JCB North America has acquired the business of west coast dealer JCB of Southern California (SoCal) from its current owner, Yale/Chase Equipment and Service Inc., the company announced recently.

The acquisition means JCB will assume responsibility for dealership operations, including the sales and support of JCB construction equipment, to customers in the greater Los Angeles area and neighboring counties. Although much of this area is urban where the primary customers are construction contractors, the JCB dealership does serve some ag customers including orchard growers and fodder growers, notes Damien Mills, general manager of brand marketing communications.

“The company's recent acquisition of the JCB of Southern California dealership allows JCB to build closer relationships with its customers in the southwest, and better understand their unique requirements,” he says. “Orchard growers around Ventura County will have easier access to? the efficiency benefits they can achieve with JCB compact telehandlers, tool-carrier telehandlers and rough terrain forklifts. Similarly, JCB will be better able to meet the demand for its agricultural telehandlers and Fastrac tractors, with fodder growers further inland.”

Davd Hill, vice president of JCB West Coast, said in a news release, the Los Angeles to San Diego corridor “is an important market for JCB in North America.”

Yale/Chase Equipment established the foundation of JCB of SoCal over the last 6 years. The dealer has, in recent years, seen business growth in other areas outside of the JCB brand.

“Building the JCB dealership has been a rewarding challenge,” Roger Ketelsleger, owner and CEO of Yale/Chase Equipment, said in a statement. “The time is right for JCB to bring their passion for the business and knowledge of the region, to take JCB of SoCal to the next level.”

Shortline manufacturers often struggle with finding quality equipment dealers to distribute their product. Other manufacturers who have company-run stores include Krone, Claas and Bobcat. Krone, for instance, runs its own locations in Wisconsin and California.

Claas has also went about expanding in North America by bringing its European distribution networks overseas with them. In 2016, Germany-based dealer group BayWa entered the North American market with Claas in Canada. The manufacturer also reached an agreement that same year with Russian distributor MirTech to expand into the Western Delta region of the U.S.