VERGENNES/WAUKESHA, Wis. — Generac Holdings Inc., a designer and manufacturer of power generation equipment and other engine-powered products, announced this week the Aug. 1 acquisition of Country Home Products Inc. and its subsidiaries, according to a company press release.
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Vergennes, Country Home Products manufactures power equipment used for property maintenance. Primarily sold in North America under the DR and Neuton brand names, CHP employs more than 200 people in its headquarters and in Charlotte and Winooski facilities.
Generac President and CEO Aaron Jagdfeld said, in the press release, the acquisition made sense for his suburban Milwaukee company.
“Acquiring Country Home Products is a great strategic fit for Generac’s business and is perfectly aligned with our Powering Ahead strategic objective of diversifying our end markets with new products and services,” said Jagdfeld.
“This acquisition dramatically expands our chore-related products line-up and will provide additional scale to our residential engine-powered tools platform. We believe this transaction should create meaningful cross-selling opportunities with our existing distribution and should also generate certain cost synergies as we leverage our existing global sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.”
The Independent could not reach CHP President Joe Perrotto before Wednesday’s deadline for comment on how or if the acquisition would affect CHP’s Vermont operations and employees, and how “cost synergies” would be achieved. According to the press release, CHP’s “management team will continue to lead the business going forward, and the DR and Neuton brand names will join Generac’s family of brands in serving a broad, global customer base.”
In the Generac press release, Perrotto called the deal “a very exciting transaction” for CHP.
“It will open up even larger markets for sales of DR, Neuton and Generac products both in the U.S. and globally, and will also create meaningful opportunities to improve our product costs and ultimately the value we bring to our customers,” Perrotto said. “We are pleased to join the Generac family and look forward to our continued success as we work together to drive growth and bring exceptional products, service, and value to the markets we serve.”
The purchase price and other terms of the acquisition were not announced. According to the press release, Generac intends to provide additional comments regarding this acquisition on Thursday, when the company is set to release its second quarter 2015 financial results and hold a conference call.
According to the press release, since 1959, Generac has been a “designer and manufacturer of a wide range of power generation equipment and other engine-powered products.
“As a leader in power equipment serving residential, light commercial, industrial, oil and gas, and construction markets, Generac’s power products are available globally through a broad network of independent dealers, distributors, retailers, wholesalers and equipment rental companies, as well as sold direct to certain end user customers.”
CHP’s DR and Neuton products include field and brush mowers, chippers and shredders, trimmers, leaf vacuums, stump grinders, log splitters and battery-powered lawn mowers.