The Boler Co. announced today, Nov. 1, that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Watson and Chalin Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of truck drive-axle suspensions; auxiliary suspensions, including steerable and nonsteer rigid, pusher and tag axles; and trailer suspensions for both air ride and mechanical applications.
Based in McKinney, Texas, Watson and Chalin will continue to conduct business under the existing management of Don Watson and Tom Chalin. Both Hendrickson and Watson and Chalin will be standalone companies under The Boler Co. organization.
“With this acquisition, Boler will be in a stronger position to support advanced enhancements in both truck and trailer technologies around the world,” says Matthew Boler, president and chief executive officer of The Boler Co., based in Itasca, Ill. “We are elated to have Don, Tom and their team join our group, as they have a proven history of bringing highly developed products to the commercial markets.”
Similar to other multibrand companies in the commercial vehicle market, Hendrickson and Watson and Chalin will continue to compete in North America, as well as exploit other global opportunities. JKH Enterprises and McGuire Woods provided transactional and legal services for the acquisition, terms of which were not announced.
