Get FinancingWeiler To Acquire Cat’s Purpose-Built Forestry Line
Caterpillar and Weiler, Inc., an equipment manufacturer based in Knoxville, Iowa, recently announced they had reached an agreement whereby Weiler will purchase Cat’s purpose-built forestry product lines. Forestry equipment covered by the deal include Cat’s wheel skidders, track and wheel feller bunchers, and knuckleboom loaders. The manufacture and operations associated with those products, plus a LaGrange, Georgia, plant and warehouse, an Auburn, Alabama, training center, and a Smithfield, North Carolina, legacy Prentice parts distribution center, are all included in the sale, according to Weiler.
A History Of Working Together
Weiler has 340,000 square feet of manufacturing space at its Knoxville facility and has a close affiliation with Caterpillar dating back to the 1990s. The Weiler brand name debuted in 2005 when the company purchased designs for self-propelled road wideners and asphalt windrow elevators from Caterpillar. “We believe that the purpose-built forestry product line is the ideal addition to our current product portfolio,” said Weiler owner and founder Pat Weiler in a press release.
Moving Ahead
According to Weiler, there are about 270 employees currently supporting Caterpillar’s purpose-built forestry business. Weiler plans to retain those employees, with a few Caterpillar employees continuing to support Cat’s forestry excavators and certain existing products.
“We have a proven track record of working with Cat dealers all over the world to respond rapidly to customers with specialized product needs,” said Weiler. “We are confident that our existing product lineup, our flexible manufacturing strategy, and our unrivaled customer focus will differentiate us within the forestry segment.”
Find Quality Used Cat Forestry Equipment
You’ll find hundreds of used Caterpillar forestry machines for sale on ForestryTrader.com, including used Cat skidders, track feller bunchers, and wheel feller bunchers.
Source: Weiler, Inc.