MV Commercial acquires Fruehauf

Specialist truck provider MV Commercial has completed a multi-million-pound deal to buy tipping trailer and rigid body manufacturer Fruehauf out of administration.

Tom O’Rourke CEO of MV Commercial

The deal includes an immediate cash injection and a commitment to a further £30 million (US$35.5 million) investment over the next three years, as part of plans to modernise the manufacturing facility in Grantham, Lincolnshire, UK.

Tom O’Rourke, MV Commercial CEO, said, “Fruehauf has a fantastic product range, a rich heritage, and a wealth of talent within its team which will be complemented by MV Commercial’s strength and experience in the marketplace.

“With immediate effect we are starting work to scale production back up, enabling us to commit to a delivery schedule for outstanding customer orders and begin building new stock trailers for MV’s own contract hire and ready-to-go fleets.”

Truck sales and rental

MV Commercial plans to open a truck sales and rental facility on site in Grantham within the next month. Work will begin straight away to refurbish and modernise the site.

Steven Cairns, MV Commercial managing director, said, “We should have 80 to 90 trucks and trailers available for sale on site within a month, and the manufacturing workforce back in the factory building at pace again.”

Production capacity is expected to quickly reach 15 to 20 trailers a week. Investment will focus on greater automation.

MV Commercial has committed to continue offering the full Fruehauf trailer and body range, and 100 per cent of the current workforce will transfer over.

Name rebrand

MV Commercial will revive the ‘Crane Fruehauf’ name, by which the business was known until 1998. The rebranding is expected to be completed in a few weeks.

Commenting on the planned rebranding, O’Rourke added, “MV Commercial is best known for building the biggest and most capable crane trucks in the market. Cranes are a huge part of what we do, so we certainly weren’t going to turn down the opportunity to put the ‘Crane’ back into ‘Crane Fruehauf’.”

Previous acquisitions

MV Commercial has previously acquired the assets of two major rental businesses – Regal Truck Rental and TLS – plus, in 2015, it acquired bodybuilder JWR Recovery Trucks.