The move is intended to improve aftersales service in the region.

“Before, we’d sell any way possible,” US sales director Scott Smith told Cranes Today. “We would sell direct, sell to end users, sell to anybody. The dealers we had were very few, and they had open-ended agreements.” He added: “it was not only confusing but dealers were competing against each other, and margins suffered. Dealers did not have enough cash to service the machines.”

Now dealers sign up to achieve a minimum share of a geographical market. There will be a total of 26 territories, which might be an entire state, a part of a state, or multiple states, depending on population, and the number of branches that a potential dealer has.

“We don’t consider a dealer to be a dealer on one or two machines a year. To be a dealer, they have to have a specific market share in 2009, the first year they will be gauged on performance,” he said. They need the financial capability to commit to buy minimum volumes based on market share numbers.

In addition, dealers have to have a “brick and mortar” facility, a number of service technicians depending on the size of the territory, parts inventory, and staff have to attend service schools on a regular basis.

In addition to the dealer network, “five or six” large customers would be able to sign up for national accounts, Smith said. These companies would be able to buy machines direct from Terex, but would not be able to resell them for a year. Smith mentioned potential candidates Maxim, Ray Anthony, All Erection, Ameco and Bechtel.

Smith said that Terex has spent two years on the work, and is currently about 50% through the process of mapping out the dealer network, work that he expects to finish in March. “It’s a huge deal, and it has taken two years to turn around from the old philosophy.”

Although Smith said that Terex has appointed all of the dealers, but the company is still finalising their territories. Some appointed dealers that he mentioned are New York state’s Empire Crane and Clark Crane and Rigging; Reliable Tractor in Maryland; Dozier Crane in Georgia; Ramco Leasing in Kentucky; Florida’s MD Moody and Reneger; Texas’s Scott Macon; Lousiana’s Quest Construction Equipment; RTL Equipment of Iowa; California’s Bigge and Carde Pacific

*Bigge has announced it has been chosen to sell the complete range of Terex Cranes in territories including, but not limited to, Alaska, Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

*All Erection has announced it will be the exclusive dealer of all Terex Cranes brands in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.