Doosan to buy Bobcat
Ingersoll Rand announced July 30 an agreement to sell its Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments business units to Doosan Infracore for cash proceeds of approximately $4.9 billion. The company expects the sale to close early in the 2007 fourth quarter.
The combined businesses manufacture and sell compact equipment, including skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, compact excavators and telescopic tool handlers; portable air compressors, generators, and light towers and general-purpose light construction equipment and attachments. For full-year 2006 the businesses collectively generated approximately $2.6 billion in revenues.
The sale includes manufacturing facilities in Gwinner and Bismarck, North Dakota; Carrollton, Georgia; Litchfield, Minnesota; Petersburg, Virginia; Wujiang, China; Dobris, Czech Republic; Lyon and Pontchateau, France; Slane, Ireland and Tredegar, Wales. The businesses employ approximately 5,700 people worldwide.
“The sale of Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments represents the last major action to transform our business portfolio to reposition Ingersoll Rand as a diversified industrial company,” says Herbert L. Henkel, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We are pleased that the Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments businesses will join a major global organization intent on expanding its participation across worldwide construction and related markets. These businesses complement Doosan’s existing product line, extend its presence in key geographic regions and provide Doosan core business platforms upon which to grow.”
Henkel says this transaction and the recent sale of the Road Development business in April will generate gross proceeds of more than $6.2 billion.
~ Amy Materson
English-Spanish cards aid jobsite communication
Landscaping companies that employ non-English-speaking Hispanic employees can benefit from the new “Say-It Language Card for Landscaping.” Because safety, efficiency and quality are landscapers’ priorities and language classes are often not a practical solution, author Michael Berman came up with a simpler approach for the Hispanic workforce to learn basic jobsite English.
The language card is an accordion-style folding card compact enough to fit in a pocket or glove box. It is well organized for easy use and made durable with laminated heavy stock paper. The card is full color and comes with an audio CD for practicing and to help workers with limited literacy skills.
The card and CD cover key topics such as safety and job rules, greetings and communication basics, common tools and materials and cleaning up. It also has special sections for grounds maintenance, plants and shrubs, installations, nursery work and equipment maintenance.
The “Say-It Language Card for Landscaping” is $15.95. For more information, call (800) 313-7476 or visit www.Say-It.com. The Web site also features free dual-language safety posters and tips on how to implement the language cards into your business.
~ Christina Jesson
Clippings
Green roofs conference calls for papers
The 2008 Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conference, awards and trade show is accepting abstracts for papers to be presented at the conference April 30-
May 2 in Baltimore, Maryland. Green roof designers and researchers are encouraged to participate by completing a submission form, which includes a 300-word abstract and a 50-word biography, by Sept. 30. Submission forms are available online at www.greenroofs.org/baltimore.
Kichler launches new landscape lighting Web site
Kichler Lighting has created a new landscape Web site, www.landscapelighting.com, to provide a resource for industry professionals and their customers. The site features dozens of tools, expanded information and images for all Kichler landscape products. Users can browse the entire landscape product line by product number, family name or product type. The site also features industry resources to connect users to professional associations, Kichler contractor programs, software downloads and other business tools.
BASF, FarmLinks to market chemical products
BASF Turf and Ornamentals has entered into a marketing partnership with FarmLinks to showcase its products at a unique research facility. Through this partnership, BASF will research and test its products at the FarmLinks golf course, which has already begun using BASF products such as Curalan EG, Emerald, Insignia and Trinity fungicides, Basagran T/O, Drive, Pendulum and Pendulum Aqua Cap herbicides and Amdro Pro fire ant bait.
University of Tennessee offers masters in landscape architecture
In 2008, the University of Tennessee will provide three options for advanced degrees in landscape architecture in the state, including the Master of Landscape Architecture professional degree, the Master of Arts in Landscape Architecture and the Master of Science in Landscape Architecture. The deadline to apply is February 1, 2008. For more information or to apply, contact Tracy Moir-McClean at (865) 974-5265 or at [email protected].
