Industry Beat
Industry Beat December 2009 Construction Equipment Distribution www.cedmag.com 15 Foley Equipment Acquires Martin Tractor Co. Martin was the oldest Caterpillar dealership in the country. Foley Equipment Co. acquired Martin Tractor Co., effective Nov. 2, 2009. With this acquisition, Foley has added 50 counties and 17 loca-tions and is now the Caterpillar and Challenger dealership for all of Kansas except Doniphan, Atchison, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, and Cherokee counties. Foley is also a dealer for AGCO, AgChem and Trimble as well as a number of other manu-facturers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Together the two dealers have a combined total of 165 years of equipment experience. We are excited to have closed the acquisition in order to begin collabo-rating resources to deliver even better and more comprehensive customer service throughout Kansas, said Ann Konecny, president and CEO of Foley Equipment Company. Martin Tractor originated in 1911 when brothers Fred P. Martin and Charles H. Martin purchased a foundry and machine shop in Ottawa. The busi-ness became a dealer for Holt Manu-facturing in 1920. Martin Tractor sold the first track-type tractor in Kansas. When Holt merged with Best Co. to form Caterpillar Inc. in 1925, Martin Tractor carried the new company's products, making it the second-oldest Caterpillar dealership in the world. Martin Tractor opened a Topeka loca-tion in 1928, which became the home office in 1935. Study Details Employment Losses in the Distribution Channel A study conducted by IHS Global Insights for AED and the Associated Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) details job losses not only among manufacturers, but also within the distribution channel and in the main-tenance/repair sector. Within distribu-tion, an estimated 142,500 jobs are expected to be lost over the peak-to-trough basis, or roughly 50 percent of employees. Within the maintenance/ repair sector, 30 percent of jobs will be lost. Equipment manufacturers will lose 56 percent of their workforce, peak to trough. At the AED/AEM Start Us Up USA! rally held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, more than 5,500 orange flags were on display, each one representing 100 jobs already lost in the construction equipment industry. The grassroots movement is urging Congress to take action on pending highway legislation. (continued on page 16) The acquisition adds 17 locations to Foley's reach across Kansas.