The commercial vehicle supplier SAF-Holland has acquired a majority stake in the automatic tire pressure management specialist, PressureGuard LLC, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
This acquisition strengthens SAF-Holland's product portfolio for tire pressure systems in North America and adds a key foundational element in advanced digital SMART products for trailer applications, the company says. In the medium-term, SAF-Holland plans to also offer this system in Europe, China and other sales markets.
SAF-Holland has acquired a 51 percent stake in the manufacturer of tire pressure management systems, PressureGuard, effective January 9, 2019. A purchase option for the remaining outstanding shares in the company was agreed between SAF-Holland and the previous owner, Servitech Industries, Inc. This option may be exercised at a later date. The purchase price for the acquired stake is in the low single-digit million euro range.
PressureGuard's management team will remain with the company in their current roles to support the company's ongoing production, as well as its integration into the SAF-Holland Group.
The PressureGuard tire management system includes several key features such as stainless-steel braided hoses, specialized die cast aluminum hubcaps with protective fins, a patent pending axle vent assembly and patented high-pressure relief capabilities. The non-pressurized axle design can accommodate all industry standard variations in axle configurations, tire sizes, rim types, axle spindle types, hub lubrication options, pressure settings, power and electrical harness options.
SAF-Holland sees PressureGuard's tire pressure management technology as an opportunity to provide a one-stop sourcing approach for fleet managers, giving them a single point of contact and a fully engineered system design that addresses any compatibility issues up front. This approach also simplifies the warranty and after-sale support needed by today's fleets, the company says.
"This acquisition is in line with our strategy of providing complete solutions to our customers and complements our product portfolio of system solutions," said SAF-Holland CEO Detlef Borghardt. "This pre-assembled solution addresses many of the challenges facing fleet managers today and simplifies the ordering, production and customer service processes. By now integrating our own system, we are able to significantly increase the penetration rate of tire pressure management systems in our axle systems. Already today, about 30 percent of all trailers in the US are delivered with this type of system - and the share is growing. Next to North America, we will also offer the system in our other sales markets as of mid-2020. PressureGuard has proven itself in the market with a simple, yet robust design."
SAF-Holland CFO Matthias Heiden adds: "Similar to the acquisition of Axscend in 2018, the acquisition of PressureGuard also focuses on expanding our technological capabilities. PressureGuard's expertise seamlessly integrates with our digital SMART product platform, giving us a compelling solution for tire management systems to offer our customers."
