Wacker Neuson celebrates 50 years in Canada
By Wacker Neuson
News Supplier storiesMay 2, 2016 - In 1967, the Wacker organization opened its Canadian affiliate company in Mississauga, Ontario; the 10th affiliate to open in as many years. Market acceptance of Wacker’s innovative soil compaction and concrete consolidation products grew quickly from its first introduction to the North American market in the late 1950s in the United States. The family-owned Wacker Construction Equipment based out of Munich, Germany recognized the potential of the Canadian construction market and opened the new business in April 1967 outside of Toronto. The merger between Wacker Construction Equipment AG and Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen in 2007 (10 years ago) created a new Wacker Neuson brand along with one of the largest equipment portfolios in the world.
The company’s roots date back to 1848 in a blacksmith shop in Dresden, Germany. In 1930, the company introduced the mechanical soil compaction to the world with the first electric powered rammer. This revolutionary tool saved contractors a great deal of time and labor on the jobsite. In 1945, Dresden was devastated by World War II and so was the Wacker business. Two brothers, Peter and Hermann Wacker moved to Munich, Germany and started the business from scratch.
Canada developed into one of the G7 industrialized nations in the post war period and economic expansion was rapid, particularly in the industrial heartland areas of Ontario and Quebec. The Wacker family recognized the opportunity to establish the brand in Canada – a brand that would grow over the next 50 years.
Early acceptance of the compaction products, particularly rammers and reversible plates helped the business get to a fast start. True to the Wacker way of doing business, products were brought to the job site for contractors to experience firsthand. The Wacker brand continued to gain market recognition with the help of a 53-foot demonstration trailer filled with equipment that traveled coast to coast, stopping a construction sites so contractors could operate the equipment.
In recent years, after developing a market leading share in compaction equipment, Wacker Neuson Canada’s growth was fueled by an emerging line of portable and temporary power generation products. The 2006 acquisition of Ground Heaters, Inc. immediately bolstered market opportunity and sales performance for the affiliate. Since the 2007 merger which created the Wacker Neuson brand, the company’s line of excavators, wheel loaders, dumpers and most recently skid steers is making an impression on not only the construction market, but also in landscape, agriculture, municipal and industrial applications.
For more information
www.wackerneuson.com
Print this page
Leave a Reply