Three Truck Equipment Companies Partner to Form Utility and Heavy Equipment Unit

Feb. 2, 2015
Three family-run truck equipment companies, Custom Truck & Equipment, Utility Fleet Sales and Forestry Equipment of Virginia, have partnered with Blackstone to form a new utility and heavy equipment unit called Utility One Source.

Three family-run truck equipment companies, Custom Truck & Equipment, Utility Fleet Sales and Forestry Equipment of Virginia, have partnered with Blackstone to form a new utility and heavy equipment unit called Utility One Source.

Through this partnership, private equity funds managed by Blackstone will provide growth capital for significant additional investment in equipment, innovation and an expanded geographic footprint, which will ensure Utility One Source has the customer-focused solutions the industry requires. Importantly, each company will continue to be family-owned and operated following the investment by Blackstone.

Utility One Source intends to build upon the market positions of each of Custom Truck & Equipment, Utility Fleet Sales and FEVA, while serving as a single source supplier for the utility and heavy equipment industries with a focus on sales, rental equipment, parts, transportation and service.

Leveraging Blackstone’s significant resources and expertise, the platform’s efforts will be coordinated by Chairman Chris Ragot, whose comprehensive operating background includes serving as Group President of Terex, Vice President and General Manager of Ingersoll-Rand Europe, CEO of FreightCar America, CEO of Novariant and CEO of Exopack.

“My family and I are very excited for this opportunity to further grow our business in partnership with Blackstone,” Fred Ross, Custom Truck & Equipment’s President and Owner, said.  “Today’s announcement marks a new chapter for us as we gain a nationwide platform and the capital necessary to better serve our utility, energy and infrastructure customers with innovative solutions for their rental, sales, parts and service needs.”

“We are very excited to be a part of the alignment of three family-owned and operated companies that will be the initial team forming Utility One Source in partnership with Blackstone,” George McMahon, CEO of Utility Fleet Sales, said. “We look forward to continuing to expand Utility One Source and leveraging the expertise of the group to better serve our customers globally.”

“Our partnership with the Utility One Source team and Blackstone represents our strong commitment to the continued growth of the FEVA platform,” Terry Dobyns and Mark Sharman, FEVA’s owners, said. “When looking for an investment firm that would strive to maintain the ‘FEVA Family’ environment for our employees and customers, we found Blackstone to be ideal due to its focus on innovation, our customer's needs and investment for the next generation of growth.”

“We are excited to bring together these three family-run businesses and to provide the capital for the next phase of their growth as part of Utility One Source,” Sean Klimczak, a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, who oversees Blackstone's power, transmission and natural resources investments, said.  “This investment reiterates Blackstone’s strong desire to partner with and invest behind innovative and dynamic companies in the energy and infrastructure sectors to create long-term value for our customers and our investors.”