Industry Roundup: Alta Equipment Takes on Nikola Electric Heavy Truck Line

Alta Equipment Group has added Nikola’s battery-electric Class 8 truck line, and will offer sales and service for the trucks in New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and areas in New England.

Ryan Greenawalt, Alta CEO, says the firm views the Class 8 market as “having strong long-term potential and an excellent fit with our commercial vehicle eMobility growth strategy.”

In addition, says Greenawalt, the move “aligns well with our long-term strategy as we aim to diversify our business into high growth industries, with exclusive territories anchored by premier partners.”

“Alta Equipment is an exceptional addition to our already impressive list of 116 dealer locations within the Nikola sales and service dealer network,” says Pablo Koziner, Nikola president, energy and commercial. “The Nikola partnership should complement Alta’s history of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell technology via their materials handling business and add to its growing eMobility vertical by fulfilling its long-term commitment to clean technologies.”

Q2 results: Alta, which serves as the Volvo Construction Equipment dealer throughout much of its territory, also announced Q2 results, saying it had seen its construction segment grow 37.2% during the quarter compared with the same period last year. 

“Geographically we saw continued strength from Florida in our construction segment overall and are beginning to see some positive trends out of the New York region which was acquired last December,” Greenawalt said during the firm’s Q2 earnings call. 

“On the M&A front,” Greenawalt said, “our pipeline remains strong and we continue to be in active discussions with other equipment dealers in both our construction and material handling businesses.”

Brandt Tractor buys Cervus Equipment

John Deere dealer Brandt Tractor has acquired fellow Deere dealer Cervus Equipment in a $302 cash deal.

“The Brandt team is excited about this deal as it will allow us to better serve our customer base across Canada,” says Shaun Semple, Brandt CEO.  “The addition of Cervus’ offerings will form three brand new segments at Brandt dedicated to serving the agriculture, transportation and material handling industries. These segments, in addition to our existing specializations in construction, road building, forestry and more, will further establish Brandt as a total solutions provider across our diverse customer groups.”

In addition to Canada, Cervus also has operations in Australia and New Zealand. Brandt is headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, and is the world’s largest privately-owned John Deere Construction & Forestry equipment dealer.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Finning posts 30% Q2 revenue increase

Caterpillar dealer Finning says it posted a 30% year-over-year Q2 increase while noting the pandemic impacts felt during the same time last year.  The firm, headquartered in Canada, also has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South America.

In Canada, net revenues increased by 25%, “driven by strong demand for new construction equipment in a recovering market and higher product support activity,” Finning says, saying it added 30 technicians during the quarter.

It also noted that 2021 net revenues are still 18% lower than those in Q2 2019.

MANUFACTURERS, SUPPLIERS

Kubota: CTL, skid steer production will begin at Kansas plant in 2022

Construction equipment production at Kubota’s 750,000-square-foot Salina, Kansas, facility will begin in the second half of 2022, according to remarks made by Kubota executives to the Salina Journal. The facility is also the headquarters of Great Plains Manufacturing, an agricultural and construction attachment manufacturer purchased by Kubota in 2016.

The plant will house the Kubota Construction Equipment Research and Development Center, and is designed in part to shorten equipment delivery times to North American dealers.

Once construction equipment production starts, Kubota expects to have 135 employees working at the center. In total, Kubota expects the entire facility to grow to 2,110 workers by 2025.

Liebherr USA partners with Advanced Technical InstituteAti Wheel Loader Delivery 159Liebherr USA

Liebherr USA has launched a partnership with Advanced Technology Institute to host up to six students each year who are studying to be service technicians. 

Liebherr will also sponsor ATI’s hydraulics program and made a L 526 wheel loader available for student training. The partnership allows ATI students to become Liebherr certified as part of their program completion. After completing the co-op program, Liebherr is offering a signing bonus of 50% of tuition charges for eligible new hires that accept full-time employment.