Linamar Corp., a company best known for producing parts and components for the auto sector, is making moves to establish itself as a significant player in the ag equipment manufacturing business as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). In April, it announced it had purchased the Salford Group, a well-known tillage and application equipment manufacturer first established in 1978 and now based in Ontario.
However, while Linamar may not be a name familiar to many farmers, it isn’t new to ag equipment manufacturing. From 1990 to 1996, Frank Hasenfratz, who was the owner of Linamar Corp. until his death in January, owned Portage la Prairie-based Western Combines Corp. That firm was formed to manufacture Massey-designed combines, after the rights for them had been purchased from Massey Combines Corp. following its bankruptcy. (Massey Combines Corp. had been spun off from Massey Ferguson earlier in the 1980s to stave off bankruptcy.) Western continued building those combine designs under its own name mainly for export.
In 1996, the new owner of Massey Ferguson, AGCO Corp., decided it wanted to bring Massey combines back into the fold and Western agreed to a deal, which returned ownership of Massey Combines back to their original parent company.
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Recently, Linamar has turned its attention back to the ag equipment sector. Four years ago, it made a major investment by purchasing Winnipeg-based MacDon. And since then, the company has been manufacturing corn and sunflower combine headers under the MacDon brand and Linamar’s Oros division for Eastern Europe.
The Salford purchase expands Linamar’s product range and adds yet another brand to its ag portfolio.
“Agriculture and food is a key element of our Linamar 2100 strategic roadmap, which was first outlined following our acquisition of MacDon in 2018,” said Jim Jarrell, Linamar’s president and COO. “Through MacDon, we already have an established market-leading position in the harvesting segment. Tillage and crop nutrition are a natural complement to that product portfolio, which will allow us to accelerate sales of all products. Combining Linamar’s scaled resources and global reach with Salford’s leading reputation will drive value creation for all stakeholders.”
“This is an exciting and important acquisition for Linamar,” added Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar’s executive chair and CEO. “Salford has a strong portfolio of differentiated products in the crop nutrition application and tillage segments. These are areas we had identified in our agriculture growth strategy as highly attractive segments for future product diversification.”
The deal will see Linamar pay $260 million for full ownership of Salford.
Following the sale, Salford Group will continue with its established manufacturing and distribution network, and the Salford brand will remain unchanged as well. Its headquarters will also remain in Salford, Ontario.
Linamar also owns and manufactures Skyjack brand equipment for the construction sector, making scissor lifts and telehandlers.
As a major company, Linamar now employs about 26,000 employees worldwide, operating 60 manufacturing plants on four continents with annual revenue in 2021 hitting about $6.5 billion. Salford’s 33 R&D engineers will be added to those in the 11 R&D centres Linamar already operates.
It seems clear the broad reach of Linamar’s operations and sales networks will probably allow Salford to grow substantially.
