UK equipment dealer, Molson Group, acquires Powerscreen of Washington, a market-leading material processing equipment supplier

Molson Group, the UK’s leading independent equipment dealer with a turnover of £350 million, has completed a deal to acquire US-based equipment dealers, Powerscreen of Washington who operate in State of California, Hawaii and Nevada.

A key factor in the acquisition is Molson’s Smart Platform, which Molson has developed specifically to run equipment businesses. With its ERP system, multi-brand e-commerce sales module, data analysis portal and training academy elements, Smart Platform allows dealers to achieve significant operational efficiencies with immediate effect.

Robin Powell, group Managing Director of Molson Group, says that the acquisition is significant not only because it’s Molson’s first international acquisition, providing significant growth opportunities, but because both Powerscreen of Washington (and its equipment partner Terex) recognize the value of Smart Platform. “We created this platform to run equipment dealer businesses smoothly and efficiently, allowing smaller businesses, who would not have the capital to develop their own systems, access to a tech platform that has been developed specifically for equipment businesses with all their peculiarities and variations.

“Powerscreen of Washington was keen to maintain its individuality and way of working, whilst benefiting from acquisition by a larger group like Molson: this is possible because of our technology platform.” Powell says that the Powerscreen of Washington product range will evolve to mirror the 360° approach that has been so successful at Molson but through gradual, collaborative change.

Powell adds that Molson Group was in a unique position to develop this industry-changing platform, as it has the benefit of both scale (as £350m turnover business) and agility, since Molson is independent, with no legacy systems in place or dominant supplier imposing their own systems, as can be case with larger equipment businesses. He says: “This platform gives us unique leverage to buy companies and consolidate the sector. We are excited by what this means for the future of Molson Group and for the sector as a whole.” Further acquisitions are expected for Molson in the US, leveraging the IT platform, and launching a new phase of growth for the Group.

The Powerscreen of Washington leadership team is also excited by the opportunity for growth and expanded resources that the Molson acquisition will bring, whilst allowing the organisation to remain largely unchanged, and strengthen even further its commitment to industry-leading customer support.

Paul Campbell, Owner and Director of Powerscreen of Washington, says: “For almost 40 years, my company reputation has been built on the diligence of our people and close relationships with our customers. Molson Group is a highly respected and progressive dealership and there are clear synergies between our organizations. We believe this presents us with a tremendous opportunity to build upon our strong legacy.

“I’m very excited for the future direction and the growth expectations for the business and allows us to maintain the business personality and ethos.”

Molson is already an established supplier of Terex products in the UK, and this strategic expansion to represent the manufacturing giant in the US further strengthens the relationship with Terex.

Kieran Hegarty, President – Terex Materials Processing commented: “The Molson Group is already a valued Terex partner, with distribution rights for other Terex lines in Great Britain. This acquisition allows us to strengthen our relationship with this vibrant and progressive business. We are particularly excited with the benefits that this acquisition will bring, both for our customers in the States of California, Hawaii and Nevada and for our business. Synergies within the existing Molson organisation will provide the depth required to consolidate the excellent growth experienced by the Powerscreen of California in recent years and will guarantee industry leading customer support.”