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Toro, Charles Machine Works discuss how the deal for the Ditch Witch brand went down | Dump Truck Company

The wide-eyed talk at the American Rental Association Show was Toro’s acquisition late last week of the Charles Machine Works, parent dump trucks charlotte nc of the Ditch Witch brand.

In a press conference at the ARA Show, the two companies discussed what prompted the buy and how the two companies plan to transition into one company.

About a year and a half ago, a discussion at an Association of Equipment Manufacturers meeting started the process that ended last week when Toro announced that it had bought CMW, says Toro Chairman and CEO Rick Olson. “We basically told them if you’re ever interested… .”

Although CMW had received several offers and inquiries in the past, says Rick Johnson, CMW CEO, “this is the first time we took any of them seriously.”

Johnson continued: “We echo the sentiments about this being an exciting time for both companies. It is a perfect fit.”

But the decision did not come without a great deal of heart searching for the family members, including Tiffany Sewell-Howard, executive chair of CMW, who took over the helm of the company from her grandfather and dump trucks charlotte nc founder Ed Malzhan in 2003.

“The emotional roller coaster of selling the family business that had been in the family for 100 years was at times emotionally gut wrenching,” Johnson made clear. “In the end, this is the right decision, and the future for Charles Machine Works as the ‘Underground Authority’ is bright.”

“Our intention is to manage all the brands of both the Charles Machine Works, including Ditch Witch, and the Toro brands in a dual-brand strategy, “ says Rick Rodier, Toro vice president and general manager who will be assuming responsibilities for former CMW products in the transition. “There’s no intention of taking current models away or making a model that is currently orange red and vice versa. We’re thrilled to add Ditch Witch and the other brands to our portfolio of brands.”

“It was an up and down process for the Malzahn family,” admits Johnson, “but in the end they stood together, we feel that the Toro dump trucks charlotte nc could take it to a level that we probably couldn’t on our own in terms of access to capital and talent. We feel like this is the next chapter of Ditch Witch and Charles Machine Works.”

Reaching out to dealers

CMW reached out to its dealer network via a conference call the Friday morning of the announcement, Johnson tells Equipment World. “They told us that they knew it probably was going to happen someday and they were glad we picked someone who need more distribution,” Johnson says.

Following the conference call, dump trucks charlotte nc executives also called each dealer individually to hear concerns about such things as dealer discounts and warrantees.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of July, which is also the end of Toro’s fiscal third quarter.

Our parent company, Charles Machine Works, has agreed to be acquired by The Toro Company. Our plant is staying right here in Perry, Oklahoma, and will become Toro’s largest manufacturing facility worldwide. #DitchWitch#StillOrangehttps://t.co/jVQN7l3JCg

— Ditch Witch (@ditchwitch) February 15, 2019

In an analyst’s call on Friday, Rick Olson, chairman and CEO of Toro said that CMW and Toro had similar sales mix, with approximately 75 percent of sales domestically and 25 percent internationally. “One of the things that matches up well between the two companies is the value placed on relationships with channel partners,” Olson said. The importance of dealers to success of dump trucks charlotte nc was conveyed “very early on” and offers “great alignment with how we feel about our channel as well,” Olson said.

CMW has a strong Ditch Witch brand presence in its dealer network, with dealers are typically identified as “Ditch Witch of [location].” According to the company, Ditch Witch dealers operate in 175 locations in more than 100 countries.

Olson also said that current Ditch Witch CEO Rick Johnson would stay on board but will “transition his responsibilities” as a Toro person becomes responsible for the CMW brands.

Product mix of Toro, Ditch Witch

Toro Dingo TX 1000 compact utility loader

In examining the data from the 2018-19 Equipment World Spec Guide, it’s clear that the CMW buy gives Toro depth in both directional drills and trenchers, while Toro has strength in compact utility loaders, also called compact toolcarriers. Toro celebrated the 20thyear of the Dingo line with the introduction of Dingo TXL 2000 at last year’s American Rental Association show.

The Ditch Witch SK line of compact utility loaders, however, is popular with Ditch Witch dealers.

Toro DD2226

In directional drills, Toro offers just two models: the 22,000-pound max pullback DD2226 and the 40,000-pound max pullback DD4050, introduced at the ICUEE show in 2013 and after the dump trucks charlotte nc bought the vibratory plow, trencher and small horizontal drill lines of Astec Underground from Astec Industries in 2012. Later in 2012, CMW bought the American Augers brand from Astec Industries, which gave it models above 100,000 pounds max pullback, The dump trucks charlotte nc currently offers models ranging from 5,000 to 1.1 million pounds max pullback.

The two companies have competed the longest in trenchers, where Toro has five models ranging from 16 to 121 horsepower. CMW’s offering was broadened by its acquisition of Trencor brand, also part of the 2012 buy from Astec,  and the dump trucks charlotte nc now offers trenchers ranging from 11.7 horsepower to 950 horsepower.

Below are the comparison specs for Toro’s and CMW’s offerings in directional drills, compact utility loaders and trenchers from the 2018-19 Equipment World Spec Guide. (Note: Due to publication date, It does not include models introduced in the last five months of 2018.)

