American Augers, Trencor retain brand identities after acquisition

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Updated Nov 29, 2012

Charles Machine WorksbrandsAmerican Augers drills and Trencor trenchers will retain their brand identities as they are incorporated into The Charles Machine Works (CMW) fold, says Tiffany Sewell-Howard, CEO.

“American Augers (AA) will remain a separate entity, similar to our HammerHead acquisition, and production of Trencor products will be moved to the AA facility in Ohio,” said Sewell-Howard in an interview with Equipment World.

CMW, also known as Ditch Witch for the popular brand of underground construction equipment it manufactures, bought the two lines from Astec Industries, a $55 million deal expected to be finalized by the end of this year.

“For the past several years, we’ve focused on our vision of becoming the CMW family of companies, the authority in the underground construction business. This addition is a great step towards that vision,” Sewell-Howard says. “We want to address all the needs of the underground market.”

The deal gives CMW high horsepower models in both trenchers and drills. The largest current Ditch Witch trencher is the 115-horsepower RT115. Trencor models range from the 250-horsepower T765 to the 1,300-horsepower T1860.

On the drill side, American Auger models start at the 60,000-pound max pullback DD-6, and top off at the 1.1-million-pound max pullback DD-1100. Ditch Witch’s current largest model is the 100,000-pound JT100. “We see tremendous growth in the pipeline and water and sewer markets, which require large machines,” Sewell-Howard says.

“We’ve focused on our vision of becoming the CMW family of companies, the authority in the underground construction business.”

CMW plans to keep the American Augers facility in West Salem, Ohio, and transfer the Trencor line, now manufactured in Tennessee, to the Ohio plant. Also retained: the direct-to-market sales approach of both lines.

“I believe American Augers has a strong brand and strong relationships with customers, and we are going to continue to support those,” Sewell-Howard says. “As we go forward, we will look at how we can leverage the entire CMW family of companies to help these brands be even more successful.”

While there is some overlap with these lines and the traditional Ditch Witch customers, the acquisition gives CMW the ability to expand its reach.

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“We now have the opportunity to cultivate these relationships by providing broader solutions,” Sewell-Howard says. “They are going to be a tremendous addition to the CMW family of companies. We are able to strengthen our competitive stance, expand our capabilities, and offer new products, new brands, and new channels to the underground construction market.”