Husqvarna to buy Blastrac

Husqvarna Group’s Construction division is to acquire Blastrac, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of surface preparation equipment. The price has not been disclosed.

Blastrac, privately owned and based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, produces equipment for shot blasting, scarifying, scraping, grinding and polishing, and dust collection. It reported sales of SEK 600 million (€59 million) for the last 12 months and has 380 employees.

Many of the smaller machines in the Blastrac range are popular with rental companies.

“The acquisition of Blastrac strengthens and complements our organic growth ambitions, as we are further expanding into complementary surface preparation solutions”, said Henric Andersson, President and CEO, Husqvarna Group, ”This will enable us to provide customers with a complete range of solutions for any given surface preparation task.”

The two companies aim to complete the acquisition by the end of 2020.

Karin Falk, President of Husqvarna’s Construction Division, said; ”Blastrac’s business fits well into our growth strategy and will enable us to expand to our existing and new customers. In addition, the Blastrac team will bring extensive product and market expertise with these complementary solutions.”

In July, Blastrac announced a consolidation of three of its business units, covering its Blastrac, Diamatic and Cyclone Technology products. Under the reorganisation, its three brands remained but marketing, training, engineering and sales support functions were combined.

Husqvarna Group’s products include outdoor power products for forest, park and garden care. Its brands include Husqvarna, Gardena, McCulloch, Poulan Pro, Weed Eater, Flymo, Zenoah and Diamant Boart.