CNH Agrees to Buy Miller-St. Nazianz

CNH Industrial N.V. announced it has agreed to acquire precision spraying equipment manufacturer Miller-St. Nazianz, Inc.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the sale is expected to close by the end of the year, CNH said. Miller-St. Nazianz’s president, John Miller, said he will leave the company after the sale closes, but its 260 other employees will remain in their jobs.

Headquartered in St. Nazianz, WI, Miller was founded in 1899 as a hardware retailer and is credited with bringing the first “horseless tractor” to Wisconsin. The company, family-owned for five generations, has done well outside the U.S. but doesn’t have the global reach of CNH and its 2,000 New Holland equipment dealerships.

“Because we compete as an independent brand in an industry dominated by iconic brands like John Deere, our avenues of distribution are limited,” Miller said. “We make a world-class product that I would put up against any other machine in our industry, but we have struggled to expand our market presence because 99% of farm equipment dealerships carry their major lines of Case IH, John Deere and Agco,” he added. “Continuing to operate as a small niche player was not a viable long-term strategy, so we proactively sought out this partnership with CNH.” S