Tag Archive for: Acquire

S&C Slatter Acquire White Horse Contractors

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S&C Slatter Acquire White Horse Contractors: S&C Slatter is delighted to announce the acquisition of White Horse Contractors which becomes a member of The Slatter Group.

White Horse Contractors was established in 1957 by Arnold Binning. Since then it has grown into one of the leading providers of natural turf sports facilities, land drainage, water engineering, landscaping and civil engineering projects. It has gained a first-class reputation for quality and service in these sectors.

As a well-established family business, S&C Slatter are acknowledged as one of the Country’s foremost experts in the design and construction of sports facilities including artificial and natural pitches, multi-use games areas (MUGAs), hard and soft landscaping. The Surfacing & Civils division is also very successful in securing an increasing share in the infrastructure sector – car parks, roadways, hard standings.

White Horse Contractors will operate from the Group Head Office in Enborne, Newbury as an autonomous business under the guidance of newly appointed Managing Director David Smith and Technical Director James Welsh.

With this addition, The Slatter Group offers an unrivalled scope of services to a broad reach of clients within the sports grounds, amenity, leisure, agricultural and equestrian sectors. The knowledge base and resource that White Horse Contractors brings to the Group complements perfectly the skills, technology  and experience in artificial surfacing, civil engineering and project development accessible from the  existing specialist divisions of S&C Slatter.

David Slatter, who oversees the operations of all Group companies, comments ‘When I first took over the business from my Father, we provided sub-contract services for White Horse Contractors on their bigger projects. For me they were always the ‘Gold Standard’ which I was aiming to emulate and to this end I saw a perfect opportunity to approach the Directors of White Horse Contractors. To be able to bring their expertise and resource to our family business is a dream come true for me. The depths of services, skills and knowledge that we can now offer our clients in a one stop shop is industry leading.’

James Binning is the third generation of the Binning family to chair White Horse Contractors and says, ‘I am delighted that we have found another family business which can take White Horse Contractors to new heights and that shares our company ethos and family values. Many of our staff have worked with us for decades and it is important to us that the business continues to be run in the same style as it has for the last 60 years.’

However, the Binning family association with the industry will not cease as White Horse Contractors’ workshop and plant will continue to grow and thrive under a new name, Muddy Plat Hire Ltd, providing specialist plant hire services to The Slatter Group and the industry at large.

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Dennis & SISIS Acquire Foley Grinder

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Dennis & SISIS Acquire Foley Grinder: Dennis & SISIS have bolstered their production line with the addition of a Foley Accu-Pro 673 to ensure perfect OEM specification grinding.

The renowned mower manufacturer had very specific requirements when it came to choosing the machine that would grind all of the bedknives for their mowers, citing reliability, flexibility and accuracy as the top three priorities.

Dennis & SISIS Acquire Foley Grinder

As part of the production line, the Accu-Pro 673 fully automatic Bedknife grinder is in constant use and will grind thousands of bedknives a year, with the machine having already delivered between 500 to 600 blades in its first three months.

These blades are manufactured in-house through Dennis Sisis’ sister company, Crocodile Precision Ltd, and Ian Howard, managing director of Dennis Sisis, explains the importance of having a high-quality reliable grinder as the company moves through their busiest year to date.

“Our specification for a grinder differs slightly from a golf course or football club because of the amount of time our grinders are working,” Ian began. “We’re having our busiest year to date, our order books are full, sales are booming, and demand is increasing all the time, so this increases our need for reliability and quality in the production line.

“Every bedknife we produce has to be individually ground to the correct OEM specification on the bedknife carrier, prior to mower assembly. We need a grinder that makes efficient use of workshop time by being quick and easy to set-up particularly as we are constantly swapping between different length blades.

“Our customers expect accurately ground relief angles on the blade, and the Accu-Pro 673 consistently delivers top-quality performance.”

The robust construction and features of the Foley machine made it a more attractive grinder for Ian and the Dennis Sisis team. The innovative mounting system uses powerful electromagnets to hold the bed bar in place and Positive Gauge Stops to make set-up simple and fast.

