Capital Equipment News July 2019

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

Bridgestone appoints new CEO

Yanmar acquires ASV Bridgestone South Africa has announced the appointment of Jacques Fourie as CEO of the company, effective 1 July 2019. Fourie replaces Gavin Young, who stepped down on 7 June. Fourie has had a distinguished career at Cummins Rocky Mountain, a lead- ing manufacturer of engineering equipment. “We are delighted that an executive of Jacques Fourie’s calibre and experience will be leading Bridgestone South Africa into the future. His track record speaks for itself, and in particular his expertise in manufacturing will be invaluable as the company repositions itself to take advan- tage of new opportunities,” says Mete Ekin, regional MD for Middle East and Africa at Bridgestone. Fourie’s 14-year career at Cummins started in 2004 as the finance manager for Cummins Southern Africa before transition- ing as finance director for Cummins Africa in 2006. In 2008, he accepted an expatriate as- Yanmar Holdings has announced that it is acquiring ASV Holdings for US$70,7-mil- lion through the mechanism of a statutory merger, a deal it says will be accomplished with “virtually no overlap in distribution networks”. In a statement, Giuliano Parodi, execu- tive officer of Yanmar Holdings, says, “We believe that the Yanmar Group’s acquisition of ASV will significantly bolster Yanmar’s compact equipment offerings in the loader segment, a product range vital for suc- cess in the all-important North American market. “With its highly-skilled workforce and quality CTL/SSL lineup, ASV is a great fit for both Yanmar’s focus on quality, and our growth and expansion plans in the North American and global markets,” says Parodi. The ASV employee base, its manufactur- ing and distribution facility, international distribution and supply chain will create a strong platform for North American expansion and be a key part of Yanmar’s long-term international growth plans, say the two companies. ASV brings its CTL undercarriage technology to Yanmar, which should help it gain sales in the agricul- ture and landscape markets, as well as construction. “The merger will create a strong platform for growth and expansion, bringing together two leading brands with similar cultures and creating value,”

signment and relocated with his family to West Africa as MD for Cummins Ghana. In this role he was responsible for establish- ing the Cummins-owned distributor cover- ing Ghana and neighbouring countries in West Africa. In February 2011, he relocated back to South Africa to assume the role of MD for Cummins Southern Africa, a region covering 11 countries. Later in 2014, he assumed the role of director of sales and marketing for Cummins Africa. Since 2015, he has been based in Den- ver, Colorado in the United States, where he acted as executive vice-president operations, overseeing the manufacturing operations and company-owned branches in eight US states and a mining operation in Mexico. Fourie became president of Cummins Rocky Mountain in June 2017, from which date he also took responsi- bility for the Cummins Mining business segment in the United States, Canada and Mexico. b

Jacques Fourie, newly-appointed CEO of Bridgestone SA.

The combination of ASV’s compact track loaders and skid steer loaders with the compact equipment portfolio of Japan-based Yanmar, creates a powerhouse in the global compact equipment market.

Yanmar says it expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter of 2019 subject to approval by ASV stockholders. The compa- ny will acquire 100% of ASV’s outstanding shares of common stock for US$70,7-mil- lion or US$7,05 per share. b

says Andrew Rooke, chairman and CEO of ASV. “The ASV product is complemen- tary to the Yanmar portfolio of compact equipment creating a comprehensive equipment solution for current and future customers.”

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