Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/255289
Industry Beat 16 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | February 2014 Volvo AB, the world's second-largest maker of trucks, agreed to sell its North American construction- equipment rental business to Platinum Equity for $1.1 billion to focus on manufacturing. The disposal of the Volvo Rents unit will result in a $230 million cost in the fourth quarter of 2013 and is targeted for completion in the first three months of next year. In the first nine months of 2013 Volvo Rents had net sales of $475 million and recorded an operating loss of $7.2 million. "We looked at different alternatives to grow Volvo Rents' business and concluded that the best alternative is to sell the operation to another owner. Volvo Rents' business does not have a sufficiently strong connection with the Group's core operation to motivate continued ownership," said Olof Persson, Volvo Group president and CEO. Platinum Equity currently owns Maxim Crane, a full-service provider of crane rental and lifting services. "We have a great deal of experience owning and oper- ating equipment rental businesses and we understand the importance of seamless transitions and long-term operational stewardship," said Louis Samson, the partner who led the transaction team at Platinum Equity. Volvo has more than 130 branches across North America. "We intend to deploy our resources to grow the business organically and through complementary add-on acquisi- tions," said Samson. Volvo to Sell North American Equipment-Rental Business Caterpillar and Trimble to Offer Jobsite Solutions for Mixed Fleets Caterpillar Inc. and Trimble announced new agreements focused on serving customers from project design through completion, with critical technologies and services focused on fleet management and site productivity across a contractor's entire equipment fleet, regardless of brand. Since 2008, Caterpillar and Trimble have expanded their collaboration to bring both fleet management and site produc- tivity solutions to the customer's office and jobsite through the VisionLink suite of applications. With the new agreements, the companies are further investing in their combined commitment to develop these products, expand the range of productivity applications and services, and bring a comprehensive unified fleet solution to the contractor. For Caterpillar, the strategic partnership with Trimble provides a site level, unified fleet focus to the Cat Connect portfolio of products and services. Cat Connect leverages connectivity to more than 250,000 Cat machines globally. These machines can be monitored by customers to improve their fuel consumption, maintenance, productivity and overall fleet availability. "The agreements demonstrate both companies' commitment to providing a brand agnostic information solution to contrac- tors with mixed equipment fleets," said Bryn Fosburgh, vice president responsible for Trimble's construction technology divisions. "This unified fleet solution is enabled by VisionLink, which integrates a wide range of site and machine information elements to give customers a holistic view of their site. It's a powerful tool that unlocks new levels of productivity and improves operation efficiency." (continued on page 18) Louis Samson OSHA Proposes New Rule for Tracking Injuries and Illness The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The first proposed new requirement is for establish- ments with more than 250 employees (and who are already required to keep records) to electronically submit the records on a quarterly basis to OSHA. The second proposed rule would require that establishments with 20 or more employees, in certain industries with high injury and illness rates, be required to submit electroni- cally only their summary of work-related injuries and illnesses to OSHA once a year. OSHA hopes timely, establishment-specific injury and illness data will help OSHA target its compliance assistance and enforcement resources more effectively.