Kinshofer Group acquires Solesbee’s

Kinshofer GmbH from Germany and the U.S.A. based company Solesbee’s Equipment and Attachments, LLC. (Solesbee’s) announced today that they have signed a definite agreement to merge. Under the terms of the agreement Kinshofer has acquired more than 96% of the LLC Units of Solesbee’s.

For over 45 years, Kinshofer has been a leading manufacturer of attachments for truck mounted cranes, excavators and skid steer loaders, consistently developing its product range in both, the crane and excavator markets to become a competent partner for OEM’s and OED’s. Previous acquisitions of Liftall Inc. (Canada), Demarec B.V. (Holland), RF System AB (Sweden) and the Auger Torque Group (U.K./ Australia/ China) were other important milestones of this development.

The acquisition of Solesbee’s is significant for Kinshofer in two ways; first it adds new product segments, such as excavator thumbs, mechanical pulverizers as well as other excavator and skid steer products to Kinshofer’s already very comprehensive offering. And secondly, it improves Kinshofer’s distribution channel in the United States. But not only that, Kinshofer has now enhanced local manufacturing in the US with its Georgia based facility to serve its customers much quicker and that with a much larger product range. With this move, Kinshofer further demonstrates its commitment to being a global leader in attachments to the crane and excavator industry.

Solesbee’s, a 1993 established family business, puts its focus on the development and marketing of tools and equipment which make carriers such as excavators and skid steer loaders more effective and versatile, particularly important for small and mid-size contracting businesses seeking high utilization of their machinery. With an extremely committed and well educated workforce, Solesbee’s will continue to develop and sell its products in North America. In order to meet the current market requirements, Solesbee’s and Kinshofer will recruit more staff to ensure a swift and professional market launch of the companies’ products within either sales organization.

Thomas Friedrich, President & CEO of Kinshofer Group, said: “Kinshofer continues its strategy to provide the industry with a “One-Stop-Shop” solution of outstandingly engineered products to increase efficiency and, more importantly, profitability of its customers. The acquisition of Solesbee’s was the next step in our approach to be a local manufacturer in North America.”

David Jenkins, Co-Owner and President & CEO of Solesbee’s, commented: “The concentration of knowledge and competence will form a powerful centre for future developments customers can only benefit from. In particular the combination of both product ranges will create more groundbreaking innovations for the industry. The whole Solesbee’s management team, which will stay on in its entirety, is very excited to be part of this mutual future.”

Kinshofer’s and Solesbee’s’ employees are working on the rapid integration to provide customers worldwide with their comprehensive range of products and services. Kinshofer is very pleased that David Jenkins will remain with the company as its CEO.