.2-litre engine range.
This initiative will streamline the business, improve responsiveness to changing customer needs, and enable innovation in commercial as well as technical offerings. Perkins will be working with customers of IAT’s engines business to provide continuity of products and services.
“We see growth potential in compact engines to power small equipment such as mini-excavators, generators, skid-steer loaders and access platforms,” said Steve Ferguson, Perkins president. “Perkins is well positioned to be the professional partner to the world’s best-known industrial, machinery and electric power brands. This deal confirms our commitment to the sector and adds to our already significant investment in a full range of Perkins products to meet EU Stage V emissions standards.
“Small engines are an integral offering in Perkins’ engine portfolio and we will continue to maximize customer value by offering cost-competitive solutions. Perkins will manage through the transition period and will build on the foundation of the joint venture as it continues to develop the next generation of 0.5 to 2.2 liter diesel engines to meet current and future customers’ needs.”
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.