Swedish Firm Taking Over Bush Hog Plant

Bush Hog, Selma, AL, announced it will turn production over in its Telford, TN plant to Alo AB, a Swedish company specializing in manufacturing frontloaders. The transaction is expected to be complete by mid-August.

“Under the agreement Alo will supply Bush Hog with loaders and related attachments,” the Bush Hog news release said.

The release does not indicate whether Alo is buying the building or simply leasing it from Bush Hog. Alo sells its own “Quicke” and “Trima” brands but also “manufactures products for leading tractor manufacturers via OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreements,” the release states.

In the case of Bush Hog, Alo will build equipment that will bear the Bush Hog name. Alo is not obligated to hire any of the people still working at Bush Hog — the number totaled 141 in mid-May — but Washington County Mayor George Jaynes said his understanding is that current employees already have been able to submit applications to Alo.

Alo sold 34,000 front-end loaders and 55,000 attachments in 2008 and has about 600 employees working at five factories in three countries. Like Bush Hog, which opened the 330,000-square-foot Telford plant in 2002, it is owned by a private equity company (3i).