INDUSTRY NEWS
The $1.3 billion sale of Terex’s Mining Business — which includes equipment such as this RH400 hydraulic mining shovel—to Bucyrus International was one of the lynchpins to Terex’s emerging strategy of diversification.
TEREX HITS “RESET” Ron DeFeo talks dogs and bones, about “renew, recommit and reset,” the $1.3 billion Bucyrus sale, Scania engines
BY MIKE BREZONICK Almost since the day Ronald M. DeFeo took over as presi- dent and chief operating offi- cer in 1993, Terex Corp. has been known throughout the industry as a company always on the lookout for a good acquisition. And over the span of more than a decade, Terex par- leyed that acquisitive philosophy into some 39 acquisitions since 1995 and a near-unbroken string of record sales and profits, zooming from rev- enues of $314 million in 1994 to $9.9 billion in 2008. In light of that history — and even though Terex was as battered as any company by the economic tumult of 2009 — the path that DeFeo has steered for Terex over the last several months has been something of a sur- prise, as Terex appeared to shift from big buyer to big seller. That selling spree began with the biggest bang imaginable, when in late December Terex announced the sale of its mining business to Milwaukee, Wis.-based Bucyrus International for $1.3 billion. That blockbuster was fol- lowed in January by three more mod- est deals — Terex’s Genie subsidiary sold its Load King trailer business to Manitex International, then the Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP) seg- ment announced that it was selling its generator set product line to Cummins Power Generation and its Terex power buggy product line to an Ohio equipment dealer. Since then, the industry rumor mill has been buzzing about more of Terex going on the block, with the company’s Roadbuilding division seen by many as the most likely candidate. Yet while the direction of the compa- ny has appeared to change 180°, DeFeo, who has been chairman and chief executive officer of the Westport, Conn.-based manufacturer since 1998, said it’s really nothing more than adapt- ing to the new realities of the business.
