Arizona-based Cat dealer Empire Southwest has agreed to acquire Nevada-based Cat dealer Cashman Equipment. The transaction is expected to close in December.
Cashman Cat, with seven locations serving Nevada and parts of eastern California, has been in business since 1931. Empire, which was founded in 1950, operates 22 dealership locations serving Arizona and southeastern California. Both companies are third-generation, family-owned Cat dealers.
The combined company will be led by Empire CEO Jeff Whiteman and will continue to serve clients in the construction, mining, energy, agricultural and industrial sectors as well as offer expanded capabilities to serve one of the country’s fastest-growing areas, the company says.
Commenting on the acquisition, Whiteman said, “We have tremendous respect and admiration for MaryKaye Cashman and her team. Cashman is a very high-performing dealership that has been dedicated to their people, customers and communities for generations.
"We are honored and humbled by the trust MaryKaye and Caterpillar have placed in us. Like Empire, the Cashman organization is full of amazing men and women who are committed to making things better. I’m confident that the new combined team will take the business in both service territories to new levels of client success by building on the industry-leading strengths of both dealerships.”
MaryKaye Cashman, owner, CEO and chairman of Cashman Equipment, added, “Since taking the reins of the company in 1995, I have dedicated my life to Cashman Equipment and our fantastic team, which has done such exceptional work supporting our customers and rallying around me in my unique and new role as the head of a Cat dealership.
"Empire has long had a reputation for excellence among Cat dealers and, as I pursue a new chapter in my life, it is an exciting opportunity for our teams to be able to join forces. I have known the Whiteman family for decades and appreciate not just what their company does but how they have built it – with honesty, respect, and integrity, and with employees and customers always at the center. Our cultures and values share a lot of common ground, and I know that our team members will thrive in this new, combined business that will deliver even more for the customers and communities we serve.”
