Aerial access platform manufacturer JLG Industries is set to diversify into telescopic handlers and excavators after signing a definitive agreement on 11 May to acquire Gradall Industries for $200m cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of next month.
JLG had sales of $530m last year; Gradall pulled in $183m.
Gradall origins are in wheeled hydraulic excavators in the 1940s but in 1982 it acquired the Loed range of telescopic material handlers. Telehandlers now account for 60% of its sales.
One result of the new ownership may be a greater international push on Gradall products. Only about 2% of Gradall’s sales come from exports, compared with about a third of JLG’s.
