Monti Werkzeuge GmbH (Hennef, Germany), a manufacturer of surface preparation technologies including the patented Bristle Blaster, reached an agreement with its U.S. distributor MontiPower Inc. (Manassas, Virginia, USA) and its owner Charles “Chuck” Lockard to combine MontiPower’s business with Monti Tools Inc. (MTI) (Houston, Texas, USA), the U.S. subsidiary of Monti Werkzeuge.
The combined business will be renamed MontiPower Americas Inc. and trade under the name MontiPower. It be located at the current premises of Montipower in Manassas, Virginia, USA.
Lockard will lead the new business as general manager for the United States and Canada, reporting to JF (Frits) Doddema, CEO of both the combined business and the German manufacturer.
“I am very pleased that we are able to take this step today and create a combined MontiPower,” Lockard says. “I have long argued the former situation undermined our ability to compete and caused needless confusion in the market. I appreciate very much the vision of the new management, and I look forward to working closely with them to bring new and innovative surface preparation products to the market and grow our business.”
MTI’s present offices in Houston will be closed after a brief transition period. Nevertheless, MontiPower will continue to service the Southwest U.S. area from the offices of MTest, a division of MontiPower, in Humble, Texas, USA.
“The long-term presence of two separate entities representing Monti in the U.S. and Canada and competing against each other makes little sense,” Doddema says. “When I joined Monti, it was clear to me that this situation had to be resolved, and I’m pleased that we have been able to reach agreement with Chuck to move forward as a joined business under his leadership. The combined entity will be larger and stronger and provide us with the foundation we need for future growth in these important markets.”
Source: MontiPower, www.montipower.com.