Builtrite adds Lemco Hydraulics to its portfolio

Minnesota equipment firm acquires fellow material handling equipment maker, also based in Minnesota.


Two Harbors, Minnesota-based Builtrite Holdings LLC has acquired Hill City, Minnesota-based Lemco Hydraulics, a designer and producer of truck-mounted and stationary material handlers and a line of material handling attachments.

The acquisition positions Builtrite as the provider of its own branded equipment for the recycling and waste sectors, plus the Lemco line and the line of scrap material handling attachments made by Wisconsin-based SAS Forks, which was acquired by Builtrite in 2017.

Lemco, was founded in 1967 by Dean Christensen and is now managed by his son Bruce Christensen, who will continue to serve as Lemco’s president, according to Builtrite’s announcement of the acquisition. Lemco products are marketed and sold to the solid waste and recycling; forestry, logging and saw mill; municipal services; utilities; mining; and other sectors.

Bill Van Sant, executive chair and CEO of Builtrite, says the combination of the two brands “will ensure that customers across a broad spectrum of markets will have access to a full suite of complementary and advanced products. Further the new entity will leverage its integrated and long-established channels-to-markets so to ensure both existing and new customers will have an attractive alternative for purchasing advanced material handling products.”

Builtrite says it plans to increase and allocate manufacturing capacity at its Two Harbors factory so it can produce both Lemco and Builtrite products there. The increase in manufacturing capacity will fulfill an expected growth in revenue as the new Lemco-Builtrite Alliance gains traction and market share, according to the firm.