Thomas Equipment -- In the News
April 11, 2006 • Milwaukee-based Thomas Equipment, global manufacturer of skid steer loaders, mobile screening plants, mini excavators, and specialty industrial and construction equipment, recently made several announcements to the press, summarized as follows.
Streamlines growth strategy
First, the company announced that it has retained the consulting services of Realization Services, Inc. (RSI), a management consulting firm specializing established in 1983 that has extensive experience in strategic, financial, and operational aspects of business operations. Under the agreement, RSI's President Barry Kasoff will work directly with Clifford Rhee, Thomas' president and CEO, on the integration strategy for Thomas' acquisitions.
"Thomas has achieved dynamic growth in a very short period of time. It has already completed a number of acquisitions and has prospective M&A targets on its horizon," said Kasoff. "RSI is well qualified to help Cliff and his team to quickly establish the systems necessary to support and cultivate Thomas' swelling backlog. RSI's integration advisory services will assist Thomas in establishing an integration formula for Thomas to quickly and efficiently integrate synergistic businesses in the future."
Thomas also recently entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Russia Life Peat Moss Co., a strategic supplier of construction and industrial equipment, to sell and service Thomas equipment and parts to a territory that encompasses five major industrial and military centers in
The territories covered in the distribution agreement include: Irkutsk, a major commercial depot and military post in Siberia; Khabarovsk, a commercial center near the Chinese border; Volgograd, formally Stalingrad, located on Russia's southern border; Krasnodar, located in southern Russia on the Kuban River; and Stavropol located in southwester Russia and is a major center for the production of automobiles, furniture and construction equipment. Russia Life will sell only Thomas Equipment and must achieve certain annual sales hurdles to secure exclusive coverage of its territory. The distribution agreement is slated to begin on April 18, 2006. However, Russia Life has already taken shipment of three loaders delivered in mid-March.
Finally, the company announced that it has begun its first shipment for testing of its most popular, high-volume telescopic handler model to its private-label OEM customer in
In February 2006, Thomas purchased the assets and intellectual property, including three patents, of Tovel's six models of rough-terrain forklifts, five models of telescopic handlers, 10 attachments and a line of mortar and plaster mixers.
The first of the Tovel products to be leveraged through the Thomas distribution channel is a product class that represented approximately half of Tovel's business in 2005. The overall equipment industry sells approximately 5,000 units of this class of telescopic handler to
All of these moves are part of the latest achievement under the company's "Thomas2" Initiative, which was unveiled in January 2005. Thomas2 is a strategic initiative to drive organic revenue growth to the natural power of Thomas' businesses and to expand Thomas' worldwide brand recognition and prowess.
