Dexter has agreed to a deal to acquire the heavy-duty axle and suspension manufacturing assets of Ingersoll Axles, along with the light-duty axle manufacturing assets of Standen’s from the IMT Group, parent group DexKo announced Wednesday (Jan. 5).
DexKo announced last week that the company intended to make the acquisition, but had yet to ink an official deal.
Ingersoll Axles is a supplier of specialized heavy duty trailer axles and suspensions across North America for over 55 years. Along with the deal, Dexter acquires manufacturing locations in Ingersoll, Ontario; Calgary, Alberta; and Indianapolis, Ind.
“We are excited to continue to expand our DexKo business. With Ingersoll Axles, we get a great team, a stronger position in Canada, introduction to new markets with highly engineered products and new suspension technologies that will provide a foundation to increase our market leading performance,” DexKo CEO Fred Bentley said. “We have completed four acquisitions in four countries in the last quarter where all fit perfectly in our customer and product portfolios."
“This acquisition will broaden our ability to service the Specialty Heavy Duty Trailer Market,” President and CEO of Dexter Adam Dexter said. “The additional manufacturing capacity in Canada will bring us closer to our customers and will help us to improve our overall service.”
The immediate focus is to concentrate on enriching employee welfare by providing a safe, productive workplace while adopting Dexter’s philosophy of world class customer service producing quality, dependable products.
“We have bought running gear components from Dexter for several decades, so we understand and appreciate their quality reputation. The opportunity to utilize the Dexter distribution network to expand our business was very enticing in this deal,” said Dean Davenport, president of The Transportation Group of the IMT Group. “This will allow us to grow our business with the backing of the industry leader. I am confident that this will be a smooth transition for both our customers and employees.”
DexKo Global and Dexter are majority owned by a fund managed by The Sterling Group, an operationally-focused middle market private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, with $2.2 billion of assets under management.