Directional Drills

MakeModelMax pullback (lbs)Max thrust (lbs)Unit length of drill pipe (ft/in)Operating weight (lbs)
Up to <10,000 lbs
pullback
Ditch WitchJT55,0004,1004′ 9″3,690
10,000 to <20,000
lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT1010,0009,0006′ 0″7,100
20,000 to <30,000
lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT2020,00017,00010′ 0″11,890
ToroDD222622,00022,00010′9,485
Ditch WitchJT2527,00027,0009′ 8″20,200
30,000 to <40,000
lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT3030,00024,8009′ 8″22,575
Ditch WitchJT30 All Terrain30,00024,8009′ 8″22,655
40,000 to <55,000
lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT4040,00040,00015′ 0″28,750
Ditch WitchAT40 All Terrain40,00040,00015′ 0″21,600
ToroDD405040,00040,00010′21,620
55,000 to
<100,000 lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT6060,00060,00015′ 0″31,250
Ditch WitchJT60 All Terrain60,00060,00015′ 0″31,250
100,000 to
<200,000 lbs pullback
Ditch WitchJT100100,00070,00014′ 8″45,300
Ditch WitchJT100 All Terrain100,00070,00014′ 1″47,260
American AugersDD-110110,000110,00020′ 0″47,000
200,000 to
<500,000 lbs pullback
American AugersDD-240T240,000240,00034′ 0″84,600
American AugersDD-440T440,000440,00034′ 0″95,400
500,000 lbs pullback
and over
American AugersDD-660RS660,000660,00034′ 0″100,300
American AugersDD-1100 RS1,100,0001,100,00034′ 0″113,000

Compact Utility Loaders

MakeModelStandard operating load at 50% of
tipping load (lbs)
Rated operating load (lbs)Tipping load, standard (lbs)Gross power (hp)Operating weight (lbs)
up to <601 lbs
standard operating load @ 50% of tipping load
Toro323 Dingo5155151,030231,567
Toro320D Dingo5245241,048201,722
601 to <801 lbs
standard operating load @ 50% of tipping load
ToroTX 427 Narrow Track7655351,530251,882
ToroTX 427 Wide Track7655351,530251,990
ToroTX 525 Narrow Track7905531,58023.31,904
ToroTX 525 Wide Track7905531,58023.32,013
801 to <976 lbs
standard operating load @ 50% of tipping load
Ditch WitchSK6008636001,72524.82,418
976 to 1,500 lbs
standard operating load @ 50% of tipping load
Ditch WitchSK8001,2338602,46524.82,926
ToroTX 1000 Narrow Track1,4281,0002,85724.92,610
>1,500
lbs standard operating load @ 50% of tipping load
Ditch WitchSK10501,5181,0623,03536.93,435
ToroTX 1000 Wide Track1,5351,0753,07124.92,790
Ditch WitchSK15502,2251,5584,45043.53,990

Trenchers

MakeModelGross engine power (hp)Operating weight (lbs)Max cutting depth (ft/in)Cutting width, min-max (in)
Under 14 gross hp
Ditch WitchC12X11.71,3602′ 0″4″ – 6″
Ditch WitchC1413.51,1912′ 0″4″ – 6″
14 to <18 gross
hp
Ditch WitchC16161,5282′ 6″4″ – 6″
Ditch WitchC16X161,8953′ 0″4″ – 6″
ToroTRX-16161,1004′ 0″6″
18 to <40 gross
hp
Ditch WitchC24X221,9153′ 0″4″ – 6″
ToroTRX-26261,2484′ 0″8″
Ditch WitchZahn R300 2WD301,0483′ 0″4″ – 8″
Ditch WitchZahn R300 4WD301,2904′ 0″4″ – 12″
Ditch WitchC30X312,1004′ 0″4″ – 6″
ToroProSneak 36535.52,9303′ 6″4″ – 6″
Ditch WitchST37X374,1103′ 0″6″ – 16″
40 to <51 gross
hp
Ditch WitchRT4548.85,3755′ 3″6″ – 12″
51 to <76 gross
hp
Ditch WitchRT556212,0005′ 2″6″ – 12″
ToroRT600658,5006′ 0″6″ – 16″
Ditch WitchRT807420,3707′ 8″6″ – 24″
Ditch WitchRT80 Quad7419,1005′ 2″6″ – 24″
76 to <130 gross
hp
Ditch WitchRT10510722,0008′ 1”6″ – 24″
Ditch WitchRT12512122,0008′ 1”6″ – 24″
Ditch WitchRT125 Quad12127,2007′ 9”6″ – 24″
ToroRT120012113,7507′ 0″6″ – 16″
300 to <400 gross
hp
TrencorT106035090,000 – 110,00012′ 0″12″ – 36″
TrencorT106037590,000 – 110,00012′ 0″12″ – 36″
400 to <600 gross
hp
TrencorT13475127,000 – 173,00018′ 0″16″ – 48″
TrencorT13509127,000 – 173,00018′ 0″16″ – 48″
600 hp & over
TrencorT14617236,000 – 278,00020′ 0″28″ – 54″
TrencorT14630236,000 – 278,00020′ 0″28″ – 54″
TrencorT16950240,000 – 320,00030′ 0″28″ – 60″
TrencorT17950246,000 – 326,00030′ 0″28″ – 72″