MANUFACTURERS NEWS
Morbark to open product support facility
Morbark, recently announced plans to open a product support facility in Conrow, Texas, on June 1. The 10,000-square-foot facility is currently under construction in Airport Industrial Park, 25 minutes north of Houston’s Bush National Airport. The facilities will stock parts for Morbark’s industrial equipment line and will serve customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Holland Group to establish office in China
The Holland Group announced plans April 25 to establish a representative office in Beijing. The office, which will open in June, will oversee relations with Holland’s partner in China, the Corpco Group. It will identify new markets and investment opportunities and will establish a procurement office to source materials for other company divisions. Jeffrey A. Talaga, the current product management team director for Holland, will serve as the managing director for Holland China. He will be based in Beijing.
DEALER WATCH
Ohio Machinery buys western Ohio Cat dealership
Ohio Machinery, the Caterpillar equipment and power source dealerships in eastern Ohio, has purchased the Cat dealer in western Ohio and renamed itself Ohio CAT. The company employs more than 800 people in 16 locations throughout the state. The western Ohio dealership was formerly a division of Holt Cat, based in San Antonio, Texas. Ohio Cat serves most of Ohio and portions of northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana that surround metropolitan Cincinnati.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Leica Geosystems names vice presidents
Leica Geosystems announced April 21 the appointment of two new vice presidents. Jim Naismith was named vice president of sales for the South Central region, which consists of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Rod Eckels was appointed vice president of sales for the Southwest region, which consists of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. Both Naismith and Eckels have extensive experience with surveying technology and sales management.
Navistar’s CEO assumes operative responsibility
Navistar International Corporation announced April 23 that the company’s president and chief executive Daniel C. Ustian had assumed operating responsibility for Navistar’s truck group. According to Navistar, the previous president of the truck group, J. Steven Keate, left the company. Navistar is the parent company of International Truck and Engine Corporation.
Atlas Copco appoints new COO
Atlas Copco recently appointed Tom Zorn as the new chief operational officer for Rental Service, the company’s rental business unit based in the United States. Zorn, who is the current president of the directional marketing division of TMP Worldwide, will begin working in his new position June 16. Rental Service operates three brands — RSC, Prime Industrial and Prime Energy — that serve markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
