19.10.2023

Alta acquires in Chicago

North American rental comapny Alta Equipment Group is to acquire Burris Equipment from owners Barry and Debbie Heinrichs and David and Debra Zenner, who plan to retire.

Burris- not to be confused with JW Burris of Roanoke Virginia, which was acquired by H&E Equipment in 2007 – was founded in 1959 and operates from three locations in Illinois, Waukgen, Ingleside and Joliet in the greater Chicago area. It is a Wacker Neuson dealer and runs a rental fleet that includes aerial lifts and telehandlers. The company will continue to trade under the Burris name but will apparently lose the Kubota distribution as a result of the takeover.

The company had revenues of just under $41 million for the 12 months to the end of July, with a net profit of $1.9 million and EBITDA of $4.6 million. Alta is paying $14.0 million in cash for the company. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter.

Alta Chief executive Ryan Greenawalt Siad: “The acquisition of Burris will not only yield immediately accretive returns to shareholders but will also notably enhance our business in Illinois. In addition to adding important infrastructure and industry talent to the Chicago area in our Construction Equipment segment, we also eagerly embrace new OEM relationships stemming from the Burris acquisition, while simultaneously expanding with existing partners to best serve Burris customers. This acquisition will fortify our product support presence and rental capabilities in the market, opening doors for the growth of our high-margin parts and service business. We extend a warm welcome to the Burris team as they become part of the Alta family.”

Since Alta’s initial public offering in 2020 it has completed 15 acquisitions which have contributed $487 million in revenue. It now operates across 75 locations in the USA and Canada, covering Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, Nevada and Florida and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.