McCormick Macnaughton, holder of the Republic's franchise for Caterpillar construction equipment, has acquired the Northern Ireland business interests of British plant and equipment company Hewden Stuart for €2 million.
The takeover follows the purchase of Hewden Stuart by Finning, the Caterpillar dealer for the UK.
The move sees McCormick Macnaughton add to its outlets in Dublin and Cork and paves the way for further expansion, said managing director Mr Malcolm Macnaughton.
The company plans to expand the range of services offered to its client base over coming months, he said. "In our acquisition of Hewden Stuart's business interests in Northern Ireland, we are seeking to further develop our ability to meet and exceed customer service expectations in this business.
"As the nature of our business changes, so too must we," he said. "It is our goal to offer our customers a total equipment-acquistion solution. Province-wide and country-wide we want to be in a position to provide equipment to our customers as quickly and as efficiently as possible and the Hewden acquisition is another step on the way to achieving this goal."
The Caterpillar rental store network is among the world's largest providers of tool and equipment hire with 1,200 outlets generating annual revenues of over €3 billion.
Caterpillar was established in Illinois, in the United States, 75 years ago and is a Fortune 100 company. In the first half of 2002, Caterpillar posted sales of €9 billion and profits of €262 million. Sales are split 50:50 between the US and the rest of the world.
