Camso Inc., formerly known as Camoplast Solideal, is a Canadian company that is a manufacturer and service supplier of products for off-the-road vehicles. They serve the material handling, construction, agriculture and powersport industries. Camso manufactures and distributes pneumatic, airless and solid tires, tracks, driven and trailed conversion track systems and OEM undercarriages. The company was founded in 1982, and is based in Magog, Quebec, Canada. It also has branches and manufacturing plants in America, Asia and Europe. Camso research centers are in Magog, Ghent, Colombo, Shanghai, and Ho Chi Minh City, and has a global workforce of more than 8000 employees.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Magog, Quebec, Canada |
Key people | Pierre Marcouiller, Executive Chairman of the Board Thomas Boettcher, President and CEO |
| Products | Tires, tracks, track systems |
Number of employees | 8000 |
| Parent | Michelin |
| Website | camso |
History
editIn 1982, Normand Carpentier[1] and Michel Lasalle acquired four Bombardier divisions, including Roski Ltd., and founded Camoplast Inc.
in December 2004, Camoplast purchased the industrial vehicles division of Bombardier Recreational Products[2] Bombardier manufactured snow and all-terrain vehicles with rubber tracks from the 1950s. The industrial vehicles division, based in Granby, Quebec, made tracked utility vehicles such as snowcats, sidewalk snow removal tractors and Tracked Utility Vehicles, including the descendant of the original Bombardier Muskeg tractor.[3]
In November 2005, Camoplast sold the design, engineering, R&D, service, parts and sales operations of the snow groomer range of its Industrial vehicles Division to Leitner Group which will be marketed as Prinoth, with Camoplast handling the manufacturing.[4]
In February 2009, Camoplast sold the remaining Industrial Vehicles division operations to Leitner Group including development, design, sales, service and vehicle production to Prinoth.[5]
In 2010, Camoplast acquired Groupe Solideal, a company based in Luxembourg that manufactures tires, tracks and wheels for the industrial and construction markets. Subsequently, Camoplast changed its name to Camoplast-Solideal [6]
On August 23, 2013, Camoplast-Solideal's Composite Division was acquired by four company managers[7][8] and became a corporation in its own right under the name Roski Composites, presided by Yves Carbonneau.[9]
On July 3, 2015, Camoplast Solideal was renamed to Camso to "represent the best of Camoplast and Solideal".[10]
On July 25, 2018, Michelin agreed to acquire Camso for $1.45B. The 'off the road' operations of Michelin will be combined with Camso to form a new division.[11]
On December 18, 2018, Michelin completed the acquisition of Camso, under the terms announced on July 12, 2018 and after obtaining all of the necessary approvals for the transaction. A total consideration of US$1.36 billion was paid for the acquisition.[12]
References
edit- ^ (in French) "Avis de nomination : Pierre Larivière" Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, La Presse, Montreal, 6 November 1979.
- ^ "BPR cède sa division de véhicules industriels à Camoplast" [BPR sells its industrial vehicles division to Camoplast]. Le Devoir (in French). Montreal. August 3, 2004. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ "Camoplast Buys Segment of Bombardier". Canadian Plastics. December 2004.
- ^ "Prinoth Takes Over Camoplast Grooming". www.saminfo.com. 12 October 2005.
- ^ "Prinoth Acquires Camoplast's Track Machines Group". www.saminfo.com. 16 January 2009.
- ^ Fisette, Gilles (September 21, 2010). "Camoplast fait une acquisition majeure" [Camoplast Makes a Major Acquisition]. La Tribune (in French). Sherbrooke, Quebec. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ (in French) Investissement Quebec Website "Sauvegarde d'une centaine d'emplois à Roxton Falls", Press release, Montreal, 30 September 2013.
- ^ (in French) "Roxton Falls : relance de l'usine Camoplast", ICI Radio-Canada, 30 September 2013.
- ^ (in French) "Quatre dirigeants reprennent les rênes de Camoplast" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Website Actualité - Place aux jeunes en région, 4 July 2013
- ^ "Camoplast Solideal becomes Camso - Camso". Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
- ^ "Material Handling Wholesaler". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Michelin - Michelin Completes the Acquisition of Camso, Thereby Strengthening its Global Leadership Position in the Specialty Businesses". www.michelin.com/.