Equipment company acquires the competition

Bushman Equipment, a manufacturer of custom engineered heavy-duty material-handling equipment, has acquired Avon Engineering, a company that competes with Bushman in providing a line of overhead-crane-related material-handling equipment.
Ralph Deger, president of Bushman, says the two companies sport a complimentary nature and rarely compete directly because of each company's geographic focus. Avon (www.avonengineering.com) is well-established in the Canadian steel industry, while Bushman's markets lie primarily in the United States and Mexico.
As a result of the acquisition, each company adds to the other's capability to serve the material-handling needs of steel mills, paper mills and other heavy industries. Bushman (www.bushman.com) will introduce its West Bend line of lift tables, upenders, load inverters and mold carts into the Canadian market. Similarly, Bushman will aggressively market Avon's line of coil-packaging equipment in the United States.