Rotochopper celebrates 30th anniversary

Rotochopper, St. Martin, Minnesota, announced Dec. 10 that the company is celebrating its 30th year delivering waste grinding solutions. Through Rotochopper’s offerings, companies have been able to find solutions that turn waste materials into profitable end products like colored landscape mulch, animal bedding, compost and more.

According to the company, the history behind the Rotochopper name is about more than manufacturing grinding equipment, it’s about a group of people with a different philosophy toward waste materials and a focus on customer success. The Rotochopper brand began when two companies from different industries joined to manufacture a new kind of recycling equipment. The company’s cofounders, Fred Peltz and Vince Hundt, established Rotochopper’s core values of customer-centricity and “perfect in one pass” engineering that continue to define Rotochopper today.

“For 30 years, the people of central Minnesota—who are Rotochopper—have been inventing and building machines that solve problems,” Hundt says.

The company has expanded its product offerings over the last three decades in response to its customers’ evolving business and operational needs. Today, the company offers horizontal grinders to serve a broad range of materials including not only wood waste, but organic waste, food waste and municipal waste.

“The Rotochopper name means 30 years of working with customers and industry partners who share our vision for profitable, sustainable approaches to waste and recycling. We’ve been fortunate from the beginning to be able to collaborate with people who are committed to exploring new solutions for some big challenges, like green waste and MSW,” Rotochopper COO Jamey Brick says.

“The best is yet to come. We remain excited and ready to build on the legacy that our company founders created. Our team is strong, and the passion, energy and expertise of our people will empower growth and innovation for the next 30 years,” Rotochopper CEO Tosh Brinkerhoff says.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group chosen as preferred bidder for Doosan Infracore

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group (HHIG), Ulsan, South Korea, has announced it has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire Seoul, South Korea-based Doosan Infracore. Once the acquisition process is completed, the group’s affiliate, Hyundai Construction Equipment, combined with Doosan Infracore, will become the No. 5 player in the global construction machinery market, the company says.

Doosan Group selected the HHIG-KDB Investment Consortium as the preferred bidder and reported it to its creditors, including Korea Development Bank. The two sides aim to conclude the main contract after additional negotiations.

HHIG will acquire a 36.07 percent stake in Doosan Infracore, excluding Doosan Bobcat. The acquisition price is said to be in the mid-700 billion won (approximately $640 million) range.

Eagle Crusher adds crushing, screening plant distributor in Georgia

Eagle Crusher, Galion, Ohio, has announced that Hills Machinery Co. will be representing the company as an Eagle Crusher distributor for the full line of Eagle Crusher heavy-duty crushing and screening equipment in Georgia.

According to a news release from Eagle Crusher, Hills Machinery has already represented the company in North Carolina and South Carolina since 2018 as well as Virginia since earlier in 2020 for the recycled concrete, asphalt, aggregate, and sand and gravel industries. Founded in 2007 by brothers Adam and Jim Hills, the company says it is pleased to add Eagle Crusher to its current product offering, including the Eagle Crusher line of heavy-duty impact crushers, portable crushing and screening plants, jaw crushers, hammermills and conveyors.

Hills Machinery has eight locations, including Asheville, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; Greenville, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Greenville, South Carolina.

Husqvarna Group announces acquisition of Blastrac, consolidation of brand portfolio

Husqvarna Group, Sweden, announced its Construction Division has signed an agreement to acquire Blastrac, a provider of surface preparation technologies for the global construction and remediation industry.

“The acquisition of Blastrac strengthens and complements our organic growth ambitions, as we are further expanding into complementary surface preparation solutions. This will enable us to provide customers with a complete range of solutions for any given surface preparation task,” Henric Andersson, president and CEO of Husqvarna Group, says.

According to Husqvarna, the Blastrac product portfolio includes solutions for shot blasting, scarifying, scraping, grinding and polishing, and dust collection. Blastrac’s net sales during last 12 months amounted to approximately $72 million. The company has 380 employees globally with manufacturing and sales offices in North America, Europe and Asia, with sales in more than 80 countries.

“The acquisition aims to further build and expand our offering in the market for surface preparation. Blastrac’s business fits well into our growth strategy and will enable us to expand to our existing and new customers,” Karin Falk, president of Husqvarna’s Construction Division, says. “In addition, the Blastrac team will bring extensive product and market expertise with these complementary solutions.”

In addition to the company’s acquisition of Blastrac, Husqvarna is consolidating its brand portfolio in the surface preparation segment. HTC products, services and solutions will be rebranded as Husqvarna and integrated into the global Husqvarna offering.

Husqvarna acquired HTC in 2017 and has since worked with the two brands in a multi-brand setup.

“With the experience we gained over the past three years, we are convinced that we can better serve our customers and develop the floor grinding industry as a whole by nurturing one strong offering under one strong brand,” says Stijn Verherstraeten, vice president of concrete surfaces and floors at Husqvarna Construction.

HTC products, services and solutions will be available under the Husqvarna brand in early 2021.

“We look forward to offering all HTC and Husqvarna customers a whole new world of options, across both product platforms. I can also reveal that there are several exciting product launches in the pipeline for 2021,” says Verherstraeten.