U.S. hay and forage equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corp. is expanding its reach in the cattle feeding business with a deal for fellow Iowa firm Schuler Manufacturing.
Vermeer announced Wednesday it purchased Schuler for an undisclosed sum and that Schuler products will still “initially” be sold under the Schuler brand, but with an “intentional transition” to the Vermeer name over time.
Schuler’s product lines include trailed, truck-mounted and stationary TMR (total mixed ration) mixers and hay and bunk style feed wagons.
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The current line-up of Schuler-made TMR mixers and feed wagons will continue to be made at the company’s plant at Griswold in western Iowa, about 65 km east of Council Bluffs, Vermeer said in a release.
Schuler equipment will still be sold through Schuler’s current dealers, Vermeer said, but also through “select Vermeer distribution partners focused on feeding solutions expertise.”
“The addition of Schuler’s feeding equipment strengthens our long-term vision to continually introduce new product innovation for cattle producers across the entire hay and feeding value stream,” Mark Core, executive vice-president for Vermeer Forage Solutions, said in the company’s release.
“For us being a family-run company that’s built high-quality equipment for the cattle industry for more than five decades, joining another family-owned and run company, located in Iowa, simply makes sense,” Schuler president Reggie Schuler said in the same release.
“As we become part of the Vermeer family, we are excited that our team in Griswold will be closely connected to a host of additional resources including manufacturing, engineering, sales and additional distribution so we can reach more producers with our proven solutions.”
Vermeer, which is based at Pella, Iowa, about 60 km east of Des Moines, also announced one of its veteran managers, Louis Norton, will be general manager of the Schuler operation at Griswold.
Several Schuler family members “will continue to play important roles in sales, manufacturing and support areas of the business.” –– Glacier FarmMedia Network