Fast angle set-up provides repeatability without recalibration. Set the Angle Stops once and the 673 will grind the same angle over and over. Changing from grinding the front face to the top face is as simple as pushing a button and watching as the powered Tool Bar rotates into the position.

Automation is at the core of the 673’s success, with the pre-set programmes automatically starting the grinder, traversing the grinding head, in-feeding the grinding head and stopping the grinding process.

One man who experiences the full benefit of these features is Dennis & SISIS senior grinding technician, Tony Snaith. “I’ve been delighted with the performance and speed the blades can be set-up and ground,” he said.

“The Accu-Pro 673 has performed consistently, efficiently and accurately and has coped with the constant demands of the production line. It has really proven itself to be the perfect machine for what we need.”

Foley grinders claim to deliver the best grinding solution available on the market. Be it for high output in a production line, contractor, local authority or the more measured approach of affordable in-house grinding for golf courses and football clubs.

For more information, visit: www.foleyunited.com

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AL-KO Gardentech Acquire Rochford

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AL-KO Gardentech Acquire Rochford: German manufacturer AL-KO Gardentech have acquired Rochford Garden Machinery. The deal was announced after completion on Wednesday (1st Aug) this week.

Rochford say that 100% of the company has been acquired, with all divisions, staff and product lines remaining unchanged.

AL-KO Gardentech Acquire Rochford

Both parties have agreed to confidentiality regarding the financial terms of the arrangement.

Rochford, based in Wincanton, Somerset, is one of UK´s leading garden machinery suppliers, both in imports and sales of domestic and commercial garden machinery. The family run business founded in 1976 in Bruton, Somerset, has been an importer of AL-KO products for almost 15 years.

Elizabeth Rochford, wife of founder Peter Rochford said of the acquisition, “We are pleased to have AL-KO Gardentech, our long time partner, as our new owner, which helps us to take Rochford to a new level of profitability, sales and market penetration.

“With this merger, we have taken the necessary steps and passed our business on to experienced hands to ensure sustainable future development for employees and customers.

“We have every confidence in AL-KO Gardentech that our company will be led into a stable future and that Rochford will remain a professional home for our employees. Furthermore, the management team around managing director, Stewart Anderson, will stay the same.”  This management team includes Mark Rochford and sister Kerry Moore.

Managing director of Rochfords, Stewart Anderson says: “This exciting acquisition gives us the opportunity to take our business to the next level and develop our portfolio of brands which include AL-KO, DR, Mitox, and Weibang. The company and its ranges will continue as they are, with the added benefit of developing new product categories from the AL-KO company in new channels.

“We are embarking on 10 dealer shows across the UK in September to showcase our new product ranges, technical updates, and competitive trade terms, details of which will be released shortly.”

Dr. Wolfgang Hergeth, COO of AL-KO KOBER SE, said, “We are pleased to be able to win Rochford, one of the strongest trading partners in the UK garden machinery market for the AL-KO KOBER GROUP. Like the acquisition of the New Zealand garden equipment manufacturer Masport last year, this investment is a clear signal for a strong future of AL-KO Gardentech. The transaction significantly enhances our organic and inorganic growth targets and thus continues our positive business development over the last few years.

“The good economic situation of Rochford shows a well-established and managed company. Services such as customer services, repair offerings or spare parts management fully meet the AL-KO standard ‘Quality for life’. Rochford will now be able to continue its development under the modern entrepreneurial AL-KO KOBER GROUP and to provide customers with first-class and innovative products as well as service and support.

“The entry into the British market is a logical consequence of the great market potential in specialist trade and DIY, the British affinity to online trade as well as significantly increased interest in robotic garden machinery. Thanks to its strong customer relationships on all channels, Rochford provides direct customer access to AL-KO Gardentech, which gives further impetus for substantial growth in the UK.

“With this merger, we will now be able to further develop the DIY and e-Commerce business and, at the same time, consistently force the innovations of smart gardening and future battery technologies. Within the corporate group, there is simply more development potential for AL-KO Gardentech and Rochford. This acquisition offers a long term perspective for employees to work in a dynamic and fast growing business.”

Rochford Garden Machinery’s roadshows take place between 10th September to 21st September.