2018 International Forest Industries IFI Feb March 2018 Digital | Page 17

LOGGING & BIOMASS NEWS
Komatsu to acquire Quadco & Southstar operations
On January 26, 2018, Komatsu Ltd.
(President & CEO: Tetsuji Ohashi)
signed an agreement to acquire
from Prenbec Equipment Inc. (CEO:
Charles MacLennan), a company
based in Quebec, Canada, the
Quadco and Southstar forestry
attachment operations, excluding
the forestry equipment businesses
of Tanguay and Forespro delimbers.
The acquisition will be made
through a wholly owned subsidiary
of Komatsu in the United States
and is expected to close in February
2018, subject to completion of the
closing conditions.
By adding the Quadco felling
heads and Southstar large
harvester heads to the existing
lines of Log Max and Komatsu
small and medium-sized harvester
heads, Komatsu will become
an industry leader in forestry
attachments.
This will allow Komatsu to
offer its customers a full range of
forestry attachments. Quadco and
Southstar will continue to operate
as independent companies within
the Komatsu group following the
completion of the acquisition and
will maintain their existing sales
networks.
In order to offer improved value
to customers, a forestry attachment
division within Komatsu Forest AB
will be formed, which will manage
the Quadco, Southstar, and Log
Max brands.
Komatsu anticipates that this
acquisition will have no material
impact on its consolidated
business results and performance
for the current fiscal year ending
March 31, 2018.
1. Background and Objective
of the Acquisition
In April 2016, Komatsu launched a
three-year mid-range management
plan (2016-2018) under the slogan
“Together We Innovate GEMBA
Worldwide –Growth Toward Our
100th Anniversary (2021) and
Beyond”. In line with this plan,
Komatsu decided to make this
acquisition and expand its forestry
attachment business.
Forestry attachments are
classified into two categories: the
Cut to Length (CTL) method, which
involves the use of a harvester and
forwarder and is popular in Europe,
and the Full Tree Length (FTL)
logging method, which involves the
use of a felling head attached to a
base-machine and a skidder, which
is popular in North America.
The global market for forestry
machines, including forestry
attachments, is continuing to grow
at a rapid rate. It is anticipated that
there will be particular growth in
the North American market, where
FTL is the dominant method.
2. Method of the Acquisition
Komatsu will acquire the forestry
attachment operations of the
Quadco and Southstar brands
through a wholly owned subsidiary.
October 17-19, 2018
Portland, Oregon
For full details please visit
www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com
International Forest Industries | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018 15