Buhler Industries has purchased Ezee-On Manufacturing, a builder of tillage and seeding equipment in Vegreville, Alta., for $14.5 million.
The deal will push Buhler towards its goal of manufacturing a full-line of agricultural equipment, said Dmitry Lyubimov, Buhler president, in a news release.
“Our goal is to be able to offer a complete line of equipment to large acre growers in North America and around the world. Tillage and seeding equipment is essential for that growth.”
Ezee-On manufactures air carts, air drills, tandem and offset discs, cultivators, plows, front-end loaders and post drivers, employing 70 people at its Vegreville plant.
Buhler bought Ezee-On Manufacturing from TerraVest Income Fund, which owns oil and gas service companies, a home furnishing company and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchanges
Ezee-On sells its machinery to Canadian, U.S. and Australian producers.
“We’ve been in the Australian market for 15 years,” said Trevor Jubinville, Ezee-On sales manager.
Adam Reid, Buhler Industries marketing manager, said Buhler was looking to acquire, or partner with, a seeding and tillage manufacturer for more than a year.
“We met many companies… and it turned out this was the one that was the best fit.”
Ezee-On, which has manufactured agricultural equipment for more than 50 years, had a previous association with Buhler’s best-known brand, Versatile.
In the 1970s, Ezee-On and Versatile Farm Equipment formed a partnership to market a line of discs.
Buhler said it intends to further develop the machinery built at the Vegreville plant, to “meet the growing demands of the Versatile and Farm King dealer network.”
Reid said Buhler’s Versatile and Farm King brands would eventually replace the Ezee-On name.
“There will be products from the Ezee-On family that become Versatile and products that become Farm King.”
